Builders bring Parrish homes to market as Fort Hamer Bridge work aims at 2017 completion
PARRISH -- A housing subdivision planned just north of where the Fort Hamer Bridge is under construction may bring a major piece of commercial real estate with it.
The project could soon increase the pace of development in Parrish as the new bridge over the Manatee River gets closer to linking it with the most heavily built-up portions of East Manatee.
Travis 55, a 156-lot subdivision proposed for construction on Fort Hamer Road, could include 30,000 square feet of commercial construction, if approved by the county. Undertaken by Medallion Home, a Whitfield-area homebuilder, the subdivision proposal is slotted onto 55 acres between the Chelsea Oaks neighborhood and another Medallion community, River Plantation.
It is the sixth new housing project proposed for Parrish since work started on the Fort Hamer Bridge in early spring 2015. County officials have predicted a 2017 completion date for the bridge. When it opens, the bridge will connect Fort Hamer Road and Upper Manatee River Road to Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, linking U.S. 301 and University Parkway.
The new subdivision planning reflects optimism on the part of builders investing in Parrish, eight years after the Great Recession halted several projects in that area. In addition to Medallion, other active builders in the area include Lakewood Ranch-based Neal Communities and Columbus, Ohio, builder M/I Homes.
Jon Mast, CEO of the Building Industry Association of Manatee-Sarasota, said the promise of another connection to the rest of the county has spurred builders' and homebuyers' interest in Parrish. Area residents now must cross the Manatee River on Interstate 75 or at a two-lane bridge on Rye Road.
"All the big players are bullish about it," Mast said.
The bridge has long been a wish-list item for several builders. As recently as 2009, a consortium of builders, including Pat Neal of Neal Communities and Carlos Beruff of Medallion Home, pursued building the bridge themselves under contract with the county.
Neal said he is seeing momentum building in the Parrish housing market. As of last week, his company had sold almost every home in its 464-lot Forest Creek community on U.S. 301. Two miles to the west, sales are picking up at its relatively new, 667-lot Silverleaf development.
Next spring, the Neal Communities will open another Parrish subdivision, Canoe Creek, just as the bridge carries its first vehicles. Future residents, he said, will benefit from reduced driving distances to shopping and jobs in the Lakewood Ranch area.
"In a word, I think the Fort Hamer Bridge will be transformational," Neal said.
Away from the new neighborhood streets, Parrish is seeing even more building projects coming to town. Two weeks ago, Benderson Development filed plans with the county that may bring a new Wal-Mart Supercenter to the intersection of U.S. 301 and Erie Road.
Medallion Home did not respond to a request to comment on its Parrish project.
Matt M. Johnson, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7027 or on Twitter
This story was originally published May 2, 2016 at 6:27 PM with the headline "Builders bring Parrish homes to market as Fort Hamer Bridge work aims at 2017 completion ."