Manatee County Planning Commission OKs Villages of Amazon South near Parrish
MANATEE -- Yet another huge development has been tentatively approved on a 1,203-acre site near Parrish.
The Manatee County Planning Commission OK'd a request Thursday for new mixed-use zoning and a preliminary site plan for the Villages of Amazon South, 12420 U.S. 301 N.
The project is on the northwest corner of Moccasin Wallow Road at U.S. 301 North.
Developers plan office/commercial development and 1,999 residential units, including 1,385 lots for single-family detached housing, 280 lots for single family semi-detached housing and 334 lots for single-family attached residential units, according to county documents.
It calls for 40,000 square feet of commercial construction and 20,000 square feet of office space.
About 623 acres, or 51 percent of the project's acreage, would be open space, and 20 acres would be devoted to recreation, and will be distributed among four phases, according to county documents.
The site, which is now pastureland, is bisected by Florida Power & Light transmission lines and a gasline easement.
Applicants included Parrish Holdings LLC, Southern Land Parrish LLC, Southern Hemisphere Manatee LLC and North Manatee Investment LLC.
The project is one of many developments taking shape in the area around Parrish.
Asked if people are bothered by the large number of such large developments, Ben Jordan, president of the Parrish Civic Association, said they are, but at the same time, they understand growth will con
tinue to take place.
"It seems like we're building a subdivision and not a community," said Jordan after the meeting.
He noted Parrish is a great place to live, but to keep it that way it's important to keep adding cultural and other amenities such as libraries and YMCAs.
"It's the community kind of thing," he said. "We really need a real community center up here."
Construction could begin by next spring, said developer John Neal, president of Neal Land Ventures Inc., which is affiliated with the applicants.
His firm sought mixed-use status for the development, he said.
"What we want is maximum flexibility," he said.
Neal said his company's Summer Woods development also won tentative approval Thursday.
It calls for 562 single family units on 268.14 acres south of Moccasin Wallow Road about a mile west of U.S. 301.
The Manatee County Commission still must give final approval to the projects.
Sara Kennedy, Herald reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7031. Follow her on Twitter @sarawrites.
This story was originally published August 15, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Manatee County Planning Commission OKs Villages of Amazon South near Parrish."