Groundbreaking is first step to 1,500 new homes in Lakewood Ranch
Now home to 42,000 residents, Lakewood Ranch, Manatee County’s largest master planned community, is adding its 32nd village, Star Farms.
Forestar Group Inc. held a groundbreaking for Star Farms, a planned gated community, on March 23.
Star Farms is planned for 1,500 residences on 700 acres, located between State Road 64 in the north and 44th Avenue East in the south. The new village would be bordered by Uihlein Road on the west and Bourneside Boulevard on the east.
Star Farms at Lakewood Ranch is envisioned as a multi-generational lifestyle community with single-family homes, villas and town homes.
“It is exciting to begin our journey, watching our designs become places and our creations become new experiences,” Tony Squitieri, Forestar West Florida Division president, said in a press release.
“In a short time, we will see families creating homes, friends and neighbors exploring new relationships and our community becoming a hometown for many. A place where generations of family, including grandparents, parents and children, can experience life together with many new adventures and discoveries ahead,” Squitieri said.
Builders are expected to be announced this summer and construction of model homes is planned to begin in the early fall of 2021.
“We are thrilled that we are moving closer to the opening of Star Farms, a village that will offer a unique mix of family and age-appropriate amenities and homes woven into a traditional town setting,” Laura Cole, senior vice president of LWR Communities, said.
Attending the Star Farms groundbreaking were Tony Chiofalo, executive vice president and chief financial officer of developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, John Barnott, Manatee County Building and Development Services director, Squitieri, Tim Martin, Forestar West Florida Development director, and Robert Price, Forestar West Florida Land Development manager.
Lakewood Ranch is a 33,000-acre community in Manatee and Sarasota counties. The neighborhood where Star Farms will be located is seeing lots of new construction.
M/I Homes recently began pushing dirt for its Sweetwater village, designed for 512 homes on 223 acres on the southeast corner of 44th Avenue East and Uihlein Drive.
For more information on Star Farms, visit www.starfarmslwr.com.
Forestar Group Inc. is a residential lot development company with operations in 51 markets in 21 states. The company is a majority-owned subsidiary of D.R. Horton, Inc., the largest home builder by volume in the United States since 2002. For more information, visit www.forestar.com.
This story was originally published April 1, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
