Home sales take off in Parrish’s North River Ranch, and a key road there may be widened
Developers of North River Ranch sold more than 234 homes in the first half of this year and said they may have a tentative deal with the county to widen a section of Moccasin Wallow Road.
The number of houses sold was more than 42% above Neal Land & Neighborhoods’ goal of 160 sales. North River Ranch is forecast to eventually have 28,000 residents.
Sales prices for the new homes averaged $369,000, well below the record $430,000 median price for existing single-family home sales reported for the Bradenton area in July by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee.
With that news, John A. Neal, president of Neal Land & Neighborhoods, also disclosed that there is a tentative agreement between the developer and Manatee County government to widen Moccasin Wallow Road from its intersection with U.S. 301 west to 115th Street, just past Barbara A. Harvey Elementary School.
While Neal stressed that the widening agreement with the county is still preliminary, road building is within the developer’s wheelhouse.
Pat Neal, John Neal’s father, had previously offered to expedite widening of Moccasin Wallow Road for about half the cost and was exploring several approaches.
“Plans are at about 65% and we will bid them through our stewardship district,” John Neal said. “I am hoping there is a widened road by late summer.”
Previously, the Neals extended Honore Avenue from University Parkway to Lockwood Ridge Road, and Fort Hamer Road in Parrish. The Neals also redesigned what was once a shell road into the six-lane University Parkway.
“I think Neal builds prettier road with our focus on grass, landscaping and trees,” John Neal said.
Once the widening deal is sealed, Neal said he wants to move quickly to minimize disruption in the area.
Neal also disclosed that the Florida Department of Transportation was planning a roundabout at the intersection of U.S. 301 and Moccasin Wallow. An FDOT public information officer was working to provide more information on roundabout plans.
Timelines for widening other segments of Moccasin Wallow Road are in flux as the county works through FDOT permitting requirements, county spokesman Nick Azzara recently said in an email.
“As the outstanding items are addressed, we will have a better timeline but we want to initiate construction by the end of the year at the latest,” Azzara said of widening east of I-75.
One of the area’s hottest real estate markets
Developers have already secured approvals, or are seeking approvals, to build more than 20,000 new homes in the Parrish-North River area, making it one of the hottest development areas in the super-heated Bradenton housing market. Much of that development is planned along Moccasin Wallow Road, including the Robinson Gateway project and a new Del Webb community, increasing the urgency of widening the two-lane country road.
It is still very early in the development cycle for North River Ranch and other large projects planned along Moccasin Wallow Road.
All six home builders at North River Ranch sold homes throughout the six-month period, including Centex, KB Home, Homes by WestBay, Park Square Homes, David Weekley Homes and Neal Communities.
“There’s a very small window of opportunity at North River Ranch for prospective home buyers to purchase a home under $400,000,” Neal said. “It is typical to see regular price increases as a new home community progresses in the construction process, and North River Ranch is no exception.”
“We offer homes for the first-time buyers to the move-up buyers and to those down-sizing,” Neal said. Many buyers are coming from Bradenton, Parrish and Palmetto.
“In addition to local buyers, we’re starting to see an upswing from St. Petersburg families that are outgrowing rentals and Tampa buyers looking for new construction,” Neal said. “ We are still balancing the heightened demand for housing with construction industry challenges, which we and our home builder partners are improving each day.”
This story was originally published August 27, 2021 at 11:11 AM.
