New Lakewood Ranch project, shopping center that’s farthest east yet coming to Manatee
New development keeps marching east in Manatee County, with a new shopping center planned farther east than any yet and another 930-home neighborhood planned on the northeast edge of Lakewood Ranch.
Plans for the two projects on the northern fringe of the master planned community are under review by Manatee County Building Services.
For the new 80,000-square-feet shopping center, North American Properties of Fort Myers is proposing to rezone 9.6 acres at 16600 State Road 64 E. from general agriculture to planned development commercial. The property is on the southwest corner of S.R. 64 East and Uihlein Road.
The rezone request is for four commercial parcels and one stormwater parcel and would be the most easterly shopping center to date at Lakewood Ranch along State Road 64.
“North American Properties has developed over 30 Publix-anchored centers for Publix, including five in Lakewood Ranch, and is currently working on rezoning the property and is working on entitlements for a commercial retail center. If NAP determines it can be entitled and developed as commercial retail center, then it will present the property to Publix to see if Publix has interest,” Kirk Boylston, president of Lakewood Ranch Commercial, said Thursday in an email.
Among North American Properties’ other projects are Grand National, a mixed-use project of retail, restaurants and hotel directly across from Orlando International Premium Outlets and Cascades Park, a residential, retail, office, restaurant and hotel project in downtown Tallahassee.
Dale Hafele, NAP managing partner, did not immediately respond to a phone call for comment or additional details about the proposed shopping center.
The proposed shopping center is diagonally opposite the former C&D Fruit and Vegetables Company property at 16505 S.R. 64 E. Detwiler’s Farm LLC purchased the C&D Fruit & Vegetable Company property in 2018 for $2,225,000.
New Lakewood Ranch neighborhood
Also under review at Manatee County government is SMR’s request for preliminary site plan modification for the Palm Grove project along Waterline Road, north of State Road 64. The property is within the county’s future development area boundary.
Palm Grove is planned for 930 single-family, detached, attached and semi-detached homes on 310 acres.
SMR acquired a portion of the Palm Grove property in a 2021 land swap with the Manatee School District.
The school district acquired 103 acres at the intersection of Rangeland Parkway and Post Road, extending to Lorraine Road. The district also received 40 acres on Academic Avenue, east of Uihlein Road. Both parcels are at Lakewood Ranch.
“The 103 acres was acquired for a future high school. The school is not currently on the School District’s five year plan. The 40 acres was acquired for a K-8 school. The School District will begin design during the 2022/23 fiscal year with construction occurring directly thereafter,” Mike Pendley, the school district’s executive planner, said in an email.
Developer Pat Neal said Thursday that he hopes to purchase the Waterline Road property from SMR by Sept. 23 and to break ground there in the second quarter of 2023.
Homes there would range in price from the high $300,000s to the millions, he said.
Envisioned is a community similar to another of Neal’s projects, Indigo, with the “most beautiful amenity center ever,” including an outdoor movie screen, event lawn and pickleball court, he said.
From agriculture to development
The area is the center of extensive new home building projects.
Lakewood Ranch Communities has plans to build up to 7,000 homes east of Bourneside Road along State Road 64.
In November 2021, Manatee County commissioners unanimously voted to allow developers to submit applications for projects to be built past the Future Development Area Boundary line.
Rex Jensen, CEO of Lakewood Ranch developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, said in 2019 his company had acquired a large parcel along Bourneside Boulevard and south of State Road 64.
The property is in an area previously reserved for agriculture.
But not everybody is happy with the continued development deeper into East Manatee.
A number of residents expressed their opposition in 2021 when SMR sought approvals from the planning commission to develop east of the development line.
“The county has geared everything to growth. What we are trying to do is protect an area so we have a buffer and a transition,” Myakka City resident and recent county commission candidate Carol Felts previously said.
