Will there be a third Del Webb 55-Plus community in Manatee? There are some hurdles
A third Del Webb community is in the works for Manatee County, but there are a few hurdles awaiting the project.
Del Webb, a division of Pulte Homes, pioneered the concept of developing active lifestyle communities for people 55 and older.
Developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch recently submitted paperwork to Manatee County Building Services to begin site preparation on 699 acres for Del Webb-Catalina at 18940 State Road 64 E.
The tract is part of a 2,141-acre purchase by SMR, developer of Lakewood Ranch, on Feb. 22, 2019. SMR paid $13.5 million for the property, just south of Lake Manatee State Park.
Because the property is beyond where the county allows urban development, SMR petitioned the county to amend the comprehensive land-use plan, clearing the way for expansion of the master-planned community onto land formerly reserved for agriculture.
In total, SMR requested approval to develop 2,300 acres previously reserved for agricultural uses.
In March 2021, Caleb J. Grimes, a land-use attorney representing SMR, appeared before the Manatee County Planning Commission and called the expansion an example of smart growth, where the developer is fully responsible for all associated costs.
SMR would bear all the cost of infrastructure, including roads and sewers, needed for that project so there would be no burden put on existing infrastructure, Grimes said at the time.
On Thursday, the Manatee County Planning Commission is scheduled to review SMR’s request for a comprehensive plan amendment. The following week, Manatee County commissioners are scheduled to consider the request.
“We’re still more than a year and a half out from opening for sign-ups and have not closed on the parcel,” Josh Graeve, division president of the Southwest Florida Market for the Pulte Group, said in an email on Monday when asked about plans for the property.
Sign-ups are when customers can begin reserving homes in a planned Del Webb community.
In 2014, PulteGroup paid Schroeder-Manatee Ranch $24 million for 643 acres at Lakewood Ranch, making it the largest land buy in Manatee County that year. In December 2015, it began selling homes east of Lakewood Ranch’s Greenbrook Village, and south of State Road 70.
In early 2021, Pulte Group began work on its second Manatee County project, a 950-home community, called Del Webb BayView, on about 500 acres at the intersection of Moccasin Wallow Road and Interstate 75.
Parrish and Lakewood Ranch are two of the hottest development areas in Manatee County.
This story was originally published December 6, 2022 at 7:52 AM.
