NORTH PORT – Sarasota County’s largest and fastest growing city will get even bigger.
On Monday, the City Commission voted to annex 141 acres into the Thomas Ranch development.
About 20 years ago, a sliver of land on what was formerly known as TayloRanch was meant to be an extension of River Road, but was abandoned when current River Road improvements were made.
Now it will be absorbed into the West Villages development, which is already 9,600 acres. The move allows the developer better freedom to plan neighborhoods instead of plotting around the county-zoned sliver, which was to be known as Pine Street, bisecting the property.
With the Islandwalk and Gran Paradiso developments already in progress, the addition of the West Villages neighborhoods will eventually mean about 20,000 new homes in the area.
North Port already is Florida’s eighth largest city, in land mass, at 104 square miles. It is the county’s most populous, at more than 60,000 residents. Its population grew 160 percent from 2000 to 2013, according to census data.
Mattamy Homes, Canada’s largest homebuilder, purchased the Thomas Ranch property last year for $86.25 million from Thomas Enterprises. The development is divided into four villages: Main Street Ranchlands, Myakka River Club, Timber Forest Ranch or Manasota Beach Ranchlands.
The project’s general manager, Marty Black, said the development will take 30 to 40 years to build out.
With rezoning changes, the density will increase from 1.7 dwelling units per acre to 2.7, city planner Jennifer Malone said.
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