Miami-based home builder Lennar is looking to bring an expansive subdivision to Brevard County with more than 800 homes and nearly two dozen small lakes on 291 acres.
The project would not only add to the developer’s growing presence in Central Florida, but also in Palm Bay where its 162-lot subdivision called Everlands is currently under construction along St. John’s Heritage Parkway — an area just west of the I-95 corridor that’s turning into a hotspot for residential development.
Here, Landsea Homes is building out its St. Johns Preserve community, which, when all phases are complete, will consist of 105 single-family detached homes and 122 townhome units. The latter phase got final approval from the city in April.
The St. John Preserve community sits across the street from the 200-acre Fred Poppe Regional Park, which has sports fields, a community center and regularly hosts events such as free drive-in movie nights and Food Truck Fridays. It’s an hour from Orlando, and just 15 miles away from beaches.
“This area of Palm Bay continues to grow in popularity,” Jed Lowry, Corporate Vice President with Landsea Home’s Florida and NYC Metro Divisions said in a news release earlier this year. “Our success and rapid sellout of the first phase of St. Johns Preserve shows the incredibly high demand for these homes in this prime location.”
The 40 homes within the first phase of St. Johns Preserve sold out within nine months, according to the news release.
The second phase will include 65 single-family detached homes on generous 50-by-120-foot lots. With varying floor plans, the homes will range from 1,804 to 3,035 square feet, with options for three to five bedrooms and in one or two stories, the news release says.
“We’re excited to expand our presence in St. Johns Preserve, and in Palm Bay in general, which is a very important market for us in Florida,” Lowry said in a statement. “St. Johns Preserve is a beautiful gated community that boasts a great location and a wonderful diversity of home designs and floorplans to fit any lifestyle that is perfect for ‘living in your element.'”
Lennar’s newest proposed project, Palm Vista Medley at Everlands, calls for 840 homes and is further north on St. John’s Heritage Parkway, directly across the street from its smaller Everlands community.
The company did not respond to requests for comment.
Palm Vista Medley at Everlands is planned for two parcels totaling 291 acres. Lennar acquired the land in 2018 and then sold it as part of a land banking deal in May to New York-based investment firm DW Partners for $6.8 million.
Details such as lot size or setbacks are not included in site plans. Plans by Melbourne-based engineering firm B.S.E Consultants show more than 20 lakes sprinkled throughout the project site. It will be built out in as many as six phases.
Lennar is one of the nation’s largest homebuilders. With 59,825 home closures in 2021, it currently ranks second, behind only D.R. Horton, on the Builder 100 list of top home builders in the U.S.
The company has been active in Central Florida. GrowthSpotter recently reported plans by the developer to build a 728-home community on 375 acres in Lake County’s Howey-in-the-Hills called Hillside Grove.
Among other local projects, the company is also working to deliver a 558-lot community with 172 townhomes and 386 detached homes on Pleasant Hill Road, across from its Storey Creek subdivision in Kissimmee.
California-based Landsea Homes — which ranks 47th on the Builder 100 list —also continues to grow its footprint across the Orlando market, a year after expanding its brand into Florida.
Recently proposed projects by Landsea include a 149-lot subdivision in Sanford called Kentucky Square and a 102-lot subdivision in Polk County’s Haines City called Hammock Reserves.
Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at (407)-800-1161 or dwyatt@GrowthSpotter.com, or tweet me at @DustinWyattGS. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
