Developers plan Creekwood townhomes

CREEKWOOD — Developer M/I Homes is moving forward with plans to expand the Creekwood community with the addition of 112 townhomes.

M/I plans to construct the townhomes on a 20-acre site located on the east side of Creekwood Boulevard, about one-half mile northeast of the intersection of State Road 70 and Creekwood Boulevard, at 7715 52nd Terrace E., Bradenton. The parcel, which is located behind the Creekwood Crossing Lowe’s location, previously had been approved to house offices, but the project never was developed fully.

The Manatee County Board of County Commissioners approved the proposal Dec. 17, after the Manatee County Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval for the project Dec. 12.

“The site was a transition from the larger commercial use,” said attorney Caleb Grimes, M/I’s representative for the project. “Townhomes provide that same type of transition.”

Grimes said M/I plans to proceed with the project in “due haste,” but could not offer a specific timeline.

The parcel on which the townhomes will be constructed sits within Creekwood’s Development of Regional Impact.

As part of the approval, commissioners agreed to allow M/I Homes to modify Creekwood’s DRI by changing the use of a land parcel from office to residential, increasing the total number of resident units by 112 (for a total of 1,362 units) and decreasing the office square footage by 125,000, to a total of 100,000 square feet.

Grimes said the property’s close proximity to shopping and Interstate 75 make it ideal for residential development.

“Right now, townhomes are quite popular in the market,” Grimes said.

The Creekwood DRI has been approved in four phases for 1,250 residential units, 603,000 square feet of commercial space, 800,000 feet of industrial space, 225,000 square feet of office space, 80,000 square feet of mini-warehouse space and 100 hotel rooms.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].