Neal breaks ground on Fairfield

EAST COUNTY — Right now, it’s just a dusty, bare patch of land along State Road 70, between the Harborage and Westwinds communities and Lockwood Ridge Road farther west.

But as construction crews continue working over the next few months, the 27-acre site will be transformed into a community of 140 paired villas.

Developer Neal Communities plans to open its Fairfield community, with homes ranging in size from 1,400 to 1,600 square feet and priced under $200,000, by Oct. 1. Construction of two model homes already is under way.

“It has a great location because it’s close to everything,” Neal Communities President Pat Neal said. “(We think it) will be a fast-selling addition to our 14 subdivisions currently under way in Manatee County.”

The gated maintenance-free community will include pocket parks, a recreation center with a pool and other amenities.

The product-type will be similar to the offerings at Arlington Cove in Venice, although more with a more neo-classical architectural style, Neal said.

Final construction plans for Fairfield were approved by Manatee County in January, and construction on the project formally began in March.

“The recession is over and people are buying things,” Neal said. “But, they are not buying the big houses they used to buy. More than half our active adults are buying in cash and buying below their means.

Neal said when he purchased the Fairfield site in late 2005 he had anticipated the development would be an extension of the Harborage in terms of inventory offerings. With the changes in the market, however, the villa product proved to be the best fit for the new community.

Because of the property’s extensive frontage along State Road 70, Neal said he did consider developing a mixed-use center on the site but decided to pursue residential development after plans were announced for a Publix about one-half mile away, near the southwest corner of S.R. 70 and Lockwood Ridge Road.

Neal said he also has pursued purchasing the parcel at the southeast corner of Lockwood Ridge Road and S.R. 70, but has not yet been successful.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].