Medallion moves forward with dairy site

EAST COUNTY — Medallion Home founder and owner Carlos Beruff pushes a 21-page, paper-clipped stack of black-and-white copies across his desk.

The pile may be small, but the feat it represents is not: 21 months of litigation between multiple parties ended.

The document, an amended and restated local development agreement, paves the way for Medallion to develop a 289-acre parcel off Upper Manatee River Road, best known as the Moore’s Dairy site, and it ends a nearly three-year dispute between Medallion Home, Lennar Homes and Manatee County.

“It was the right thing to do,” Beruff said of the agreement, which cleared up title issues related to a previous foreclosure (see related story on page 8). “The county gets a critical road for the future — an alternative to State Road 64. It was all about who pays for what and that takes time.”

Medallion will develop the property as its own development, not part of Heritage Harbour. The property already is approved for up to 735 units.

“We can start moving forward with the proper planning,” Beruff said. “It absolutely will be compatible with the surrounding communities.”

Lennar, developer of the neighboring Heritage Harbour community to the west, had bonded about $2.3 million to construct the extension of Port Harbour Parkway east to Upper Manatee River Road, in a straight line along the northernmost boundary of the property, once Heritage Harbour’s development warranted it.

Per the new agreement, Medallion now can alter the configuration of the roadway, which Beruff says will better serve everyone.

“Soft curves maintain slower, better traffic,” Beruff said, sketching a theoretical design on a piece of blank paper. “It’s a safety element, and it moves the entrance — creates more space between the entrance to Waterlefe and ours.”

Medallion will build a two-lane roadway with a four-lane configuration, so the county can widen it at a future date, if required.

Beruff and Medallion land planners visit the property next week to begin conceptualizing a design for the future community, at 112 Upper Manatee River Road.

Beruff said he expects designing and permitting to last about 18 months and to begin home construction in two to two-and-a-half years, pending market conditions.

But, Beruff says he’s not in a hurry to develop, because the property already is paid off.

“If the cows have to sit there a couple more years, that’s OK,” he said.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].