Sarasota County Commission approves 425-home development

On Tuesday, Sarasota County commissioners approved plans to redevelop Sunrise Golf Club, which has been shuttered for more than a decade on the outskirts of Palmer Ranch,

Canadian developer Mattamy Homes is planning up to 425 homesites on the course and surrounding parcels, for which it paid a combined $14.3 million earlier this year. Mattamy has partnered with Sarasota-based Vanguard Land Ventures on the development, which will include three unnamed neighborhoods southeast of the intersection of Clark Road and I-75 with an entrance on Honore Avenue.

“It’s just a terrific location there in Sarasota,” said Ed Suchora, president of the Mattamy Homes Tampa-Sarasota division, in a previous interview with the Sarasota Observer. “Anything you can find west of the Interstate — on the true Sarasota side — just seems to be more desirable than anything.”

The developer will provide 44 acres of open space, which is 4% greater than the 30% required by the county.

“What I liked about this is where you chose to put your stormwater (ponds) and use them as a greater buffer between existing homes — that’s smart,” said Commissioner Charles Hines.

In the mid-2000s, local developer Rod Connelly sought to redevelop the course into nearly 700 condominiums, but nearby residents protested the plan. They contended the previous owner of the golf course’s lease prevented new development through 2022.

The homeowners associations representing Sunrise Golf Club Estates and other neighborhoods signed an easement and contract with Vanguard earlier this year, allowing the partnership to redevelop the abandoned course. The covenant, which was originally drafted with Connelly’s firm, Civix, requires construction of a linear park within the buffer surrounding the property.

With Mattamy’s Enclave at Forest Lakes and coming development at Sunrise, along with two more proposals from Manatee County homebuilder Medallion Homes, there are at least four derelict courses that are under redevelopment or have owners actively seeking to do so in Sarasota County.

That fact promoted Commissioner Paul Caragiulo to suggest coming up with a policy that may help preserve some undeveloped or open land as the market trends toward more infill development.

“We need to think of ways to incentivize open spaces,” he said.