Burnt Store Road getting 1,800 homes

By John Heys
Sarasota Herald Tribune

CHARLOTTE COUNTY -- Lennar Communities plans to build a golf course community of 1,800 homes off Burnt Store Road in Charlotte County.

The community, dubbed Tern Bay, will feature a mix of single-family homes and condominiums on 1,700 acres south of Punta Gorda and north of the Lee County line, Lennar announced Tuesday.

A 27-hole Chip Powell-designed golf course, with a clubhouse, restaurant and fitness center, also is planned.

US Home and Lennar will build homes in the community. Prices haven't been set, but Lennar says it expects them to be "competitive for the area."

The project developer, Tern Bay Development Co., committed in January to widen nearly two miles of Burnt Store Road in return for impact-fee credits from the county worth about $5.6 million. The two-lane road will be widened to four lanes.

Lennar has built more than 25,000 homes in Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota counties.

On Monday, the Miami-based company reported better than expected third-quarter earnings. Net earnings for the quarter were $337.3 million, or $2.06 per share, compared with $225 million, or $1.36 per share, in 2004.

That beat several Wall Street estimates.