High-end developers are targeting Florida’s interior as land prices escalate along the state’s edges.

MOVING INLAND
Interior Motive
High-end developers are targeting Florida’s interior as land prices escalate along the state’s edges.
by Amy Keller


In a back room at the Greater LaBelle Chamber of Commerce, Mitch Hutchcraft unrolls architectural renderings to reveal the Bonita Bay Group's plans for a 24-acre parcel along the banks of the Caloosahatchee River in LaBelle. He points to spots for a family restaurant, office space and possibly a small bed and breakfast.

The yet-unnamed community also will feature attached housing, says Hutchcraft, a regional vice president spearheading Bonita Bay Group's expansion into Hendry County. "I'm envisioning something like Charleston or a Georgetown type of neighborhood. Probably gated."

The community leaders listening to the pitch have plenty of questions about how the changes will impact the small town 25 miles east of Fort Myers on State Road 80. What will happen, for instance, to the house that once belonged to their neighbor Lois Barron? That familiar LaBelle landmark sits on land Bonita Bay Group acquired in January for $2.75 million. Others worry that once gates go up, longtime LaBelle residents may no longer be able to bike and walk their dogs along the river. Everyone wants to know whether the swanky new housing going up along the river will be affordable for the typical LaBelle resident.

A decade ago, the sleepy 4,000-population farm town wouldn't have been even a second thought for an upscale developer like Bonita Bay Group. But escalating land prices are forcing development to the center of the state. In western Hendry County alone, by conservative counts, plans exist for more than 3,500 homes in 11 subdivisions, according to the local economic development council.

Frank D'Alessandro, a real estate broker with D'Alessandro & Woodyard, says his firm is banking a "lot of land" for large homebuilders who are preparing to build in Hendry and Glades counties. "Palm Beach is mostly moving west, and Fort Myers and surrounding counties are moving east," says D'Alessandro.

Slower Pace Of Living
Leading the race across SR 80, Bonita Bay Group has already announced intentions to build its brand of master-planned communities as far east as Clewiston (65 miles west of Palm Beach). The company recently purchased a 500-acre parcel there from U.S. Sugar Corp. and plans to build a mix of residential housing. The developer intends to draw buyers who want access to the amenities of Palm Beach County but with a slower lifestyle.

It's a strategy the company has been aggressively pursuing in the LaBelle area. Later this year, Bonita Bay Group will break ground on a 187-acre master-planned community also along the banks of the Caloosahatchee called Murphy's Landing. The community will include more than 400 single-family and coach homes and cater to the typical Bonita Bay customer, a wealthy, second-home buyer. Homes will be priced from the mid-$300,000s to more than $1 million. But unlike Bonita Bay Group's trademark communities around Bonita Springs, Murphy's Landing will have no golf course.

Instead, the company says it is marketing to those who are looking for a slower pace of living along the river corridor. Brian Lucas, a Bonita Bay regional vice president who is leading development efforts outside southwest Florida, predicts the typical Murphy's Landing buyer will still be a second-home buyer but will be "less interested in the social opportunities of Fort Myers," preferring activities such as hiking and boating and the amenities that come with an outdoor retreat. Housing styles, too, will depart from the traditional Mediterranean-style architecture found in so many Bonita Springs developments. Houses will be built with an older, Colonial/Craftsman style. There will be no cul-de-sacs. All homes will have a water view, and space within the community will be maximized with rear garages and alley access.

Bonita Bay Group's largest project in the area is on 5,200 acres west of SR 29 and south of SR 80 in LaBelle. It is jointly developing the property with the Bryan Paul family, owners and operators of several citrus companies. Government approvals for the development include up to 15,800 residential units, 1 million square feet of retail space, 500,000 square feet of office space and 350,000 square feet of industrial space. Another 300 acres have been set aside for institutional uses, including a parcel of about 100 acres that will house a campus for Edison College.
LaBelle Mayor and Hendry County Public Safety Director Randy Bengston sees an expanded tax base and improved choices for shopping and entertainment. The town could use a movie theater. Local resident Nancy Hendrickson is looking forward to the riverfront restaurant that Bonita Bay Group is planning around the corner from her house near the Barron property and wonders if the company might not also be willing to build a playground on some portion of the property they've acquired in the city.

Residents are also worried, however -- about the added burdens the new development will bring and whether the rural area can keep up. SR 80 is in the midst of being widened, but other routes in and around the city need expanding, and bridges in the area need repairs. Water is also a big concern. As the county is hammering out details for a new water treatment plant for nearby communities and the new developments proposed by Bonita Bay Group, other developers north of the Caloosahatchee have begun clamoring for county sewer lines. "When you buy a house, whether you're a new retiree or looking for a second house or third house, they expect certain things. They expect the infrastructure to be there. They expect a sewer system. They expect public safety. Right now in LaBelle it's a volunteer fire service," says Bengston.

Equally important, residents and developers agree, is ensuring that LaBelle and other rural towns will retain some of their character. "We don't want to be like the skyscrapers, but we don't want to be the bedroom community of Fort Myers either," says Bengston. "We're going to be replaced one way or another. We know it's coming. Can we more or less make it what the people want?"

Publication: Florida Trend.com
July 2006 Issue