Property Projects Ramp Up at Lockwood Ridge


 

The stretch of Lockwood Ridge Road from State Road 70 in East Manatee southward to Sarasota is getting a generous slice of both commercial and housing developments promising to inject added vigor in the market for Manatee-Sarasota homes for sale.

In April 2015, redevelopment began at the site of the former Winn-Dixie grocery store at the southeast corner of Lockwood Ridge-SR 70. The owner of this 26-acre property, Gryboski Howe & Gravley of Decatur, Georgia, is laying the groundwork for eight buildings good for 161,000 square feet of retail space.

Big grocery chains jockeying in

Property Projects Ramp Up at Lockwood Ridge

Walmart, later in the month, announced plans to locate in this same site its first Neighborhood Market in Manatee County, which will have about 43,201 square feet of retail space. A 6,119-square-foot Wawa gas station was likewise previously reported as setting up shop in this property.

The planned Walmart store would ramp up retail competition and customer choices in the Lockwood Ridge area. A new Publix Super Market opened recently at the nearby Lockwood Ridge Commons shopping center. Another retailer, the Germany-based discount grocer Aldi has also been approved by county authorities to set up a 17,000-square-foot shop just across Walmart.

Neal Communities’ Amalfi

All these commercial ventures appear getting tailwinds from equally active residential construction around the Lockwood Ridge Road area. Powerhouse Florida homebuilder Neal Communities is one of the most active developers in this locality with at least five communities to its name here. One of its latest entries to the derby of Sarasota-Manatee homes for sale is Villa Amalfi which has been approved by the County Commission for development at the southwest corner of Lockwood Ridge and 63rd Avenue.

Villa Amalfi is planned as a gated enclave for 92 home sites to be developed in 36-foot-wide lots within 18.6 acres, featuring a couple of main roads plus a cul-de-sac. A community pool and an eight-acre lake are also on the drawing boards for this housing project.

Affordable villas, intimate neighborhoods

Neal will offer in this community a choice between single family homes and semi-detached twin villas similar to those in its Fairfield neighborhood located just about a mile northeast of Villa Amalfi. No price estimates yet has been released on home prices in this new Neal development. However, villas at Fairfield built in 2013-2014 are currently offered among Bradenton homes for sale at starting prices in the $200s.

Besides Villa Amalfi and Fairfield, Neal Communities is also behind the development of Woodbrook, Magnolia Point, and Woodland Trace, all relatively new neighborhoods within the vicinity of the Lockwood Ridge area. Available residences of Woodbrook are of 2012-2013 construction and are listed among Bradenton homes for sale marked in the $200s, featuring two or three bedrooms within floor areas of about 1,250 to 1,680 square feet.

For new builds, the intimate 74-home Magnolia Point has sales-listed properties in the upper $300s and $400s, designed with either three or four bedrooms within floor plans ranging from 2,110 up to about 2,550 square feet. Essentially, the same square footages and pricing apply at Woodland Trace, also a close-knit community with just 45 residences.