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Sarasota County commissioners will decide whether to advance a plan for 5,702 homes east of Interstate 75 at a hearing Tuesday, Sept. 8.
The proposed Palmer Ranch East development would cover 2,351 acres near the State Road 681 (SR 681) interchange, the Herald-Tribune reported. Developer Hugh Culverhouse Jr., through McCann East Limited Partnership, controls nine parcels that make up the site. Justin Powell serves as president of Palmer Ranch LLC.
The hearing begins at 9 a.m. at the Robert L. Anderson Administration Center in Venice. It is open to the public.
Development Would Add Homes, Retail and Offices
Of the 2,351 acres, only about 1,075 would be developed. A 200.7-acre conservation easement and 651 acres of alternative greenway buffer would remain open. The plan calls for a town center near the intersection of Lorraine Road and a northern extension of SR 681, along with connected green space, multipurpose trails and a business park.
Beyond housing, the proposal includes 1.48 million square feet of non-residential space: 600,000 square feet of commercial, 630,000 square feet of office and 250,000 square feet of light industrial, according to Herald-Tribune reporting on the April 16 Planning Commission hearing.
Of the 5,702 homes, 4,702 are allowed by right under the county's existing village plan at two units per acre. The remaining 1,000 units would be clustered around the town center as workforce housing, added through the county's 2050 Plan formulas or transferable development rights.
Plan Traces Back to County's 2050 Growth Blueprint
Palmer Ranch East has been part of Sarasota County's 2050 Plan since the plan was approved in 2002. Jim Paulmann, project manager for the engineering firm Stantec, called it "the last piece in that 2050 plan to be approved under that process" at a March 11 neighborhood workshop.
Powell said at the March 11 workshop, "This will be, we feel, the hub and the heart of eastern Sarasota County."
The Sarasota County Planning Commission held a hearing on the proposal April 16 but continued it so the developer could clarify how the additional 1,000 homes would be added. On June 4, the Planning Commission approved three land use changes in the comprehensive plan needed for the town center to move forward, according to Herald-Tribune reporting.
Key Road Improvements Remain Years Away
The development hinges on road improvements that are years away. The Sarasota Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) projects in its five-year work plan that the extension of Lorraine Road from Clark Road south to Knights Trail Road will be complete by 2030. That extension would eventually link Venice to Lakewood Ranch.
A separate plan to convert the partial SR 681/I-75 interchange into a full highway exit is projected for completion between 2035 and 2040, according to the MPO work plan. A road network study for the interchange is projected for early 2027.
No next procedural step after the Sept. 8 hearing has been confirmed in public records.
