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Moving Inland
Interior Motive
High-end developers are targeting Florida's interior as land prices escalate along the state's edges.
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.
CLEARING THE WAY: Bonita Bay Group is developing its 187-acre Murphy's Landing on property that Bill Murphy once owned. The development will include more than 400 homes -- some priced at $1 million -- along the Caloosahatchee River.
