Manatee County OKs a new housing development in Myakka with designer golf course

An 18-hole, U.S. Golf Association championship-style private golf course designed by Nick Price is coming to 537 acres near Myakka City.

Manatee County Commissioners this month approved rezoning the property at 33720 Singletary Road from agriculture to planned development residential. The property is about 1.5 miles south of State Road 70.

Nick Price is a retired professional golfer, who won the PGA Championship twice and The Open Championship once.

Planned for the property are 95 custom single-family homes, 55,000-square-feet of residential amenities and 14 resort cottages.

The residential amenities include a 25,000-square-foot clubhouse, a 20,000-square-foot training facility designed by retired pro golfer David Leadbetter and a 10,000-square-foot maintenance building.

“The goal is to protect the environment as much as possible. We understand the land and the area,” said Charles Duff of Lakewood Ranch, who is listed as one of the managers of property owner 536 Single RE LLC, which bought the parcel in 2022 for $14 million.

John Taylor of Orlando is listed as the registered agent, and the other managers are David Turner of Richmond Hill, Ga., and John Galt of Windemere, according to the Sunbiz website.

The company also owns 191 acres on neighboring Rexrode Road.

The homes planned for Myakka Village would be clustered on the north side of the property, away from the Myakka River, said Bob Gause of Gause and Associates of Palmetto. The golf course would be built on the south side of the property.

The Myakka River twists and turns along the southern boundary of Myakka Village.

Because the property is not served by county utilities, Myakka Village would use well water and handle sewage treatment on site. Myakka Village would also be required to handle stormwater runoff.

A key factor in county commissioners approving the rezoning is that the developer would have been able to build just as many houses under existing agricultural zoning, one per five acres, as with planned development residential zoning.

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“They aren’t touching wetlands. I absolutely have no problem with it,” county Commissioner George Kruse said of the project.

Several Myakka City residents attended the county commission land-use meeting to express their concerns, ranging from stormwater runoff to light pollution and traffic.

“This project is maybe not the right time and place,” said Carol Ann Felts, a Myakka City activist and former county commission candidate.

County commissioners voted 5-1 to approve the rezoning, with James Satcher casting the only negative vote. Commissioner Vanessa Baugh, who recently announced her retirement, did not attend the meeting.

“While a world-class golf course and training facility may attract families to the club, it’s the amenity-rich culture that will keep them here,” the Myakka Village website says.

“It’s amenities like our destination spa, lagoon style pool featuring a children’s splash pad and adult’s grotto, adventure course, kids ‘secret hideout,’ and multiple dining concepts that set Myakka Village apart,” the website says.