Grand Park’s New Townhomes with Michaela Stan

Episode Overview:
In this episode, Jim sits down with Michaela Stan from Neal Communities to discuss the highly anticipated townhomes at Grand Park in Sarasota. With construction set to begin and homes expected by spring 2025, Michaela shares all the details about this serene and thoughtfully designed community.

About Grand Park:

• Size & Layout:
  • 533 acres featuring over 900 homes.
  • 267 acres of open space, 161 acres of wetlands, and 5 miles of walking trails.
  • 24 acres of amenities, including two pools, fitness centers, and more.
• Living Options:
  • Single-family homes, villas, and new townhomes coming in 2025.
  • 138 townhomes across 23 buildings.
  • Starting Price: $358,000 (including lot premium and designer finishes).

Amenities for Townhome Owners:

• Full access to all community amenities, including:
  • Catering kitchen, pool tables, library, and activities director.
  • Two pools, hot tub, free weights and cardio gym, and on-demand fitness studio.
  • Tennis courts, pickleball, playground, two dog parks (separated by size).
  • Soft walking trails with recycled rubber surfaces.

Costs & Fees:

• HOA Dues: $194/month (subject to annual adjustments).
• CDD Fees: $1,264 annually (approximately $300/month combined with HOA).

What Makes Grand Park Unique?

• Views & Design: No homes back up to major roads or other backyards—each offers long water or conservation views.
• Guest Parking: 69 additional spaces to accommodate visitors and residents with multiple vehicles.
• Community-Focused Rules: Six-month minimum rentals allowed twice a year to preserve neighborhood cohesion.

Who’s Moving In?

• Ideal for young professionals, first-time buyers, families, and retirees.
• Popular among those moving inland or seeking second homes.
• Interest from Sarasota educators, medical professionals, and other essential workers.

Warranty & Maintenance:

• Neal Communities provides a comprehensive warranty package:
  • 1 Year: Workmanship and craftsmanship.
  • 2 Years: Mechanical and electrical systems.
  • 10 Years: Structural warranty.
• Lawn care included with "maintenance-assisted" homes.

Prime Location:

• Convenient Access: Just off Clark Road and I-75, close to Twin Lakes Park.
• Nearby Destinations:
  • 20 minutes to Siesta Key Beach.
  • 15-20 minutes to downtown Sarasota and Lakewood Ranch.
  • Less than 30 minutes to SRQ Airport.
• Tucked away from highway noise, offering tranquility with accessibility.

What's Next?
Interested in buying or selling a home on the Suncoast, or connect with this week's guest? Reach out to Jim at jim.ahearn@gmail.com or visit his website, Jim Sells the Suncoast.

A Personal Note from Jim:

Hey there, I’m Jim Ahearn, your go-to real estate guide and host of Jim Sells The Suncoast podcast! 🎙️✨ Dreaming of Florida life? I’ve got you covered! As your dedicated buyer's agent, I’ll handle everything from walk-throughs to closing, making your home-buying journey as smooth as a Florida breeze.

Whether you're local or tuning in from afar, I’ll bring the Suncoast to you with virtual tours and expert advice. Let’s chat about your dream home and I'll connect you with all the right people to make it happen.

Ready to move to paradise? Drop me a line – I can’t wait to help! 🌴🏡

Transcript

Jim: 0:53

And good morning today. I'd like to welcome Michaela Stan with me. She is out at Grand Park, Neal communities, townhomes coming in pre building right now, but we should start seeing those in the spring of 25. Good morning and welcome.

Michaela: 1:08

Thank you for having me, Jim.

Jim: 1:11

Good to have you. Hey, so I know we were just talking briefly about it, but tell me a little bit about what sets this new development apart in terms of lifestyle and community experience compared to what else is out there in the market.

Michaela: 1:23

So Neal Communities is a name around Manatee have heard about what they might not know is he is the largest land shareholder and private builder here and focused only in the southwest quadrant of Florida. I think that gives us a leg up and really understanding the infrastructure that's necessary to build communities to sustain the ever changing florida climate and make you as a customer feel like a fish in a small pond.

Jim: 1:55

Fantastic. What kind of living options are available here? I know there was some building already, but the town homes are new.

Michaela: 2:02

Yes, so a little bit about grand park in general. It is a 533 acre development projected to have upwards of 900 plus doors, 267 acres of its open space. 161 acres of it is mixed wetlands, the hardwood coniferous trees, fresh water marshes. We've got five miles of walking trails, 24 acres of amenity sites. So the name Grand Park, hence park, like really lends itself to just serene luncheon type of picnic settings. All of our lots are on winding roads, so you have preserved views. You have long water views. We've been selling villas and single family homes. From 1600 square feet all the way up to 3000 plus and now we've just introduced a T shaped development in the southwest quadrant of Grand Park for 138 front doors of townhomes.

Jim: 3:03

Okay. Yeah. That sounds you're pushing well over 350 acres of open area and, you put all the living areas together. So it gives a lot of expansive area to go in there and 100 and you've said 138 townhome doors,

Michaela: 3:18

138 front doors for townhomes in 23 buildings.

Jim: 3:23

Fantastic. What's the starting price point? What sizes will be available in the townhome?

Michaela: 3:28

We have two different floor plans, both of which are just under 1, 800 square feet, exactly 1, 790, which in Sarasota County to be able to get all in, With the home site premium and the interior designer finishes as low as 358, 000. It's pretty unheard of. Yeah.

Jim: 3:52

What other costs are there going to be HOA maintenance and ECDD in that area?

Michaela: 3:57

So yes, as with any continual beautification of an ever expanding community, an HOA community owner or dweller, it's 194 a month in HOA dues. They are subject to go up year over year. A budget committee really is mindful of that. And then there is a very nominal CDD annually. A townhome owner will only contribute 1, 264. So a total of just 300 bucks.

Jim: 4:29

Yeah, that's not bad for the Sarasota area. Seems eminently reasonable when we're going into this new development. What are the amenities? Will it provide pools, gyms, community centers? I know we talked and will there be any that are limited to the town homes or the town homes will have access to the entire area.

Michaela: 4:47

Townhome owners have full access to all amenities, and the amenities have been in place since its inception. There are 24 acres of amenity sites, and what that means to you is access to a full catering kitchen, pool tables, shared library, on campus, activities director, two different pools, hot tub, free space gym with weights and cardio, studio style gym with on demand fitness classes and on site instructors, tennis courts, pickleball, pickleball tournaments, a little playground for the kiddos, two different dog parks, gated for 35 pounds and under, gated for 35 pounds and over. It's just beautiful. Five miles of that recycled rubber, soft walking trails all throughout. So everyone that purchases a townhome has full access to the full center.

Jim: 5:47

Are you seeing more influx from people coming down snowbirds or such coming down or people moving inland or taking advantage of the open area and the amenities?

Michaela: 5:59

Yes I would say that the initial interest in this townhome product are coming from young people starting their families, first time homebuyers, parents looking out for the future of their children and investing in a purchase to pass on second homes from as far up as New Jersey, across the seas. Over in the Orlando area and then, yes, we've had, unfortunately, I don't like this necessarily, but people that are getting off the coastline of our gorgeous state and coming to our evacuation zone E, not in a flood zone now community.

Jim: 6:52

Yeah, a lot of transition going on. You mentioned people coming in for second homes, which is fantastic. Love having the people be able to go back and forth, but are there going to be restrictions on rentals in there?

Michaela: 7:03

Yes, there are rental restrictions. We for the HOA declarations allow two times a year, six month minimum for rental. We really want to give a true sense of community and ownership and not turn it into an Airbnb and VRBO opportunity.

Jim: 7:22

With six months versus a weekend or whatever, you'll have some continuity and some long term.

Michaela: 7:27

Yeah. And then something I really want to applaud our developers of this community on is the consideration of the fact that these townhome products are a one car garage. We've added 69 perpendicular spaces for guests or household with multiple vehicles so that the streets will not feel crowded like you can feel in other townhome communities.

Jim: 7:52

Okay, nice. What's the time frame? I know you said the first home should be coming up spring of 25 with 138 units. Is there an anticipated completion date? Are we talking a year, 18 months?

Michaela: 8:06

So Neal Communities has done this townhome product in other areas of the state. And I believe the projected timeframe is to hopefully have all the front doors sold within a two year period, as with any construction in a new phase with a new product, the builders got to cooperate with the county, make sure that we're doing this right. And projecting build times per unit is something that I just want to say we'll have to have open communication on.

Jim: 8:43

Absolutely.

Michaela: 8:43

Know, work through.

Jim: 8:45

So somewhere at five to eight, maybe units a month coming available over the next two years. The perfect opportunity to come in and take a look and see what you like and plan accordingly.

Michaela: 8:54

What's really stunning about the new community of grand park with the townhome product specifically is that none of the backyards, but up to a major road or to somebody else's backyard, every view from your pavered screened in line and master bedroom window is. long water or preserve conservation. Very mature tree line.

Jim: 9:20

Okay,

Michaela: 9:20

really cool.

Jim: 9:22

So how does developers support homeowners after the sale, including warranties and ongoing maintenance?

Michaela: 9:30

Neil Communities offers pretty stellar warranty program. You will meet with your homeowner before getting the keys to your door a week ahead of time. You'll meet with your warranty rep and you'll meet with your builder to go over operation and maintenance of your home. There you'll have the opportunity to point out any sort of little workmanship thing that you notice. We will tackle that and try to do so before close. But we will also visit you one month, three months, and eleven months. into your first year of ownership, you have one year's workmanship, craftsmanship, warranty, two years, mechanical and electrical five years on your GE appliances. If you register them, and then 10 years structural. And with all of the products in ground park, not just the town homes, we call it maintenance assisted as in basically the lawns taken care of for you.

Jim: 10:28

Okay. I know, with the summer sometimes that's something that we, I like to look at and go, Hey, you know what? If somebody is going to take care of that for me, that's underappreciated.

Michaela: 10:38

Oh, absolutely. And I like the idea that we can control the time and the day in which a lot of the lawn care is done. Address so we're not waking people up at the crack of dawn with their leaf blowers, or you've got that unruly neighbor doing. all sorts of crazy things to their lawn at midnight.

Jim: 10:58

Great. Let's talk a little bit about the location. I know we spoke a little earlier but the location is just off of Clark Road and I 75. You're right there by Twin Lakes Park. You're probably 20 minutes from the beach if you go over the south bridge. You've got SRQ airport and Tampa airport 30 minutes and an hour away. So

Michaela: 11:20

it's the perfect location. So I actually currently reside perpendicularly West in Palmer ranch for now. We are absolutely considering a purchase of our own in grand park. And why? Because it's a straight shot on to siesta key, which is again and again, voted America's number one beach. You can shoot up to the popular city within a city of Lakewood Ranch and all of the major shopping in less than 15 minutes. You can shoot down to get to, Venice and those beautiful barrier islands in less than 20. You can make it to downtown Sarasota for that lifestyle 20. And again, just like you said, immediately on to our major interstate within less than a few minutes. five minute drive from the front door of your home. And what's also just amazing to me, and I point this out every time I tour somebody in the neighborhood, although we are positioned close to a major interstate due to the depth of the conservation area, with the county you do not hear that noise. We are, it's a very tucked away hidden gem.

Jim: 12:41

Are there any preferred partners when you're building in grand park?

Michaela: 12:45

So Neil is a one stop shop. Like a lot of builders. We ask that you consider working with our affiliate partners that are title Neil communities funding. There's always some different type of incentive to work with our house lender. We know our product best. We work with shepherd insurance broker, as you might know people worry about moving to the state of Florida and homeowners insurance, buying a brand new construction home that went through three separate third party inspections along its journey to occupancy allows for carriers to feel better about protecting you in your home. Your homeowners insurance will be lower. So yeah, Shepherd Insurance, Allegiant Title, Neal Communities Funding, and if you're going to do a to be built home and go to our 6, 000 square feet. Design center Lakewood Ranch and work with Miss Charlene Neal herself to pick out all of your interior touches. The design process is a super fun component of moving into Grand Park.

Jim: 13:57

That's good. I spoke with somebody and they said it's not customized homes, but it's personalized. So you have that option to go in and pick out some of the things that's going to make that home feel like a home to you.

Michaela: 14:07

Yes.

Jim: 14:10

Are there any specific guidelines or restrictions homeowners should be aware of, such as pet policies?

Michaela: 14:15

We are a very dog friendly company. I would say common sense rules. Okay. I don't know if you've got a pet giraffe. If you know your neighbors are going to throw up a bow here and quite concerned. No, I think that the rules set in place to continue to support the value of your investment and the value of your neighbor's investment are nonrestrictive common sense rules.

Jim: 14:48

Good. I know you're still in pre planning and pre build but do you have any stories or testimonials yet of anybody who's come down and started the purchase process?

Michaela: 14:58

Oh yeah, absolutely. So one of my favorite customers, she's a doll, Sarasota Memorial Health nurse of oncology in her twenties. Moved down here away from her family in Maryland. Mom and dad are so proud that she has put all her ducks in the right order. This is her first time buying a home. So she's super thrilled and going back to her place of work and sharing her excitement. And so we're seeing an influx of that industry with interest, we're priced so fantastically that finally. Educators are terribly underpaid. Government workers, the firefighters, the police officers, the teachers, they're coming and trying to understand what it really takes to own a home. It's a co It can be a daunting and complicated process. Absolutely. To understand what credit worthiness is, to understand what closing costs are, to understand how much money I need to have in my pocket, to understand how much I can really afford on a monthly basis. And so I have a little bit of a lending background and that's really helped me get these, been only renting most of their lives customers across this finish line.

Jim: 16:13

Right.

Michaela: 16:14

So I, yeah, the people are just excited, anxious, coming out, taking pictures of themselves on their construction site,

Jim: 16:24

you

Michaela: 16:25

I went and worked the big top brewery on Fruitville through a big toberfest. They did an Oktoberfest event. I went and had a little table out there and was just engaging the community. And I've now met with two young couples that are trying to start their families. It's just, it's a fun demographic to get to

Jim: 16:46

There is something fun about that new build when you've got the open grass and you get to see your house. built and go up. It's always exciting.

Michaela: 16:56

Yes.

Jim: 16:57

Michaela, what else would you like to say about Grand Park in the Sarasota area? As we wrap up here, what final words?

Michaela: 17:07

I would encourage anybody that works in our industry, be it a real estate agent, mortgages, insurance. Come and just take a tour. Take a calming drive around, roll down your windows and just get the feel of Grand Park. It's truly a Feeling and for anyone interested in downsizing upsizing for their future, considering finally building a real estate portfolio wanting to get closer to an a plus school district, give me a call. My name is Michaela. We already have a stunning Michaela in office. So I go by my old nickname of Mick on the corporate level there. So give Mick a call. Come on by. We're open 10 to six, six days a week. And then on Sundays, noon to five, happy to show you all now eight of our different modeled and furnished homes. Our 600 plus available home sites left to do a true, personalized House, and put you in a position. And we don't have crystal balls here, but what I wholeheartedly and educatedly believe to be a position of appreciation and quick equity.

Jim: 18:33

Fantastic. Thank you, Michaela. I really appreciate you spending this time with me. And if anybody wants the information will be in the show notes. Thanks for coming on.

Michaela: 18:42

Thank you for having me, Jim. You guys have a fabulous week and we'll talk soon.