There’s been a lot of development going on in downtown Sarasota, in Lakewood Ranch and in Wellen Park. And now, there’s a new project headed further east in Myakka City in Manatee County. This one is cementing what many golf lovers already know: Florida is a haven for those who tee up, and has been since at least 1905.

The Sunshine State is home to the most courses and is ranked in the top three finest in the country. Along with Texas, it’s also the state with the most new golf projects in the pipeline. Soleta Golf Club is among them.

Spanning 530 acres, the luxury golf club community will cost roughly half a billion dollars to build out, “once you take into account infrastructure and all the amenities,” says builder John Cannon of John Cannon Homes. John Cannon Homes is just one of two builders on the project—the other is Anchor Builders. The land was purchased for $14 million last year.

Nick Price is the golf course architect of the 18-hole, 7,400-yard, par-72 course. Price, now 66 and retired from playing, is a three-time major champion and World Golf Hall of Fame member who won 18 times on the PGA Tour and spent 43 weeks as the top-ranked player in the world. Just two of the course's holes will be within viewing distance of the homes, so players aren't weaving through neighborhoods.

Another selling point for golf lovers is David Leadbetter, who coached players including Greg Norman, Ernie Els, Price, and Michelle Wie, among others. He's credited with helping them win 26 major championship titles and is designing a 30-acre training facility at Soleta with an indoor performance center. He’s also going to be the facility's teaching director and will be on-site often to give clinics and work with staff. 

“It's unusual for a club to offer a practice facility this large and that will incorporate all types of shots that you'll experience playing the course. Our practice amenities will benefit members, but they'll also attract PGA and LPGA pros, as well as top amateurs," says Alan Pope, membership director of Soleta. Membership in the club will be required for residency. 

Located at 33720 Singletary Road, Myakka City, the land has been vacant for decades and owned by the Bellino family since the 1950s, serving mostly as pasture and grazing land. Joe Bellino is still part of the ownership, along with several local and national investors.

The address is located 8 miles east of Verna Road/Fruitville Road, and 4 miles west of Myakka City. Nearby communities include Hampton Lakes, Panther Ridge, Lakewood National Golf Club and Lakewood Ranch. 

Homes will start in the $3 millions and go up to "whatever the buyer wants to spend based on customization," says Roy Dupuis, president of Anchor Builders. "But I imagine you'll see houses up to $5 million. The style will probably be based on farmhouse, transitional, coastal, West Indies, Craftsman and modern farmhouse looks. A stark white box wouldn't work.”

There will be 93 homes, spanning three enclaves: The Sanctuary, The Ranch and Village Bungalows. Beyond golf, amenities will include a pool, a spa, a fitness center, clubhouse, lagoon pool, children’s splash pads, tennis courts, pickleball courts, play areas, event space and restaurants. Residents can also fish and walk trails along the Myakka River at the club's southern edge. If you’re not crazy about golf, separate memberships to enjoy the rest of the amenities will also be available.

Homesite sizes range from a half-acre to an acre or more, with the estimated average home size at 4,000 square feet with generous setbacks and extensive landscaping. Lot prices will range from around $400,000 for half an acre up to $600,000, depending on views. Of the 47 available lots, "we have reservations on over 50 percent," says David Turner, the project's managing partner and developer.

Cottage homesites, 14 in all, will be a quarter-acre in size with homes ranging from 2,500 square feet to 2,850 square feet. They're intended for short-term stays for those who want to play and attend the academy.

Homebuilding will be done in two phases, with roughly 46 homesites in each phase. “We’ll be breaking ground on our model homes this spring and imagine they'll be done in early 2025,” Cannon says. The golf course is slated for completion by the end of 2024. HOA fees and golf course membership prices are yet to be determined. 

Resident efforts to preserve the rural lands and waters of Myakka have been underway for years, as the value of land and real estate in Sarasota and Manatee counties has skyrocketed. But developers say this project is different, with one of Soleta's selling points focusing on a love of the unspoiled outdoors.

"There's always pushback with development, but it went smoother than expected. We had meetings at the church next door [Myakka Family Worship Center] and highlighted that we're only doing a total of 93 homes on 530 acres,” says Turner. Zoning in the area allows one unit per five acres. “We didn't ask for any exclusions or exceptions and setbacks are such you won't see anything from the roads,” Turner says.

Plus, he says, one of the conditions was to leave all 150 acres of wetlands on the acreage undisturbed. “That was part of the deal—to make the residential aspect feel very natural and open,” adds Turner. “It’s hard to say we’re working in harmony with the environment and then bulldoze it.”

He adds that between 1,500 and 2,000 trees have been moved and saved, and Price has been adjusting the golf course design around preservation, with most of the ground's disturbance in what's currently pasture land. 

Part of the approach on the golf side of the project is about availability and access. "We won’t oversell memberships and make people wait to be able to play," Turner says. "Many clubs have wait lists and are sold out. But many people are relocating here and want to play." 

Will the golf course host tours? "It’s not part of the vision, since tours need grandstands," Turner says. "If you host a tour, the PGA can say you have cut down trees to accommodate them."

Beyond homebuilding, Cannon sees Soleta as an addition to a burgeoning sports tourism ecosystem in the region, attracting “more people looking for this caliber of golf course.”

For more on Soleta Golf Club, click here.