Lennar is teeing up a 1,335-home and golf course project in Homestead’s Keys Gate development that will be called Altimira.
The Miami-based homebuilder recently submitted a proposed site plan and two zoning amendments to the city of Homestead. The city’s development review committee will consider the proposal at a meeting next Tuesday, and then it would move on to the Homestead City Council for approval at a later date.
A spokesperson for Lennar, led by Executive Chairman Stuart Miller, did not respond to a request for comment.
Lennar is under contract to buy 350 acres within the 850-acre Keys Gate from entities controlled by Homestead developer Wayne Rosen and the Michael Latterner Trust, according to the South Florida Business Journal. The developer’s proposal shows Lennar intends to build 385 single-family homes, 480 townhomes and 419 villas on the site, as well as redesign and reopen a shuttered golf course at 1800 Palm Drive and renovate a closed clubhouse at 2300 Palm Drive.
The golf course would feature 18 holes, a putting green, mini golf and a driving range, the proposal states. Lennar would also add a restaurant, a golf pro shop and a gym to the clubhouse.
Lennar is also seeking approval to build 51 single-family homes on a 14-acre site at 888 Southeast 28th Avenue in Homestead that is also within the Keys Gate community.
The homebuilder’s proposal bucks a recent trend among residential developers, including Lennar, to buy up South Florida golf courses to convert them into housing projects. In January, Lennar paid $19.2 million for part of a closed golf course west of Delray Beach that is approved for a residential development.
The same month, Boca Raton-based Altman Companies paid $14 million for a large portion of a golf course near Wellington where the developer plans to build Altís Blue Lake, a 318-unit, garden-style apartment complex.
In November, Sunrise-based GL Homes bought the former Boca Raton Municipal Golf Course for $65.7 million. The developer has city approvals to build more than 550 homes on the site.