Lennar buys 181 acres in northern Miami-Dade

UPDATED Oct. 9, 9:40 a.m.: Lennar Homes, an affiliate of Miami-based homebuilding giant Lennar Corp., just paid $40 million for a hefty assemblage of land in northern Miami-Dade, property records show.

The 181-acre property is the former site of the California Golf Club at 20898 San Simeon Way. The land traded for about $5 per square foot.

Records show Mazel Group LLC, managed by Brooklyn developer Yehuda Backer, sold the property. In 2014, Mazel Group’s $19.1 million acquisition of the six-parcel site was Miami-Dade’s largest land deal of the year.

Lennar Homes filed a pre-application site plan with county officials in July, according to the South Florida Business Journal. It plans to build 690 homes in six neighborhoods, including 296 villas, 348 townhouses and 46 single-family homes. Amenities include an 11.3-acre community park, a clubhouse and a pool, according to the Business Journal.

Lennar, the nation’s second-largest home builder, led by Stuart Miller, recently launched a program to court millennials into homeownership, under the company’s Eagle Home Mortgage business. Lennar’s corporate headquarters in Miami just sold to Naya USA Investment & Management, a Hollywood-based real estate investment firm, for $40 million.

Correction: A previous story incorrectly stated the site is in North Miami. It is in northern Miami-Dade County.