GL Homes pays $28M for homesites at Arden near Wellington

Home prices will start at $600K

A map highlighting both the entire Arden home community and the portion that GL Homes bought with GL Homes President Misha Ezratti (GL Homes, Google Maps)
A map highlighting both the entire Arden home community and the portion that GL Homes bought with GL Homes President Misha Ezratti (GL Homes, Google Maps)

GL Homes bought 209 homesites at Arden near Wellington for $28.1 million.

Boston-based Freehold Communities sold the land to Sunrise-based GL Homes in two deals for
$11.9 million and $16.2 million, according to deeds.

The purchase breaks down to about $134,665 per lot.

A GL Homes’ map of its portion of home development sites at Arden (GL Homes)

A GL Homes’ map of its portion of home development sites at Arden (GL Homes)

GL plans one-story and two-story houses with three- to five bedrooms and up to 3,200 square feet of living space, according to the company’s website. Home prices will range from $599,900 to $799,900.

Completion will depend on the pace of sales and the availability of materials and labor, according to Larry Portnoy, vice president of GL Homes.

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Freehold Communities is the master developer of the 1,209-acre Arden on the northeast corner of Southern Boulevard and the L-8 Canal.

Arden, which is approved for a total of 2,300 homes, is billed as an “agrihood,” allowing residents to grow and harvest fruits, vegetables and herbs at a 5-acre farm. The development targets buyers seeking an outdoor lifestyle, as it offers 175 acres of lakes and 500 acres of parks and playgrounds, according to an April news release from Freehold.

Freehold, led by co-founders Jesse Baker and Thomas Tischer Jr., has been selling portions of developable land at Arden over the years to various builders, including Ryan Homes, Kennedy Homes, Kenco Communities and Lennar.

In April, Freehold sold 927 lots to Miami-based homebuilding giant Lennar for $190 million. The deal came on the heels of Lennar paying $7.4 million for another 188 acres of land at Arden in March.

GL, founded in 1976 by Itzhak Ezratti, and led by his son, President Misha Ezratti, builds suburban-style residential communities.

It has been focusing on redeveloping South Florida’s closed golf courses. In November, GL paid $65.7 million for the 190-acre Boca Raton Municipal Golf Course at 8111 Golf Course Road, with plans to build more than 500 homes.  Prices at the planned Lotus Palm community will range from $1.3 million to $2.5 million, according to GL’s website.

Also last year, GL paid $32 million for the closed Calusa Country Club at 9400 South 130th Avenue in Miami-Dade County’s West Kendall neighborhood, where it plans to build a 550-home community.