Post updated June 2023

West Villages and Wellen Park News

• The West Villages are now Wellen Park, a new brand name that includes the West Villages District, Downtown Wellen, and the Playmore District. The Playmore District includes Boca Royale and the adjacent yet to developed land. Downtown Wellen, which is well underway in 2023 is also part of Wellen Park. An 80-acre lake is the center of Downtown Wellen with shops, restaurants, and a kayak and standup paddleboard facility. There will also be an apartment complex and an assisted living facility. Wellen Park has big plans in years to come. Right now, Wellen Park, with its West Villages district, has approximately 9500 residents. Check back for more news to come shortly.

• Publix a grocery store is now open in the West Villages Town center.

• Introducing Blue Heron Park 33 acre of green space with shaded native trees, 2 miles of walking trails. Two separate dog parks for small and larger dogs, including a Pavilion and a bathing faucet. The park is open from dawn to dusk and is located one mile north of River Rd. and Tamiami Trail.
• Sarasota Memorial plans to build a 50,000 – 70,000 SF medical office one mile from the site.
• The new Publix anchored shopping center starting construction and will be finished in late 2019. Publix will have a full pharmacy, deli, and bakery. There is a mix of other service businesses and restaurants planned. The shopping plaza is located on the corner of West Villages Parkway and U.S 41. 
• The Atlanta Braves Spring Training will build a stadium for professional baseball. The stadium will also provide our community with a unique venue for events such as concerts, antique car shows, fundraisers, festivals, and more. They just broke ground and plan to open in spring 2019 with there their first season here. 
• A new park is on its way later in 2018! Wellen Park owns and operates the public park with access to River Road.  It features a paw park with separate sections for large and small dogs, a doggie chill zone, a covered pavilion, walking trails, playground equipment, restrooms, and bird-watching area. Renaissance Residents will have direct access to the park from their neighborhood.
• The next neighborhood is the Oasis at West Villages with approximately 136 homes planned. The homes will have tile roofs, three-car garages, outdoor living spaces, open floor plans with the latest features and upgrades available, and they will range in size from about 2,100 to over 4,000 SF under air
• The new Town Center with Grocery Stores, Restaurants, Large Lakes and Boardwalks, Schools, Medical Facilities, Parks, and Events is well underway. You don’t have to leave the West Villages for your everyday needs. The location of the center will be at the SW corner of W Village Pkwy and US Hwy 41. 

Welcome to the West Villages, a part of Wellen Park

Don’t get confused. The Villages and the “West Villages of North Port” are as different as chalk and cheese. “The Villages” is an active adult (55+) community north of Orlando. Far away from the beach and found some 30 years ago. The community is comprised of several neighborhoods with three different town squares. The West Villages is a vibrant new planned town of 12,000 acres located between Venice and North Port. It is going to be huge! 14 unique neighborhoods plus a town center with shops and restaurants and Publix, a grocery store that is now open, will create an exciting place to live. Each neighborhood has its own amenities; Sarasota National and Boca Royal are both Golf Communities. None of the neighborhoods is a designated 55+ community, at least at this time.

More Information

North Port’s image always had more affordable housing choices. The City had the vision to escape that corner and boost this „middle class/upper-middle class“ appeal. But there were only a small number of local builders who could not make a significant impact.

Mainly “out of the blue” comes help. Mattamy Homes, a successful and large Canadian home builder, will make this dream come true. North Port will finally get more expensive homes and a city center. Thanks to the Canadians, “ey.” Do they really say that?

The Mattamy Homes people looked around and found “some money” in their petty cash. They decided to do something big with it – really BIG. For a little under $87 million, Canada’s largest builder bought 75% of the former Thomas Ranch.

Thomas Ranch is Home to the Wellen Park

Where is the former Thomas Ranch? The land is off US 41 between South Venice and North Port (check out the map). Once completed, it will stretch almost all the way south to Englewood. Yes, that is huge!

West Villages District

Along with this stretch, homes in the existing new development are already popping up like mushrooms after a warm summer rain. Socially very active, they have all a Venice address and zip code. As new and growing neighborhoods, Sarasota National and Grand Palm are part of Wellen Park Florida; even so, they were not part of the 13-year-old West Villages Improvement District. They give the area a strategic and marketing advantage to future residents as well as attract more retailers. Give us a call at 941-244-8341  for more info on quick move-in homes.

West Villages District – Homes for Sale

What can I expect at Wellen Park?

Mattamy Homes plan to dwarf the existing communities; with a bigger picture in mind. 5,000 – 6,000 homes are already well on their way; another 11,000 properties are the next goal. This is still short of what is coming next. The West Villages will have 26,000 housing units after the total is built out.

They are not daydreaming, though.  The time frame Mattamy came up with seems to be pretty realistic. Estimates say that the project is going to take 20 – 30, maybe 40, years until completion. At least 2 generations of home builders and construction people will have a secure jobs for many years to come.

Isn’t it beautiful when somebody can tell people, “hey, my granddad installed that roof over there?”

The new single-family residences will add perhaps 70,000 people or more to that region. Once finished, Wellen Park will be larger than the cities of Sarasota and Venice combined. However, they are working on new communities as well. Therefore, it will be a never-ending race.

Two-thirds of the homes will be in the city limit of North Port, and the other third will be in Sarasota County with a Venice address. Does it make a difference?  Not really, but some people would prefer to be a part of Venice because it “sounds” better than North Port. Oh, get over it, people……

In fact, when the US postal service asked the residents of Island Walk whether they wanted a North Port or a Venice address, they decided to go with a Venice address. At least in a letter, it looks like Island Walk is an extension of Venice, but it is not.

The West Villages of North Port will have more than condos, townhouses, villas, and single-family homes. Commercial development is a big part of the next phases. Part of the business activity will be along US 41, but another corridor will be parallel to River Road. 3 million square feet of commercial space have already been approved, with more to come.

The Wellen Park consists of three different Villages.

Village A is actually divided into eight neighborhoods; seven are within the Grand Paradiso Community, and the 8th neighborhood is called “The Preserve”. All neighborhoods are connected with each other. Lakes and nature preserves are breaking up the density of the buildings. A mixed-use town center will also be part of the community. A non-vehicular transportation system is in the works too.

Village B has two neighborhoods: “The Renaissance” and “The Oasis”. Single-family and multi-family homes are nestled into the low-density community. “low density” is exactly the concept of those two communities. Sidewalks and trails will connect the neighborhoods with different community centers.

Village C consists of four neighborhoods. “Island Walk at the West Villages” has five neighborhood centers spread out through the four communities. Miles of pathways, bridges, lakes, boardwalks, and nature preserves create an abundance of outdoor areas.

The vast communities of Grand Palm and Sarasota National are mingling with the West Villages, and someday, this area will be a larger city than Venice and Sarasota combined. 

The new village is not designed like a big pile of brick and mortar; with nature well-integrated, nature will even play a significant role. Even the  Myakka River will be a part of the new community. The River Club is designed to give access to the river. Residents of this club will be able to explore this beautiful stretch of Florida’s nature with non-motorized boats. And they will definitely love it! The Myakka River is an extraordinary scenic trip where you can literally shake hands with gators and other wildlife, but always count your fingers afterward!

The former ranch already has a 30-acre sparkling lake, which is already an eye-catcher. Other lakes and ponds are also in their planning phase. Big islands with nature preserves will also provide this typical “Florida feeling.” Nature preserves are the main reason why so many people love Florida.

70,000+ is the magic number! Yes, seventy thousand residents – that sounds like an awful lot of people. Yes, it does. So, what about the traffic? You may ask.

Well, that was one of the main reasons planning took so long. Developing a well-functioning infrastructure with roads, walkways, water/sewer, and power lines is always the hardest task. There are many examples out there, mainly old communities that show how NOT to do it.

What is the conclusion they came up with? A web of the main roads is going to divert the traffic in several directions. US 41 will remain the primary traffic artery. Four lanes on US 41 will guarantee a fast west-east (and vice versa) passage. A big roundabout will probably eliminate the waiting time associated with traffic lights. It is so dull staring at those red lights, right?

Manasota Beach Road, which runs parallel to US 41, but further south, will be widened. River Road, the West Villages Parkway and SR 776 are designed to divert the traffic in north-south bound directions and flush the traffic out to I-75.

West Villages of Florida Site Map

In about 20 years, many motorized vehicles will be electric or self-driving cars. That will reduce noise and pollution significantly, and many cities will become more livable again.

What is the price range for homes in the West Villages? Right now, homes are selling from the low $400’s, and they go up well into the $1 million and beyond. 

Questions? Contact us below or call us at 941-244-8341. We can guide you through the homes and neighborhood jungle! We specialize in Wellen Park and keep you updated about news and the building Process!