- May 17, 2025
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Laura Cole, vice president of Lakewood Ranch, said the top-selling community is projected to be built out by 2036.
Cole was the guest speaker at the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance's monthly luncheon at the Lakewood Ranch Country Club on April 23. She was asked to deliver the “development forecast for Lakewood Ranch.”
Cole reported that Lakewood Ranch started 2025 with the second best quarter in its history with 616 new-home sales.
The ultimate goal for the community is to sell 48,829 residential units. Right now, 32,432 of those units are sold or leased.
While not all the units are built yet, Lakewood Ranch knows who the builders are because it has sold all of its residential land.
The company has also identified the market for those homes. Cole estimates they’ll be sold out by 2034.
Waterside Place in Sarasota is 53% sold, while Taylor Ranch in East Manatee County was launched this year and is only 3% sold.
The current population of Lakewood Ranch is just over 74,200 residents and is projected to grow to over 107,200 in 2034.
Cole also used her time to dispel a few myths about Lakewood Ranch. First and foremost, not all growth, developments and developers are bad.
“We don’t start by selling,” she said. “We start with planning. We have vision and planning that drives everything we do.”
Cole’s one caveat was that Lakewood Ranch had the "privilege" of planning for green space and stormwater systems because the land was owned for 100 years prior to development.
If bought today, the 55 square miles that make up Lakewood Ranch would need to be built out to the maximum capacity to see a financial return.
Lakewood Ranch planners were able to set a goal of retaining 40% open space. Currently, 46% of Lakewood Ranch is open space, which includes 13 parks and more than 150 miles of trails.
Another myth Cole tackled was that all residents of Lakewood Ranch are affluent and live in custom homes.
Cole said the first homes in Lakewood Ranch sold for under $100,000, and homes can be bought 30 years later for under $300,000. The median selling price for homes in Manatee Counties is around $506,000 in comparison.
Lakewood Ranch also put 2,875 workforce housing units on the market because Cole said “it’s the right thing to do.” Workforce housing contributes to any thriving mixed-use community.
On the other hand, the custom-home market in Lakewood Ranch is also thriving. The norm for custom homes used to cap out at about $2 million. Now, $3 million to $5 million homes are built routinely.
With 12 shopping plazas, three town centers and Center Point, which falls somewhere in between a plaza and a town center, most of the commercial and retail properties in Lakewood Ranch are also sold.
Only two opportunities remain — one commercial parcel for sale and one 1,500-square-foot, ground floor retail space for lease in Waterside Place.
There are 2,100 businesses in Lakewood Ranch that employ about 18,400 people.
“Our healthcare system continues to grow,” Cole said. “Orlando Health will be building a new hospital here.”
The land is bought, so Cole anticipates the hospital will break ground over the next five years. The 32-acre parcel is located on the northeast corner of State Road 70 and Crossland Trail.
Philip Reber, the chief operating officer at the Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, was also on hand to update the alliance on the progress of the new patient tower that's currently under construction.
The $120 million expansion is being phased, but will eventually double the amount of hospital beds from 120 to 240.
Overall, Cole told members of the alliance that Lakewood Ranch accounts for about $13 billion of Manatee County’s assessed values and about $2 billion of Sarasota County’s.
“This is the budget of San Francisco. This is the GDP of Honduras," Cole said. “We can buy five NFL teams with it.”
Correction: This article has been updated to clarify why Lakewood Ranch doesn't help build Lorraine Road.
