NORTH PORT – Wellen Park ranked as the sixth-highest selling master planned community in the United States for 2024, as determined by RCLCO, a Bethesda, Maryland-based real estate consultant that compiles semi-annual and annual rankings.
Those rankings, announced last week by national real estate consultant John Burns, ranked The Villages – the sprawling community in Sumter, Lake and Marion counties south of Ocala – as the top-ranked and Lakewood Ranch as the second-ranked community in the country.
A total of 3,208 homes were sold in The Villages in 2024, 2,210 homes in Lakewood Ranch and 960 new homes in Wellen Park.
Wellen Park is technically the third fastest growing master-planned community in Florida, with those 960 new home sales representing a 10% increase from 2023.
“Every sale at Wellen Park represents the decision by homebuyers to live a vibrant lifestyle in a community focused on wellness and community connections,” Rick Severance, president of Wellen Park, said in a prepared statement.
“We are thrilled by the trust these new residents place in our community. We have consistently sold more homes each year for the past several years.”
Silverleaf near St. Augustine was the fourth ranked master-planned community in Florida, with 905 home sales, while Babcock Ranch near the Lee-Charlotte County line southeast of Punta Gorda, ranked fifth in the state with 797 home sales – though that figure represented a 17% drop from the 2023 sales total of 958 homes.
Overall, 38% of all sales within ranked communities occurred in Florida while sales in Texas accounted for 35%.
The 34293 ZIP code that includes Wellen Park was also recognized among the “hottest” ZIP codes in the country for home sales, according national online real estate company Opendoor.
While The Villages has expanded from its status as a retirement community by opening up Middleton, an all-ages community; home builders in Wellen Park are diversifying offerings, too.
In addition to Brightmore at Wellen Park, a 55-and-older community, Stillwell at Wellen Park – a build-to-rent single-family subdivision, is also opening.
Home options range from paired villas, condos, coach homes and townhomes to traditional, custom and semi-custom single-family homes.
“Buyers recognize that Wellen Park is more than a new home; it’s a lifestyle filled with boundless opportunities to connect to nature, neighbors and enjoy a sense of community,” Severance said. “We host year-round community and cultural events like art shows, concerts and farmers markets, weekly exercise classes and biking, running and walking clubs. It’s easy to be involved and to be well.”
Downtown Wellen, the community’s downtown core centered around an 80-acre manmade lake attracts visitors from around the region.
The developer recently started an expansion of commercial offerings in Downtown Wellen, while Healthcare Corporation of America Florida Englewood Hospital is currently building a free-standing emergency room within the development.
Sarasota Memorial Health Care System plans a free-standing emergency room in the community as well.
Millennium Physician Group opened a new 13,000-square-foot location in Wellen Park late last year.
Prodigy Early Learning, a preschool for 200 children, recently opened, and Primrose School, which provides early learning for infants through kindergarteners, is working towards an opening in the first quarter of 2025.
The Sarasota County Public School District plans both a new high school and K-8 school. The State College of Florida Collegiate School-Venice in Wellen Park, is a free public charter school offering a high school dual enrollment program where students earn a high school diploma while also earning an associate in arts degree from State College of Florida.
Wellen Park is currently home to about 10,000 residents. When completed, more than 50,000 people will occupy roughly 22,500 homes there.
The city of North Port is experiencing a growth in population and popularity. Last March, it was ranked No. 21 on Southern Living Magazine’s list of The South’s Best Cities on the Rise for 2024.…Read more by Earle Kimel