Crosland Inc. to develop TOD near Tampa

Crosland Inc. signed an agreement to develop two neighborhoods totaling 600 houses in Longleaf, a traditional neighborhood development (TND) north of Tampa, Florida. The move should speed the pace of development in Longleaf, which has relied on local builders, says Frank Starkey, a town founder who also serves as the town architect. Crosland, one of the developers of Birkdale Village, a TND in Huntersville, North Carolina, will bring in national builders, Starkey says. Perry Reader, a former president of the Celebration Co., heads Crosland’s Florida office. Longleaf’s existing architecture and urban codes will apply to the areas that Crosland develops. “They will probably improve the TND aspects compared to what we were doing,” says Starkey. The Longleaf Development Company, which launched the project and signed the agreement with Crosland, will continue to develop the downtown and workplace districts, Starkey says, in addition to about 40 “country” lots, which range from a half to three-quarters of an acre in a wooded setting. The first two neighborhoods, with 314 single-family houses, are mostly complete. Two hundred twenty houses are occupied, about 40 are under construction, and most of the rest of the lots are sold to builders. A town center is under development, with a general store, coffee house/restaurant, cigar bar, hair salon, and a jewelry store. Residents run all but one of the businesses. A 26,000 sq. ft. office building also is occupied. Longleaf is scaling down its plans for commercial, Starkey says. Entitlements allow 150,000 square feet, but Longleaf will probably end up with 84,000 square feet plus some live-work units in the town center and small village centers. Some of the unused commercial square footage may be converted to increase density in the town and village centers, Starkey says.