Charlotte County commissioners on June 10 approved final resolutions that will allow two national homebuilders to move forward with plans to construct hundreds of new homes on more than 100 acres just outside the Punta Gorda city limits.

One of the projects, Starling Phase 2, is located at 14100 Burnt Store Road, an area identified as one of the county’s key growth corridors alongside South Punta Gorda and the West Port area in northwest Charlotte County. Homebuilder Taylor Morrison plans to construct 131 single-family homes on 21.37 acres of a 47.96-acre parcel. The board also approved a separate off-site utilities agreement between the county and Taylor Morrison for nearby Starling Phase 1.

Residents living along the Burnt Store corridor have repeatedly voiced concerns about a lack of basic services in the area, which stretches from U.S. 41 in Punta Gorda south to Pineland Road in Lee County. At recent meetings, some said they must drive as far as 8 miles for everyday needs, such as fuel, groceries or haircuts. Currently, a Dollar General is the only retail store offering groceries nearby.

Another large-scale project, Lennar Homes’ Willow Phase 2, also received final approval at the same meeting. That development will bring 281 single-family homes to 77.96 acres at 11257 Cloverly Lane, near Tuckers Grade and U.S. 41, south of Punta Gorda.

Commissioners approved both developments without discussion as part of the meeting’s unanimous consent agenda.

Decades ago, most of the county in and around Port Charlotte and North Port was largely platted for single-family lots. In more recent years, large developers arrived and bought up acreage, then applied for planned developments that were granted.

In 2024, Charlotte County’s population was 212,122, a significant increase from the 2020 Census with a recorded population of 186,847.