D.R. Horton is planning a subdivision of up to 894 lots off Burnt Store Road in southwestern Charlotte County.  

Coral Creek will be a mixture of single-family homes, townhomes and twin villas, said Justin Robbins, division president of D.R. Horton.  

“I’m a big fan of Charlotte County,” Robbins said. “Have been since I’ve been down here, because of the affordability.”  

In Collier County, Robbins said his company spends about $45,000 per lot before ever even putting a shovel into the ground to build. “It’s a little less than half that,” Robbins said of the infrastructure costs in Charlotte County.  

Randy Thibaut, William Rollins and Justin Thibaut of LSI Companies brokered the 306.3 acres on July 1 in Punta Gorda for $19.5 million.  

CC Burnt Store LLC made the purchase with the address of 13000 Burnt Store Road.  

In this case, Randy Thibaut was a part owner before selling to the D.R. Horton-affiliated company.  

“We started investing in the Burnt Store Road corridor in 2008,” Thibaut said. “Bonita Bay had stopped all of their efforts there. Originally, they were kind of the catalyst of trying to bring things together. They were the pioneer out here on Burnt Store Road. Then they retracted and started pulling back.   

“We acquired part of their land and other parcels. We invested for long term. The market turned better after a number of years.”  

The widening of Burnt Store Road in Charlotte County also helped lead to this deal, Thibaut said. “Charlotte County did an outstanding job preparing that road for expansion for hurricane relief,” he said.  

Preparing the lots for construction should begin in November, Robbins said, with vertical construction planned for late 2023. But those plans could change.  

“It kind of depends on what happens with the housing market,” Robbins said. “Everybody is being cautiously optimistic, but also being a little more guarded. It’s going to have an impact. We’ll see how it goes for the next 120 to 180 days.”