Lakewood Ranch has a new 'player'

Excerpt from the Sarasota Herald Tribune

By STEPHEN FRATER
stephen.frater@heraldtribune.com

LAKEWOOD RANCH -- Hannah Bartoletta Homes, a Tampa-based custom builder, is building its first model home in Lakewood Ranch in the Country Club's La Cantera neighborhood.Lakewood Ranch is the 8,500-acre master-planned community in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

The company joins other custom builders, John Cannon Homes, Lee Wetherington Homes and Arthur Rutenberg Homes, at Lakewood Ranch.

Hannah Bartoletta Homes, founded in 1988, has built homes in as many as 70 upscale Hillsborough communities such as Avila, Tampa Palms, MiraBay and FishHawk Ranch."

Lakewood Ranch is an ideal fit for us and for the high standards we have for home building," said co-founder Charley Hannah. "

We focus on truly customizing each home to the buyer's exact needs and wants. It's a formula that works well, and we are very enthusiastic about bringing our product to Lakewood Ranch."

Asked why -- in the teeth of a severe housing downturn -- the company decided to invest in Lakewood Ranch, Hannah said it was because of the quality of the community and the fact that he knows "now for certain that we have hit the bottom of the housing slump."

read the rest of the article here