Isles of Athena Project in North Port-Now it is Officially Dead

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This huge project produced a lot of speculative buying on the east side of North Port. It was supposed to have an I-75 interchange that would have made the area more attractive.

"NORTH PORT - One of Sarasota County's largest and most controversial boom-time housing projects is officially dead after the developer stopped fighting a foreclosure action against the 5,800-acre property, putting the land up for grabs.

"West Palm Beach developer Brian Tuttle made a big splash in 2005 when he paid $61.5 million for the 5,800 acres east of Interstate 75. The land was annexed by North Port in 2000.


"Now the Isles of Athena parcel once slated for 13,000 homes will go up for auction today, with the lender likely taking back control and Sarasota County leaders anxious to restart talks about preserving the land, despite a limited budget for conservation purchases.

"County Commissioner Jon Thaxton described the parcel Friday as the "most significant environmentally sensitive property in the county under unified ownership."