West Villages is now Wellen Park

By Ilene Denton

The fast-growing master-planned community in south Sarasota County rebrands with a new name and more future development.

Wellen Park is the new name for the fast-growing master-planned community in south Sarasota County previously known as West Villages.

Developer Mattamy Homes says the rebranding encompasses both the existing West Villages and 7,000 acres of nearby undeveloped land slated for future development.

West Villages is now a district within Wellen Park, as are two new districts: Playmore, which encompasses CoolToday Park, spring training home of the Atlanta Braves; and Downtown Wellen, an adjacent shopping and entertainment district under construction and scheduled for completion in early 2022. Downtown Wellen’s 175 lakefront acres will include waterfront dining, a town hall, children’s playground and splash pad, food truck kiosk area and an outfitter who will rent e-bikes, paddle boards and kayaks. A future apartment complex and assisted living facility are also planned there.

A Mattamy spokesperson says the name Wellen means both “waves” in German and “wellness” in Dutch. “Wellen Park is a next-generation community that is designed to deliver an approachable, fun-loving experience focused on living well at every stage of life,” she says.

Currently, 7,500 people reside in nine large-scale developments within Wellen Park: Grand Palm, Gran Paradiso, Island Walk, Sarasota National, Boca Royale, The Preserve, Renaissance, Oasis and Tortuga. Active home builders are D.R. Horton, DiVosta, Lennar, Mattamy Homes, M/I Homes, Neal Communities, Sam Rodgers and WCI. It is the fourth fastest-selling master-planned community in the U.S., with an average 1,300 sales per year.

In the new Playmore district, just starting to get underway, these builders are commencing work: Neal Communities, Sam Rodgers, Lennar, Toll Brothers and Mattamy Homes.

At build-out, Wellen Park will be home to more than 60,000 people in 22,000 residences.