A history full of dedication to our community
While we celebrate everyday milestones and cherish our hard-working team of professionals, we also honor our roots. Our rich history starts with Pat Neal, and the legacy he and his family have formed over five decades of community involvement, home building experience and devotion to perfecting his craft.
Here are some highlights of our incredible journey:
- 1970 – Our First Community
- 1982 – 14 Communities and Growing, Pat Neal Serves the Florida Senate
- 1990 – Began Development on University Park, Pat Neal appointed to the Florida Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors
- 1998 – 30 Year Anniversary, Annual My Favorite Home Contest Launches
- 2002 – 6,000 Homes Built, Opened University Place and Woodlands Park, Moved Headquarters to Lakewood Ranch, Pat Neal was named Influential Floridian
- 2005 – Waterscapes Pools & Spas Opened, Design Center Opens, Central Park Breaks Ground
- 2010 – 40 Year Anniversary, 8,000 Homes Built, Grand Palm Breaks Ground in Venice, Charlene Neal Pure-Style Opened
- 2012 – Neal Communities Named America’s Best Builder, Grand Palm Opens
- 2013 – 9,000 Homes Built, Our Busiest Year on Record, Expanded into Fort Myers/Naples
- 2015 – 10,000 Homes Built, Named National Builder of the Year
- 2017 – Pat and Charlene Neal gifts $1M donation to Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County, funding the Flex Sport Field at the DeSoto Club campus, and supporting after school and summer programs for children.
- 2018 – Neal Communities breaks sales records again. We ended 2017 with 1,177 homes sold in communities spanning Hillsborough to Collier Counties.
- 2019 – Neal Communities announces the Grand Opening of 6 new communities.
- 2020 – Celebrating our 50th Anniversary, Neal Communities breaks record sales with 1,269 homes.
- 2023 – Neal Communities celebrates selling over 20,000 homes.
1970 – The founders of Neal Communities launched their first Florida project at Whitney Beach, where home sales started at $23,900.
1982 – We had 14 communities underway in 1982. Pat Neal earned the award for Meritorious Public Service as Most Effective in Committee while serving in the Florida Senate, and earned the Florida Audubon Society and Sierra Club Legislative awards. Our 3,000th home was also built that year at the Perico Bay Club – and sold for $59,500.
1990 – Neal Communities began a development on a 1,200-home master-planned community in University Park. The community has since earned several prestigious awards including Best Design in America, Best Community in in the Southeast and Best Development in the region. That was also the year that Pat Neal was appointed to the Florida Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.
1998 – Neal Communities launched our annual My Favorite Home Contest, working with local elementary schools to showcase student artwork. This was the year that we also ventured into a new community called Lakewood Ranch, building homes at The Lakewood Ranch Country Club. 2000 – We celebrated our 30th anniversary.
2002 – Neal Communities opened University Place and Woodlands Park and moved our headquarters to Lakewood Ranch. We also broke ground on our 6,000th home. Pat Neal was named the Most Influential Floridian and Pat’s oldest son John Neal joined Neal Communities.
2005 – This year saw us open more neighborhoods, unveil our beautiful Design Gallery and build our 7,000th home. Pat Neal was named Humanitarian of the Year, and we broke ground on Central Park at Lakewood Ranch. Waterscapes Pools & Spas opened with a splash, and Charlene Neal designed her 60th Model Home.
2010 – This year marked our 40th anniversary. We expanded into Venice, where we broke ground on our largest community to date at Grand Palm. This was the first project approved under the stringent requirements of the Sarasota County 2050 Plan. Neal Communities built our 8,000th home and Charlene Neal Pure-Style opened.
2012 – Builder Magazine named Neal Communities America’s Best Builder and our 1,999-home master-planned community in Venice, Grand Palm opened.
2013 – Our busiest year on record. We expanded into the Fort Myers/Naples area with more homes sold than ever before and completed our 9,000th home.
2015 – Neal built our 10,000th home and was honored to receive the Professional Builder Magazine National Builder of the Year.
2017 – Pat and Charlene Neal gifts $1M donation to Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County.
2018 – 1,177 Homes Sold! Neal Communities breaks sales records again.
2019 – 6 new communities to open.
2020 – Celebrating our 50th Anniversary, Neal Communities breaks record sales with 1,269 homes.
2023 – Neal Communities celebrates selling over 20,000 homes.
2024 – Neal Communities ranks among Inc.5000’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America.
We are grateful for the many successes we’ve enjoyed over the past 50 years as premier homebuilders in Southwest Florida. Those of us privileged to be part of the Neal Communities team are proud of the quality of the homes and communities we create and deeply satisfied to partner with each homebuyer we serve to build the home of their dreams.
