SeaFlower construction timeline: Garden Club, Publix, Village Center, apartments, hotel and Phase Two

Buyers in a first phase are buying a plan as much as a place, so here is the plan with dates as the developer, its partners and the press have published them. I update this page when a milestone changes.

What is built

• The Welcome Center at 4505 Flower Fields Trail, a Cardel-built home with an 800-square-foot ADU, opened fall 2025.
• Models from all five builders; the last showcase homes (Issa and M/I) opened March 7, 2026.
• 400 finished lots in Phases N1 and 1B, with the first residents moved in since September 2025.
• The 2.5-mile Lake Flores Trail sections around the first neighborhoods, lakes, pocket parks and streetlights (maintained by the CDD).

Under construction

• The Garden Club: broke ground July 9, 2025; scheduled to open fall 2026.
• The Village Center: broke ground September 2025; retail, dining and office completion targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026, with Publix and Publix Liquors slated for fall 2026. Dutch Bros has filed for its drive-thru on Cortez Road.
• Phase 1C: 384 lots under development through 2026, financed by the $20.9 million Series 2026 bonds issued February 24, 2026.
• Apartments: 332 to 362 units in the Village Center by NDC Development (sources differ on the count); delivery date not published.

Promised, not yet dated

• The 120-room hotel in the Village Center; brand and start date unpublished.
• Phase Two, expected to begin around 2027 depending on market conditions, as the second of three roughly 400-acre phases.
• Amenities for later phases; none are on a published plan yet.
• Full buildout: about 4,000 homes, 600 apartments, 250 hotel rooms and 350,000 square feet of commercial space.

The dated timeline

1. 2015Manatee County approves the Lake Flores plan, including ADU zoning on every single-family lot.
2. Jan 2022Lake Flores Community Development District created (Ordinance 22-04).
3. May 2024Plans unveiled under the SeaFlower name; Publix announced as the first Village Center tenant in September 2024.
4. Jan 28, 2025Preview Center opens at 8114 Cortez Road West.
5. Mar 2025Builder plans and prices released; home sales begin in May 2025.
6. Jul 9, 2025The Garden Club amenity center breaks ground.
7. Sep 2025First residents move in; Village Center (CASTO and Redstone) breaks ground.
8. Late Oct 2025Official grand opening; more than 138 homes sold by December.
9. Feb 24, 2026CDD issues $20,885,000 Series 2026 bonds for Phase 1C.
10. Mar 7, 2026Public model grand opening for new Issa Homes and M/I Homes showcase homes; 200+ homes sold in the first year.
11. Apr 10, 2026784 of 1,063 Phase One homesites released; 384 more lots under development through 2026.
12. Jul 30, 2026RCLCO ranks SeaFlower tied for 51st best-selling master-planned community in the U.S. with 198 contracts in the first half of 2026.
13. Fall 2026The Garden Club and Publix scheduled to open; Village Center completion targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026.
14. About 2027Phase Two expected to begin, timing dependent on market conditions.

Sources: seaflower.com news posts (2024–2026); CASTO and Redstone releases (Sep 2025); Lake Flores CDD agendas and budgets (2026); Business Observer (Oct 31, 2025); Pulse of Manatee (Nov 3, 2025); Bradenton Magazine (Apr and Jun 2026).