The Palmer Ranch community in Sarasota County encompasses 9,000 acres in the developed portion west of Interstate 75, and more than 14,000 housing units.
It is one of the largest and best-known developments in the region, and well-established after nearly four decades in existence. It attracts national builders such as DiVosta, Pulte and Lennar.
Palmer Ranch developer Hugh Culverhouse estimates that around 30,000 people are living there, if you assume 2.2 people for every dwelling unit. The majority of residents probably are over age 65 and would qualify for the COVID-19 vaccine, he said.
But when Gov. Ron DeSantis looked to establish pop-up vaccine clinics at developments in Southwest Florida, Palmer Ranch didn’t make the list.
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Hello and welcome to Thursday.
The daily rundown Between Tuesday and Wednesday, the number of Florida coronavirus cases increased by 7,128 (nearly 0.4 percent), to 1,885,661; active hospitalizations went down by 121 (nearly 2.9 percent), to 4,077; deaths of Florida residents rose by 127 (0.4 percent), to 30,340; 2,792,118 Floridians have at least one dose of the vaccine.
Residents of the upscale Grand Palm community in Venice, where one home currently is listed for sale at $855,000, have access to a resort-style swimming pool with a water slide, miles of hiking and biking trails, a children’s splash pad and basketball, tennis, bocce ball and volleyball courts.
Grand Palm property owners and family members also were offered special access to the COVID-19 vaccine through a pop-up clinic in Charlotte County organized by Grand Palm developer Neal Communities, according to emails obtained by the Herald-Tribune.
Grand Palm’s inclusion in the clinic has not been previously disclosed. The community was not mentioned in a statement provided to the Herald-Tribune by Neal Communities Tuesday that listed six communities offered the vaccine through the clinic, including the Boca Royale Golf & Country Club development in Englewood where some homes are worth more than $1 million.
Another Wealthy Florida Community Reportedly Offered Priority Access To Covid Vaccine As DeSantis Calls Criticism 'A Joke' forbes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from forbes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.