Bob Fliss

Charlotte Sun 

It looks like DeSoto County is going to be getting its own miniature Babcock Ranch.

That is, miniature by Babcock standards, mammoth by almost any other.

I'm still trying to reach the deal makers at Cleveland-based Cameratta Properties L.P. and its new joint venture partner, The Carlyle Group. The partnership was announced Monday. While I hope to have more in a few days, here's the latest.

Cameratta has been scoping out 5,700 acres south of Arcadia, along a two-mile frontage of State Road 31, known locally as the Carlton 2 x 4 Ranch.

The development plan now calls for basically planting a new town on the site -- about 10,000 dwellings, retail space, offices, a town center, government offices, athletic fields, walking trails, the obligatory golf course, and generally everything folks need to live.

Carlyle is a Washington, D.C.-based private equity fund that manages about $71 billion in assets. It invests in real estate, buyouts and venture capital in North America, Europe and Asia.

You may not know Cameratta by name. But if you've visited Fort Myers lately, you probably have seen the developer's flair for big projects.

High Point Place has become an instant Fort Myers landmark, five high-rise condo towers along the Caloosahatchee River. You can't possibly miss it as you cross the U.S. 41 bridge from North Fort Myers. The tallest tower tops out at 32 floors and 361 feet -- claiming bragging rights as the tallest Florida building south of Tampa and west of Miami.

Carlyle was also Cameratta's partner in High Point Place.

Also in the pipeline for Fort Myers is First Street Village. Directly across from the towers, this is a mixed-use project constructed along "new urbanist" principles -- basically, a property you can walk or bike to. Regency Centers is Cameratta's partner in the deal, which will be anchored by what's become a rarity in this age of suburban sprawl -- a new downtown supermarket, Publix no less.

Most of Cameratta's other deals are in Ohio, where the firm has built everything from golf course communities to neighborhood ice cream parlors.