Neal to build in Lee, Collier

Pat Neal hasn't built homes outside of the Manatee-Sarasota region since the early 1980s. Back then, his firm worked on a development project in Panama City.

But the veteran builder, one of the most prolific on the Gulf Coast over the last five years, is now ready to grow geographically in a more concrete way. The move will be to Lee and Collier counties, which, like the Manatee-Sarasota region, was battered by the housing bust.

“Most times after a challenge are times of enormous opportunity,” says Neal, president of Lakewood Ranch-based Neal Communities. “This is one of those times.”