Builder: Impact fee hike will add $18K to buying Manatee County home

At 76, longtime prolific homebuilder Pat Neal still has the energy to speak long at a Manatee County Commission meeting one day and spend his time the next day promoting the June 27 grand opening of his Palm Grove Discovery Center in northeast Manatee. 

He certainly doesn't have to do it, because according to Forbes, Neal is worth over $1 billion. His firm, Lakewood Ranch-based Neal Communities, handled $787.7 million in revenue in 2024. So it would be easy to have someone else handle such responsibilities.