KEB, the largest landowners on Toledo Blade Boulevard, recently sold the remaining 200 of their 800 units to Medallion Homes in Sarasota, according to Kent Arnold, president and principal owner of KEB.

It was the last of the KEB-owned units at Bobcat Villas at Bobcat Trail Golf and Country Club.

"We sold the units to a very fine developer, Medallion Homes," Arnold said. "We have been selling lots all along since 1997. Now we are working on our Panacea and Lakeside Plantation phase two developments."

Arnold said Medallion is likely to follow the existing home patterns.

"The four contractors already building homes in Bobcat would have bought up these lots in the next 36 months, but we decided to sell them to one builder in bulk," he said. "We expedited our involvement in Bobcat."

KEB also sold land for approximately $300,000 outside Bobcat Trail to developers currently in the permitting stage for a Hess service center. A Mobil station is also slated a little farther down the road toward Interstate 75, Arnold said.

Permitting has also been approved by the City Commission for a 10-story hotel along I-75 on previously owned KEB property.

On Sept. 15, the Sarasota County School Board purchased 178 acres inside Panacea for $2.68 million from KEB for a future high school, middle school and a third elementary school. KEB donated an additional 37 acres to the School Board.

Panacea is a 2,300-acre development, which includes land for houses as well as 2 million square feet of commercial development, park land and water plant.

"I think bringing new schools within the next five years to this corridor is a huge boost for the growing population," Arnold said. "We have been approached by community colleges, ACLFs, national developers in the top U.S. companies and other major companies to purchase parcels of land in the 1,000 acres -- or what we consider the heart of Panacea. We have a lot on our plate. That's one reason why the bulk sales work well for us. We are not the builder, we are a developer."

Arnold said he is pleased that, with the help of Arnold and Arnold developers (not related to him), the Toledo Blade corridor has generated $150 million in developments, including an industrial park for light industry, Riley Chase for affordable housing and Lakeside Plantation for luxury homes in the $200,000 price range.

The sale of their land will not impact KEB's agreement with the city of North Port to four-lane Toledo Blade Boulevard in the future, Arnold said.

"We have duly signed development orders," said Sam Jones, Community Development director. "The planning our department does is for the land and not the land owner. It doesn't matter if we are working with Kent Arnold or someone else. We treat developers consistently."

You can e-mail Elaine Allen-Emrich at eallen@sun-herald.com.