Timberlane RV Park seeks expansion

With 25 lots already in use, the owner of an RV park on Timber Oak Lane, just off State Road 64, has applied to Manatee County to develop 56 more lots.

The Simone family, parents Steve and Debbie and daughter Lisa, purchased the 13-acre property in October 2014 for $1.3 million. Since then, they’ve been opening the park by phases.

The former property owner planned to open an RV Park on Timber Oak Lane, but never did. The Simone family started the park from scratch, installing the infrastructure and opening it in January.

A clubhouse and pool are under construction. The park has 24 more lots that will open in conjunction with the clubhouse after the first of the year, and the Simones will spend the spring and summer developing its 56-lot addition.

The Simones said demand is there to support the expansion.

“It’s a niche,” said Lisa Simone, the owner and manager.

Steve Simone said the RV park draws a "mixed bag" of occupants. Some people need a place while visiting family in the Lakewood Ranch area. Some just pass through. They also get Manatee County residents who just want a couple days away from their normal routine.

Other customers include management workers assigned to the I-75 construction projects who want to stay close without spending months in a hotel.

Steve Simone said those using the part have been outgoing. “They sit outside, they talk to neighbors," he said. "They’re more social.”

Pending approval from the county, the Simone family will construct the additional RV spaces and add the electrical and sewage infrastructure in 2016. The additions will bring the total number of spaces up to 105.

On average, the lot sizes are 32 feet wide and 63 feet long. Each site has either a 30-amp plug in or a 50-amp power plug-in, which supports larger rigs. The Simones are preserving as many trees as they can to preserve the “old Florida” feel of the property on which they also live.

“This is our back yard—it’s a quiet, clean little park,” Steve Simone said.