Homebuilder K. Hovnanian got the official go-ahead to build a residential development on the Burt Reynolds Jupiter Farm Ranch. About 40 percent of the 153-acre site will be the new place for construction of 30 single-family homes and that was approved by Palm Beach County commissioners last week. The rest of the property will reportedly be used for equestrian purposes and for other related community functions.
The Jupiter Farms ranch was the place where actor Burt Reynolds shot movie scenes and tied the knot with Loni Anderson.
Reynolds owned the ranch for several decades. He purchased the home with Anderson and took a 25-year mortgage for the property. Due to financial reasons (part of his bankruptcy woes was due to the messy and expensive divorce he had with Anderson )he stopped paying the mortgage in 2010. Merrill Lynch, his creditor, filed a lawsuit against the actor in 2011 and he has been trying to sell the home before they foreclose on him. In 1999, the Palm Beach County School District purchased the land from the popular actor for $3.9 million. It is selling the site to K. Hovnanian for $5 million.
