A deed-restricted lake community in Punta Gorda, and where Cloud Design Build is building now - presale homes, build-on-your-lot, and design-build under one roof.
The community
Burnt Store Lakes sits on the Charlotte County side of Burnt Store Road, south of downtown Punta Gorda and just north of Burnt Store Marina. It is deed restricted, platted around a chain of six freshwater lakes, and it still has a real supply of vacant homesites - which is why most of what goes up here is new construction rather than resale.
The lots are generous by Southwest Florida standards. Most are a quarter acre or better, and that changes what you can do with a floor plan. A three-car garage, a wider footprint, and a lanai deep enough to be worth screening all fit on a typical lot here without fighting the setbacks.
The lakes are freshwater, so there is no lift and no direct Gulf access from them. The people who build here are usually the ones who want the water view and the quiet, and who reach open water another way - the community park has a kayak launch onto Alligator Creek, which runs out to Charlotte Harbor, and Burnt Store Marina is a few minutes down the road for deep-water dockage.
What it costs, how permitting works, and which flood zone your lot falls in: the Punta Gorda building guide.
The community plat
The plat runs from Burnt Store Road on the east out to the Charlotte Harbor preserve on the west, with Vincent Avenue closing the south end.
Six named freshwater lakes sit at the center of it, along with the community park. Which lake a homesite sits on shapes the view, the orientation, and how the home is best laid out - a west-facing lot puts the sunset over the water behind your lanai, an east-facing one puts it over your roof.
The lots
Lots inside one deed-restricted community look interchangeable on a listing map. They are not. These are the three differences that change what you can build and what it costs.
Most Burnt Store Lakes homesites run a quarter acre or better, wider than the typical Southwest Florida infill lot. That extra width is what lets a three-car garage and a deep covered lanai sit on the same plan without crowding the setbacks.
The six lakes are freshwater. There is no dock, no lift, and no Gulf access from them. Confirm which lake a parcel fronts and which way it faces before you commit to a plan - the view is the reason to pay for the lot, and the orientation decides whether you get the sunset.
Several sections sit low enough that the finished floor has to come up. That is a survey-stage decision, not something to discover after the plans are drawn - it drives fill, driveway slope, and the flood insurance number for the life of the home.
Send us an address or a parcel number and we will tell you what we find on all three, whether or not you end up building with us.
Deed restrictions
Burnt Store Lakes is deed restricted through its property owners association, and the restrictions are real rather than decorative. Three of them shape the project before anything gets drawn.
Plans go to the association for architectural review before they go to Charlotte County for a building permit. That makes approval a scheduled item at the front of the project rather than a formality at the end. It is the same sequencing as South Gulf Cove over in Port Charlotte: association first, county second.
The recorded restrictions set a minimum living area and govern roof material, so a plan that would be fine on an unrestricted lot elsewhere in Charlotte County may not be permitted here. Confirm the current figures with the association before you settle on a floor plan - they are recorded, and they are enforced.
Setbacks get checked against the plat, and lots backing onto a lake carry additional expectations for what can go between the house and the water. Worth reading against your specific parcel rather than the community summary.
We handle the association submittal and the county permit as part of the build. If you already own a lot here and want to know what your restrictions actually allow, send us the address.
Available to build
PALMA Collection
PALMA brings the design and craftsmanship of our larger models into a more streamlined 2,285 square foot layout. Four bedrooms, one of which works as a home office or flex room, arranged around an open great room, kitchen, and dining that read as a single space.
Soaring ceilings, oversized wood-look tile, 8-foot interior doors, and a chef's kitchen with an oversized island. The covered lanai runs the width of the great room and includes a built-in outdoor kitchen, which is where most of the year actually gets spent here. Future builds may be available on water-view lots with west-facing exposure.
It is built the way everything we put up on this coast is built: a commercial-grade aluminum metal roof, PGT impact-rated windows and doors, and smart home wiring for lighting, climate, and security. Interior selections are personalized with our team rather than picked off a sheet.
The floor plan
The great room, kitchen, and dining run together across the middle of the plan, with the covered lanai spanning the back of the house behind them.
The primary suite sits alone on one side with two walk-in closets and a split bath. The secondary suite, bedroom three, and the bedroom four/den sit on the other, which keeps guests and everyday living apart. The three-car garage comes in past a bar and straight into the kitchen, so groceries do not cross the great room.
On a quarter-acre Burnt Store Lakes lot this footprint leaves real yard on three sides. It can be mirrored or adjusted to suit which lake your homesite faces.
Why Cloud Design Build
James J. Cloud built Cloud Design Build on a credential stack most builders can't match - and it's the same eye that inspects other builders' work, applied to every home he builds here.
Learn more
James put together a complete guide to building a home in Punta Gorda - covering cost, permitting, flood zones, hurricane codes, and what to expect if you're moving from out of state.
Questions
Start a conversation
Whether you're ready to build the PALMA, already hold a homesite here, or are still deciding which lake to face, you'll work directly with the people who actually do the work.