Starkey Ranch is located on land that had been used since the 1920s for cattle, citrus, and timber. In the late 1980s, much of the land was donated by the Starkey family to be designated as a wilderness preserve. The remaining land was available for development, and it became the family and design team’s goal to ensure the ranch didn’t result in conventional sprawl. Dix.Hite spearheaded a vision for the newly developing community that provides stewardship of the land and pays homage to the land’s history. Named in 2016 by the National Association of Home Builders as one of the country’s top six master-planned communities, Starkey Ranch includes single-family and multi-family residential and a 90-acre district park with sports fields, as well as a mixed-use town square, a business park, and a K-8 school. Starkey Ranch provides residents and visitors 800 acres of parks and open space and more than 20 miles of trails that connect the community to the adjacent Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Preserve.