Roofer in West Villages, FL

The land originally was part of unincorporated Sarasota County, initially used for ranching and agriculture in the 1930s, becoming known as Taylor Ranch. The property was sold in 2002 and became Thomas Ranch. In 2002, approximately 8,000 acres (3,200 ha) of Thomas Ranch was annexed by the city of North Port, as per a request from the landowners at the time. Following this annexation, the land was sold to developers, who planned on creating a large-scale master-planned community similar to other communities within Southwest Florida such as Lakewood Ranch and Babcock Ranch. The developers broke ground in the mid-2000s among a housing boom, however the Great Recession halted further development until the mid-2010s.

In May 2014, a partnership, including Mattamy Homes and Vanguard Land and other developers, invested about $100 million to purchase approximately 9,600 acres (3,900 ha) that represented the remainder of the former Berry and Taylor family ranch, rebranding the community as the West Villages. The community was to include several new neighborhoods, and a shopping center. Over the next 6 years, construction boomed with the addition of multiple new neighborhoods, a shopping center, and necessary infrastructure.

In April 2020, the master-planned community was renamed Wellen Park. The new name is meant to serve as a cohesive branding for communities to be built in the future, as over 7,000 acres (2,800 ha) of land is still undeveloped. The community will be geographically organized into Districts, with current districts including the West Villages, Downtown Wellen, and Playmore.