Building Communities, Not Just Homes: Misha Ezratti's Approach to Neighborhood Design

At GL Homes, community design starts long before the first home is built. Under the leadership of President Misha Ezratti, the company approaches every new development with a focus on how residents will actually live, work and connect within it, treating amenities, green space and connectivity as core parts of the plan rather than afterthoughts. That community-first philosophy, shaped by Misha Ezratti, has become a defining feature of GL Homes communities across Florida.

That philosophy begins with what GL Homes calls smart planning, a neighborhood design process that starts long before construction with a careful study of each site's history, geography and natural environment. Rather than approaching every parcel the same way, Misha Ezratti has guided GL Homes communities to tailor their design to each property.

At Riverland in Port St. Lucie, one of GL Homes' master-planned communities in Florida, that approach shaped a 4,000-acre development featuring more than 300 acres of preserved natural habitats and more than 5 miles of eco-friendly greenways, designed exclusively for pedestrian, bicycle and golf cart passage so residents can move through the community without needing a car.

Riverland has been recognized as one of the Top 50 Master-Planned Communities in the USA by John Burns Research and Consulting, a distinction that reflects the neighborhood design principles Misha Ezratti has applied across GL Homes' portfolio.

That same care extends to the public good beyond each community's boundaries. GL Homes has donated land for civic uses such as parks, schools and the Canyon Branch Library in Palm Beach County, contributed design, resources and funding toward regional roadway improvements, and invested in workforce and affordable housing that has brought more than 145 homes to life.

According to GL Homes, these public-private partnerships are a core pillar of its approach to neighborhood design, supporting both quality of life for residents and broader regional growth, an approach that has helped GL Homes become a name trusted by more than 100,000 residents across its master-planned communities in Florida.

That same design philosophy extends to how Misha Ezratti and GL Homes think about recreation and community giving beyond its own developments. Since 2017, the company's Passion for Playgrounds initiative has built and funded playgrounds and recreation areas for children across Florida, treating outdoor play space as an extension of its broader belief that green space and gathering areas strengthen a community.

In 2025, GL Homes donated money and resources to build a new playground at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Lee County Park Meadows Club in Fort Myers through Passion for Playgrounds, complete with a large shade structure, soccer goals and bleachers, along with a professional-quality play structure with slides and climbers. It marked the second playground GL Homes has built for a Boys & Girls Club, following a 2020 project for the Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County in Port St. Lucie.

Passion for Playgrounds has also delivered new play spaces to organizations including Place of Hope, which has received playgrounds at both its Palm Beach Gardens and Boca Raton campuses, and In the Pines, a nonprofit serving low-income families. Each project reflects the same principle that shapes GL Homes communities: that recreational space is not a finishing touch, but a meaningful part of neighborhood design.

Day to day, that planning translates into GL Homes communities built around wellness, social connection and resort-style living. At Valencia Ridge in Wesley Chapel, a 29,000-square-foot clubhouse will serve as the neighborhood's social core, giving residents access to a full-service restaurant, indoor and outdoor bars, a sports lounge, resort-style pools, a fitness center, massage rooms, tennis courts and lighted pickleball courts, all without leaving the community.

Across GL Homes' Valencia communities in Florida, calendars filled with card games, art classes, themed parties, fitness groups and live entertainment give residents regular opportunities to connect with neighbors rather than simply share a neighborhood.

That connectivity extends to how GL Homes designs amenities as the center of daily life. At APEX at Avenir in Palm Beach Gardens, the Great Egret Clubhouse anchors the community with resort-style spaces for residents to relax, socialize and stay active, giving families access to the neighborhood's amenities right in their backyard.

The community's design also connects residents to the surrounding area, with three golf courses, shopping and dining, and healthcare within a short distance, reflecting a broader approach to neighborhood design that considers not just what's inside a community's gates, but how it fits into the region around it.

For prospective buyers who want to experience a GL Homes lifestyle before committing to it, the company's Stay and Play program offers a three-day, two-night stay in a furnished model home at select communities for $99, with full access to amenities and tours along the way.

For Misha Ezratti, that focus on neighborhood design reflects a broader leadership approach: staying closely involved in how a project comes together, from the initial land strategy through the amenities and finishes that shape everyday life for residents.

Rather than treating design as a checklist, Misha Ezratti has emphasized identifying land early in a region's growth cycle and planning with a long-term view, an approach that has guided GL Homes communities' expansion across Florida while maintaining the same emphasis on neighborhood design that has defined the company for decades.

That consistency matters to Misha Ezratti as GL Homes continues to grow. As president, he has worked to ensure that each of GL Homes' master-planned communities in Florida, regardless of size or market, reflects the same standards of planning, amenities and giving back that residents have come to expect.

For Misha Ezratti, building communities, not just homes, means treating every decision, from a preserved wildlife corridor to a neighborhood clubhouse, as part of the same long-term commitment to the people who will call it home.