Burt Reynolds, the "Smokey and the Bandit" actor's Jupiter farm Ranch in Palm Beach, Fla., will now be converted into a residential development that will host about 30 large independent homes.
The Palm Beach County Planning Commission had initially given a go-ahead to builder K. Hovnanian to construct about 15 houses on just a portion of the 153-acre site. However, the commission has now approved a 30-home building proposal, allowing Hovnanian to build on 40 percent of the large plot, reports the Sun Sentinel.
The rest of the property will reportedly be used for equestrian purposes and for other related community functions.
The approval comes after much opposition from people who claimed that the development would disrupt the rural culture of Jupiter Farms. However, a clause that returns the plot to its "former land-use" if Hovnanian fails to develop the property, won over the dissidents, reports Palm Beach Post.
Hovnanian purchased the property from the Palm Beach County School District in April 2013 for $5 million. The school district purchased the ranch farm for $3 million from Reynolds in the 1990s' after Reynolds declared bankruptcy.
Reynolds owned the ranch for several decades. He shot many scenes of "Smokey and the Bandit" on the property and also tied the knot with Loni Anderson at the estate. Part of his bankruptcy woes was due to the messy and expensive divorce he had with Anderson.
Reynolds has since been grappling with money matters. His Hobe Sound home is still under risk of foreclosure. Reynolds has been trying to sell the property for quite some time now. He purchased the home with Anderson and took a 25-year mortgage for the property, ABC News reported.
However, due to financial reasons 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. Currently, the home is listed with an asking price of $4.9 million.
Reynolds' fame is reportedly hampering his real estate deals. According to Gossip Extra, several fans posing as buyers come to take a tour of the property hoping to meet Reynolds and take pictures with him.
"It's extremely difficult to work over there. We don't really want Burt there, but there are times he won't go away. So, potential buyers spend the whole time talking to him and not looking at the property. And then, some buyers are really jerks," a realtor who requested anonymity told the website.
