Taylor Morrison has donated 64 acres of land to the Duval Audubon Society’s 445-acre Crosby Sanctuary in Orange Park, Florida.

The homebuilder donated the land, which sits adjacent to its former development Orange Park Golf and Country Club, to the society so that it could be classified as protected land. The official ceremony marking the donation will take place on September 27 and will be open to the public. Ceremony details are available at www.duvalaudubon.org.

“With more than 40 acres of true wetlands as part of the parcel, we felt the most responsible thing to do with the land was to ensure that it would be preserved for future generations to enjoy and appreciate,” said Maurice Johnson, president of Taylor Morrison’s north Florida division. “The Crosby Sanctuary was the logical choice.”

This is just the latest land donation by Taylor Morrison, which is committed to maintaining open space in the areas where the company develops communities. In 2013, Taylor Morrison dedicated or developed 3,253 acres of perpetual open space. That’s equivalent to approximately 52,000 tennis courts, 3,025 football fields or nearly four Central Parks in New York City.

“It’s important that we preserve land while developing communities,” said Sheryl Palmer of Taylor Morrison. “Our Crosby Sanctuary donation is just the latest example of this commitment.”

The donation was welcomed by the Duval Audubon Society, which serves Clay, Duval and Nassau counties and oversees the Crosby Sanctuary. The society has been slowly adding to the sanctuary since forming it in the 1980s.

According to Pete Johnson, sanctuary director for the Duval Audubon Society, the conservation group intends to use and improve the 64 acres by creating trails with bird viewing areas, opening them to the public for regularly scheduled nature walks, controlling harmful invasive-exotic plants, and creating environmental education and community involvement opportunities.

“It means a lot to Duval Audubon that Taylor Morrison was willing to largely donate this tract of land to us,” Johnson said. “Many people know Audubon as a national environmental conservation organization with several large, professionally staffed sanctuaries around the U.S.  However, Duval Audubon is a local grassroots, all volunteer organization with limited resources. They have been slowly building up Crosby Sanctuary from an initial 125-acre donation in the 1980s to over 500 acres today.”

For more information about Taylor Morrison, please visit www.taylormorrison.com. For more information about Duval Audubon, please visit www.duvalaudubon.org.

About Taylor Morrison

Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Taylor Morrison Home Corporation operates in the U.S. under the Taylor Morrison and Darling Homes brands and in Canada under the Monarch brand. Taylor Morrison is a builder and developer of single-family detached and attached homes serving a wide array of customers including first-time, move-up, luxury and active adult customers. Taylor Morrison divisions operate in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida and Texas. Darling Homes serves move-up and luxury homebuyers in Texas. Monarch, Canada's oldest homebuilder builds homes for first-time and move-up buyers in Toronto and Ottawa as well as high rise condominiums in Toronto.  For more information about Taylor Morrison, Darling Homes or Monarch, please visit www.taylormorrison.com, www.darlinghomes.com and www.monarchgroup.net.