Florida has added millions of residents over the past five decades. Behind many of the neighborhoods people now call home are builders who made long-term bets on the state’s growth. Itzhak Ezratti, founder of GL Homes, is one of them.
Since 1976, the Sunrise-based company has grown into one of Florida’s largest privately held homebuilders. So how has Itzhak Ezratti shaped Florida homebuilding? The answer has less to do with any single project and more to do with an approach: plan the whole community, build for the long term and stay invested in the places where people live and GL Homes builds.
Starting small in South Florida
Itzhak Ezratti founded GL Homes in 1976. The company’s first project was a single duplex in Hollywood, Florida. That modest start set the tone. Rather than chase rapid expansion, the company grew at a steady pace for more than a decade. Each project built on the last, and the business stayed focused on Florida.
GL Homes remains privately held today. That independence has given the company room to plan on a longer timeline than many builders tied to quarterly results, a trait closely linked to Ezratti’s leadership.
Planning communities, not just homes
One of Itzhak Ezratti’s most visible contributions is the master-planned community. Instead of building homes lot by lot, GL Homes designs entire neighborhoods at once. Roads, open space, clubhouses and amenities are planned alongside the homes themselves.
For buyers, the result is a neighborhood that feels complete on move-in day. Residents share spaces such as pools, fitness centers, sports courts, and walking paths, along with organized activities that help neighbors get to know one another.
This model is now common across Florida, where many builders market amenity-rich communities as a standard offering. GL Homes was among the builders that helped make that approach a familiar part of how Floridians shop for a home.
GL Homes: Shaping active-adult living
Florida has long drawn retirees, and their expectations have changed. Many people entering retirement today want an active, social lifestyle rather than a quiet one. Under Ezratti, GL Homes became a significant builder of active-adult communities for buyers 55 and older.
These neighborhoods center on clubhouses, fitness and wellness programs, resident clubs and full social calendars. The aim is a place where residents can stay engaged and connected as they age.
That focus reflects a broader idea behind his approach: a home is a part of a larger community experience, not a standalone structure. Active-adult communities show that idea at its clearest.
Growing with the state
As Florida’s population spread north and west, GL Homes expanded beyond its South Florida roots into other regions of the state. The company brought the same planning principles to each new market.
Today, Misha Ezratti serves as president of GL Homes and leads its operations across Florida. Itzhak Ezratti remains involved as founder and board member. The company’s approach to land planning and community design still reflects the principles it was founded on.
Investing in the communities it builds
GL Homes’ influence extends beyond construction. The company supports organizations that serve Florida families, including:
- Feeding South Florida, which works to address hunger across the region.
- Habitat for Humanity, which helps families build and buy affordable homes.
- Passion for Playgrounds, a GL Homes initiative focused on play spaces for local children.
For a homebuilder, these causes connect naturally to the work itself. Food security, housing and safe places for children to play are all part of what makes a community thrive.
Itzhak Ezratti’s quiet, lasting influence
Itzhak Ezratti has never been a highly public figure. His influence on Florida homebuilding shows up instead in the neighborhoods themselves: planned communities with shared spaces, active-adult neighborhoods built around connection, and a company that has stayed independent and focused on one state for 50 years.
For many Florida residents who live in those communities, that influence is part of everyday life. It is the clubhouse down the street, the part at the end of the block and the neighbors they have come to know.
What it all adds up to
Take it all together, and the answer to how Itzhak Ezratti has shaped Florida homebuilding comes into focus. His influence is less about scale and more about standards. For 50 years, GL Homes has worked from a few steady ideas: plan the entire community before the first home goes up, give residents shared places to gather and stay rooted in Florida.
Those ideas may seem ordinary now. Many Florida buyers expect a clubhouse, walking trails and a calendar of resident events when they tour a new community. But those expectations did not appear on their own.
They were shaped over decades by builders willing to invest in amenities and open space up front, before a single home was sold. GL Homes was one of those builders. The same mindset shows in how the company has grown. Staying privately held has allowed GL Homes to make decisions on a long timeline, from how land is planned to how communities mature after the last home closes. That patience is a large part of what sets Ezratti’s approach apart in an industry that often moves in short cycles.
It also shows in the company’s ties to the places it builds. Support of charities and their own initiatives reflects a view that a builder’s responsibility does not end at closing.
Florida will keep growing, and the way the state builds will keep changing, New buyers will bring new priorities, and new communities will rise to meet them. Many of those communities, though, will rest on principles Itzhak Ezratti brought to Florida homebuilding in 1976.
Frequently asked questions about Itzhak Ezratti
Who is Itzhak Ezratti?
Itzhak Ezratti is the founder of GL Homes, a privately held Florida homebuilder he started in 1976.
What is Itzhak Ezratti known for?
He is known for helping shape master-planned and active-adult communities across Florida through GL Homes.
When was GL Homes founded?
Itzhak Ezratti founded GL Homes in 1976. This year the company is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Who leads GL Homes today?
Misha Ezratti serves as president of GL Homes today. Its founder remains a board member.
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