After being sent back to the drawing board by Groveland City Council in January, the company behind residential development LaViance is moving forward with a revised plan for fewer homes, larger lots and increased amenities.
Even with the lower density, LaViance will become the second-largest residential housing community built in Groveland, City Manager Mike Hein said. Only Trilogy, a senior retirement village, is larger.
“This represents the next chapter of growth in Groveland,” Hein said. “It is communities comprised of people who want the benefit of urban proximity with the natural beauty of the rolling hills and many lakes.”
In new plan, Hanover Land Company intends to build 1,153 homes on the nearly 326-acre property, west of State Road 19 near Cherry Lake Tree Farm.
An earlier plan was for almost 1,300 homes proved unpopular with residents and others. Orlando Sentinel columnist Lauren Ritchie called it “among the least imaginative of its type” and that it “would have produced yet another crowded subdivision whose destiny would be to crowd local schools and jam local roads.”
Matt Orosz, a co-president at Hanover, said his firm listened and made several improvements beyond lowering the density. Hanover increased lot sizes on the lakes and increased buffer widths to 50 feet for better privacy and landscaping.
They also agreed to add a traffic light, if a traffic study warrants one, Orosz said, and donated 1.7 acres of land for a fire house. To give the neighborhood a more rural and natural feel, Hanover also designed a trail system and community docks and gazebos throughout the community.
The city council recently approved the preliminary plat and 90 percent of the construction plans are complete, city officials said.
“Given the proximity of the turnpike and the overall amenities that will be added, we anticipate this being one of the best-selling communities in that area,” Orosz said.
The Orosz family, led by Hanover President Bill Orosz, has built and developed over 20,000 homes in the region.
Construction will take place in six phases and build out will take 7-8 years, Orosz said.
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