Another piece of the extensive Clonts Groves citrus holdings southeast of Lake Louisa is being groomed for development, with the Clermont Planning & Zoning Commission giving the green light to annex a 55-acre tract and land use change to allow for residential and commercial uses.
The land at the southeast corner of U.S. Highway 27 and Schofield Road, dubbed “Clonts Corner,” has not yet been sold and a developer is not in place. But Clonts Groves Inc. and its lawyers are “positioning it for sale” by amending the future land use, said W. Rex Clonts, head of the prominent citrus family.
The land designation would go from Lake County Wellness Way Area 1 to City of Clermont Mixed-Use/Master Planned Development, according to the application.
Documents indicate future development will include 600 multifamily housing units with a density of up to 12 units per acre and a maximum of 152,000 square feet of commercial uses.
Clonts declined to speculate on the project, telling GrowthSpotter, “I’m a citrus grower. Development’s not my forte. I’ll let John Evans or Daryl Carter answer that for you.”
Evans and Carter of Orlando real estate brokerage Maury L. Carter & Associates have been representing the Clonts family.
Clermont’s Planning and Zoning Board gave the plan the thumbs-up on July 2. Because the application involves a change to the comprehensive plan, state agencies will review the application. Full City Council consideration of the proposal is set for Sept. 24.
The land-use application comes as development is exploding on the Clonts’ acreage.
In June, Olympus Sports & Entertainment Group of Winter Park acquired 243 acres to the east and south of Clonts Corner for $12.2 million and is master-planning a community of multifamily and townhome units, more than 1,000 hotel rooms, 860,000 square feet of retail and office space, and nine sport and civic venues showcasing a variety of traditional and non-traditional sports.
Olympus principal Mike Carroll Jr. declined to comment directly on the activity at Clonts Corners, but said his group is “excited” about the activity in the area. He said announcements about the Olympus development will be forthcoming.
“We’re moving forward,” he said. “We have a pretty comprehensive development plan. We’re really focused on that and it’s progressing very nicely.”
Earlier this month, Hanover Land Co. of Orlando paid $2.7 million for land south of the Olympus project with the intent to close a second deal next year giving it 152 acres for a 578-lot single-family home subdivision.
Lennar Homes is reportedly interested in another Clonts tract.
For a self-proclaimed citrus grower who wasn’t really interested in selling his land – he said the citrus greening outbreak forced his hand – Clonts recognizes that “it’s an exciting time.”
He added, “I anticipate there will be a lot of action out there very quickly.”
Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at Newsroom@GrowthSpotter.com or (407) 420-6261. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
