News

• South Florida investment firm pays $2.5M for value add retail center near UCF

  A South Florida-based investment company just scooped up the Lake Calvert Square retail center near the S.R. 408 and Colonial Drive interchange for $2.5 million. Built in 2006, the Lake Calvert Square retail center at 12100 E. Colonial Dr. features roughly 10,000 square feet of retail space — meaning...

• Osceola's El Maximo Ranch deal helps Lakeland broker win national sales award

  A man with a love of Florida land has sold more than anyone else in the country. Dean Saunders, founder and broker of Polk County’s Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Real Estate won the Realtors Land Institute (RLI) APEX 2018 Top National Producer Award. That means he was the highest-producing...

• Classical charter school coming to St. Cloud, scoping out more locations

  A charter school company that focuses on classical education, discipline and rigorous academic standards will open its first K-12 campus in St. Cloud's Narcoossee corridor and is scoping out more locations in Central Florida for future campuses. The American Classical Charter Academy received its...

• People to Know: Jo Thacker, Nelson Mullins Broad and Cassel

  It’s unlikely Jo Thacker ever imagined she’d be the “Big Boss” of Kissimmee’s legendary Silver Spurs Rodeo back when she was slinging sno-cones at its concession stand, but even then, it wasn’t impossible to envision. Thacker is sixth-generation in Osceola County. Her grandparents were among the...

• Hanover Land sells Minneola subdivision to Beazer Homes for $7.5M

  A unit of Sun Terra Communities has acquired 126 acres in the Hills of Minneola development in a land-banking transaction on behalf of Beazer Homes USA. Documents filed with Lake County show that Jen FL 33 LLC, one of Sun Terra’s New York-based private equity partners, paid $7.5 million for the...

• Tennessee developer under contract for multifamily site in Horizon West Village H

  Tennessee-based multifamily developer and builder TDK Construction Company has a prominent site in Horizon West under contract for its second Class A apartment complex in Central Florida. The property lies on the southeast corner of Avalon Road and Flamingo Crossings Boulevard, where the company...

• Senior affordable housing project breaking ground Wednesday in Sanford

  Nearly six years ago, bulldozers demolished the old Redding Gardens public housing project several years after the last low-income residents had been given vouchers to move elsewhere. The 4.73-acre site at 400 Locust Avenue sat vacant since then, but that will start to change Wednesday when work...

• Lennar adding two new communities in Clermont and Groveland

  Lennar Homes is joining a crowded list of builders entering Clermont’s  Sawgrass Bay development, with plans for 175 homes in Phase 4 of the project west of U.S. Highway 27. Lennar paid $8.7 million for 94 acres northeast of existing homes, according to a warranty deed filed last month with Lake...

• JLL to pay $2B for HFF, Inc., greatly expanding debt advisory capabilities

  Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. is acquiring HFF Inc. for approximately $2 billion in cash and stocks. The deal is said to boost JLL’s U.S. capital markets presence and expand its debt advisory business in Europe and Asia Pacific. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards...

• Unicorp sells marquee Winter Park retail centers for $63.5M

  Unicorp National Developments has sold one of its marquee retail properties to help finance future construction at its billion-dollar O-Town West mixed-use project.  CEO Chuck Whittal on Wednesday confirmed the company has sold the two Winter Park retail assets -- Lakeside and Lakeside Crossing...

More GrowthSpotter News

• Liberty Property Trust building new spec warehouse in Liberty Park at AIPO

  Yet another speculative warehouse is underway at the 1,350-acre Liberty Park at AIPO. Liberty Property Trust and development partner Airport International Park of Orlando (AIPO) are seeking to build a 266,055-square-foot distribution center along Florida Crown Drive, according to an application...

• Timeshare expansion at Wyndham's Worldmark I-Drive resort underway

  Wydham Destinations breaks ground today on a multi-million dollar expansion and renovation of its Kingstown Reef Resort on Orlando's International Drive scheduled to open in late 2020. The two 4-story buildings will comprise 87 new timeshare units, more than doubling the size of the existing Florida...

• Beulah Commerce Center in Winter Garden reaches 100% occupancy

  The recently completed Beulah Commerce Center in Winter Garden just signed on four new tenants, bringing the 96,000-square-foot development to 100 percent occupancy. Inking the largest lease was the Sherwin-Williams Company, which will take up a 10,800-square-foot space in the development. The...

• ComTerra plans EVEN and Staybridge Suites hotel along Universal Blvd.

  Estero-based ComTerra Development Group is progressing on its 20-acre Destination Shoppes at Universal mixed-use project with the introduction of a dual-branded EVEN and Staybridge Suites hotel.  According to a Development Plan application filed with Orange County on Tuesday, the developer wants...

• YMCA picks GC for family center in The Packing District

  The YMCA of Central Florida on Monday announced it had selected Brasfield & Gorrie as general contractor for the new 27,000-square-foot family center in The Packing District. The firm joins a development team composed of engineers, GAI Consultants; architects, RLF; and owner representative Foundry...

• Winter Park developer eyes 46 acres in east Orange County for new mixed-use project

  A Winter Park developer has filed plans for a nearly 50-acre mixed-use project in east Orange County with a blend of multifamily and industrial components. The project, dubbed Innovation Pointe, is being proposed by Dustin Lucas of JEL Land Development. Last week, Lucas filed a Technical Review...

• PGA caddie opts for lakefront living instead of golf course view

  A PGA tour caddie is choosing a lakefront view instead of one on a golf course. David and Samantha Clark recently bought a home on a rare large lakefront lot in St. Cloud's Narcoossee corridor. The home is on Carson Street and sits on five acres in the private Lake Hendon Reserve Community just...

• Energy company looking at Osceola citrus grove for 3,000-acre solar farm

  A global leader in sustainable energy production is eyeing more than 3,000 acres of citrus groves south of St. Cloud for a massive new solar farm. Chicago-based Invenergy has requested a pre-application meeting with Osceola County's planning staff to discuss the potential 74.5 megawatt solar facility....

• Venetian Isle mixed-use medical campus in Leesburg expands

  The development team behind a 50-acre medical mixed-use campus next to Leesburg Regional Medical Center has just added another 4.2 acres to expand across Dixie Avenue. Tony Benge, with Benge Development, told GrowthSpotter the partners paid $725,000 to the Lake County School District for the former...

• Three development firms launch bids to buy land near Ocoee-Winter Garden border

  Ocoee city-owned land, formerly owned by the Coca-Cola Company, has received at least three unsolicited bids for development. Companies tossing their hats in the ring include, Summit XV Holdings LLC, which is an entity led by Robert Holston of Holston Properties & Development; The Keewin Real Property...

• Warehouse leased to affiliate of Tokyo-based Bridgestone Corp. sells for $2.85M

  Property investor Robert Cascio just paid $2.85 million for a warehouse west of Orlando International Airport as part of a sale-leaseback deal. An entity led by J. Palmer Clarkson, president and CEO of Bridgestone HosePower, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Bridgestone Corporation, sold the 32,512-square-foot,...

• Cassidy Homes adding more residential lots in Davenport and Haines City

  Fast-growing Cassidy Organization is expanding its land portfolio in eastern Polk County with several new residential subdivisions in the pipeline. The Winter Haven-based developer scored permits and city approval this month to establish a community development district for a 367-lot subdivision...

• Investor sees value-add opportunity in Haines City apartments

  A Colorado-based hedge fund paid $2 million last week for a small apartment complex in Haines City with value-add potential. Eastwood Apartments, a 42-unit affordable apartment property, is at the corner of Hinson Road and 22 Street, just north of Boone Middle School. The complex, built in 1978,...

• K. Hovnanian breaks ground, launches sales for its first residential community in Ocoee

  Fifty single-family homes are underway in the city of Ocoee, as part of a new K. Hovnanian home community called Ocoee Landings. Orlando Division President Kyle Upper said the project marks the homebuilder's first residential project in the city just west of Orlando. Ocoee Landings was part of...

• Mike Nursey, TD Bank

  His beloved Bolts were in No. 1 in the Atlantic Division at press time, which was more than enough to have avid sports fan Michael Nursey in high spirits, though the stats may have been slightly surpassed by his recent shift in title. Nursey, who has been with TD Bank since 2012, most recently...

• Sanford ready to create new east-side rec center on former Seminole school board land

  Residents of Sanford’s east side have long desired a recreation center where kids can play and adults can congregate and get needed services. Those wishes are closer to reality now that the city has acquired 7.21 acres from the Seminole County School Board, property the city has long eyed as the...

• Businessmen form political committee to support Osceola's Penny Tax referendum

  Two well-known Osceola County figures have joined forces to form a political committee in support of the county's proposed penny transportation tax, on the ballot May 21. "I think everybody in the county feels the pain -- I don't care which district you're from," Hector Lizasuain told GrowthSpotter...

• Plans filed for GrayPointe Capital’s Innovation Commons at Research Park

  GrayPointe Capital is entering the building permitting phase of its proposed built-to-suit Innovation Commons at Research Park office project next to the University of Central Florida. According to an application filed with St. Johns River Water Management District, the Orlando developer is prepping...

• Developer changes course on grand plans for Howey-in-the-Hills lakefront homes

  The residential boom in Howey-in-the-Hills will continue this fall as an Orlando developer plans to break ground on a 154-home subdivision along the western shore of Little Lake Harris. The Whispering Hills project has been on the books for years, but Red Jacket Development eventually concluded...

• Equinox pays $3.5M for key parcel in WaterStar Orlando town center

  Maitland-based Equinox Development Properties has closed on the first parcel in what would eventually be a 48-acre assemblage for the proposed WaterStar Orlando town center. Equinox CEO Ryan Stahl unveiled the mixed-use project, first reported by GrowthSpotter, at last year's ICSC Florida Conference...

• Local developer resurrects a shelved residential real estate deal in Edgewood

  Orlando-based developer Khaled Hussein is resurrecting a shelved real estate deal in the small city of Edgewood with the prospect of signing on a homebuilder to partner with. Plans call for the construction of about 45 single-family homes on 14.5 acres of land just north of Holden Avenue, on the...

• New extended-stay Marriott hotel underway in revitalized SoDo area near medical center

  The widespread resurgence of Orlando’s South Downtown, or SoDo, district is continuing with a second new hotel rising near the Orlando Regional Medical Center. Tampa-based HG Management recently broke ground on the $28.3 million TownePlace Suites by Marriott at 51 Columbia St. The 73,000-square-foot...

• Newly proposed mixed-use project could rise along Orlando’s Colonial Drive

  A family investment team led by local owner-developer Daniel Wise is working to entitle nearly 13 acres of land along Colonial Drive for multifamily and retail use, with the prospect of selling it to a market-rate multifamily developer. The property at 6575 and 6525 E. Colonial Dr. currently holds...

• Taylor Morrison selling off former AV Homes assets in Poinciana

  Less than a year after acquiring AV Homes and all its assets, Taylor Morrison Homes is looking to divest of more than 2,600 acres in the Poinciana area of Osceola and Polk counties. The two Arizona-based builders announced the merger in June of 2018 and closed the deal in October. Now Taylor Morrison...

• TruAmerica makes Lake Mary apartment complex its eighth asset in Greater Orlando

  TruAmerica Multifamily, a Los Angeles-based multifamily investment firm, paid $54 million for the 272-unit Legends at Lake Mary apartment complex, according to a deed signed March 1 and recorded Thursday in Seminole County. The acquisition was TruAmerica’s eighth in the Orlando area. The apartment...

• Golden Corral franchisee is assembling land for new hotel in Winter Park

  Golden Corral franchisee Eric Holm is honing in on his development skills and pursuing plans for a new boutique hotel on Winter Park's Lake Killarney.  Holm, a resident of the city, said he's teaming up with a private investment group to purchase several properties along the busy S. Orlando Avenue...

• AdventHealth planning major expansion at downtown Orlando campus

  AdventHealth Orlando has filed plans with City of Orlando for a major expansion at its main campus north of downtown. The hospital, formerly known as Florida Hospital, wants to expand its emergency department by 45,000 square feet, according to the documents. Hospital spokesman David Breen told...

• Developer opts out of hotel use for I-Drive corridor land, plans apartments instead

  The owner of a plot of land in Orlando's I-Drive corridor is reconsidering the plan to build a new 1,200-key hotel, and instead opting to build an apartment complex. According to a Land Development Plan submitted in Orange County last week, developer Kevin Fitzpatrick is looking to build up to...

• More than 150 homes are planned for Apopka, all that's left is a homebuilder

  More than 150 single-family homes are planned for the city of Apopka as part of a new community called Bridal Path.  The BurnBrae Companies, a real estate investment, development, and management company headquartered in Washington, D.C., put the development plan together.  Principal Rich Thometz...

• Resort owner submits $2.9M bid for land at Osceola Parkway - Vineland interchange

  The owner of Kissimmee's Calypso Cay Resort submitted the only bid for 5.9 acres of county-owned land across the street, at the Vineland Road-Osceola Parkway interchange. The property is just south of Sunrise City Plaza, and Osceola Commissioners declared it surplus in 2017. The county began seeking...

• Greystar vying for land in Horizon West's Hamlin area for new age-restricted units

  Greystar Real Estate Partners is vying for a piece of Boyd Development's Hamlin-area portfolio with plans to open another one of its Overture branded communities, limited to residents age 55 and up.  The project would be the first age-restricted development within the Hamlin Town Center master-planned...

• Developer downzoning apartment sites in Haines City for single family

  A developer based in Celebration is working with Haines City to downzone two sites that had been approved for more than 2,000 apartments for single family homes. Both sites on across 30th Street from Haines City Senior High School and straddle Robinson Drive, which will be paved by the developer....

• Sun Terra snags land in Horizon West Town Center for $42M

  Sun Terra Communities has closed another blockbuster land deal, this time in the highly desirable Horizon West submarket. The Oviedo-based developer and land banker paid $41.9 million on Monday for an assemblage of 534 acres in the Horizon West Town Center, just south of the Hamlin property. The...

• Blackstone affiliate pays $70M+ for apartments near SeaWorld

  An affiliate of New York-based Blackstone Group, one of the world's largest private equity firms, just picked up the Integra Cove apartments near SeaWorld for $70.75 million.  The deal for the 338-unit apartment complex at 6801 Westwood Blvd. beaks down to about $209,300 per unit. According to...

• Brazilian-American firm planning $72M condo resort in Kissimmee area

  Primeland Development, a Brazilian-American real estate firm based in Miami, is making its Orlando market entry with an ambitious $72 million condo resort property on Livingston Road in Kissimmee. "We are very excited about this property," Primeland CFO Karen Costa told GrowthSpotter on Wednesday....

• Lot next to proposed Magic Entertainment Complex sells with intent to be developed

  An undisclosed buyer just dropped a little more than $2.24 million for land abutting the Orlando Magic’s Sports and Entertainment District, with plans to eventually develop the lot currently used for parking. According to deed filed with Orange County Monday, West Side Venture Fund VII, LLC bought...

• Kissimmee developer planning flex industrial project near city airport

  Kissimmee developer Thomas Chalifoux has is planning a new flex industrial project just north of Kissimmee Gateway Airport. Chalifoux and his son and business partner, Niles, filed construction plans in late January with the city to build 57,400 square feet of small-bay flex warehouse space on...

• Philadelphia real estate investment firm pays $15.2M for Lake Mary shopping plaza

  CenterSquare Investment Management, a real estate investment firm headquartered in Philadelphia, paid $15.2 million for the Park Lane Place dining hub on International Parkway at Heathrow Lane in Lake Mary, according to a deed signed Feb. 15 and recorded last Tuesday in Seminole County. The seller...

• Developer of Apopka's Gateway Plaza retail center nears groundbreaking

  A Longwood-based developer who has been racking up land in Apopka since 2004 is close to breaking ground on a new retail project called Gateway Plaza.  VBRO Group, led by property investor and developer Ashish Kapadia, is looking to build more than 32,000 square feet of retail space on 3.36 acres...

• Osceola cattle ranch priced at $34M attracts global buyer interest

  A working cattle ranch south of St. Cloud has hit the market for $34 million and is drawing global interest, according to the listing brokerage. The 2,250-acre Bar Seven Ranch at 5300 N. Canoe Creek Road in Kenansville could follow a succession of large-scale agricultural land transactions in Osceola County...

• V3 Capital seeks rezoning to build new office project in Winter Park

  A new office building is being planned for Winter Park. According to an application filed with the city in February, Maitland-based real estate firm V3 Capital Group is seeking to rezone 1.7 acres of land between Gay Road and Trovillion Court to allow for a two-story, 32,000-square-foot office...

• St. Cloud approves 2,020-acre Center Lake Ranch annexation with strict conditions

  The St. Cloud City Council voted 4-1 on Thursday to annex the 2,020-acre Center Lake Ranch -- a year after denying the annexation -- but they added barriers that could make it difficult for the project to proceed as planned. The council placed a condition on the annexation vote that would prohibit...

• Terracap buys Maitland Center office building, plans renovations

  TerraCap Management is investing in yet another Maitland Center office property, this time paying $13.8 million for the 850 Trafalgar building just west of North Lake Destiny Road.  Matthew Hart, director of investment analytics at TerraCap, said the firm specializes in value-add opportunities and will...

• Condev looking to sell shovel-ready site in posh Park Avenue neighborhood

  Winter Park-based Condev Companies is wrapping up the final permitting and design stage as it goes to market for the View at Park Avenue luxury townhouse project. The 1.4-acre site is tucked between New York Avenue and Park Avenue, overlooking the municipal golf course. It was the longtime home...

• Lakeland flower nursery will be converted for marijuana cultivation

  Another major marijuana cultivator will have a production presence in central Florida, with Surterra Wellness acquiring a Lakeland nursery to serve its 22 dispensaries around the state. Atlanta-based Surterra, which describes itself as one of the largest U.S. providers of medical, wellness and...

• New Comfort Inn & Suites is part of a wave of new hotels in or near Sanford

  A new Comfort Inn & Suites hotel coming to East Lake Mary Boulevard is among at least half a dozen hotels either announced or under construction in and around the bustling Seminole County city of Sanford. Hickman Enterprises, a small Winter Park real estate and development company, plans to build...

• Alabama firm buys Greater Orlando warehouses in part of $194M portfolio deal

  A Birmingham, Alabama-based industrial investment firm just picked up a pair of warehouses in International Corporate Park, as part of a $194 million multi-state portfolio deal. Graham Commercial Properties bought 16 Class-A warehouse properties in Orlando and Tampa, in addition to properties in...

• St. Cloud's Medical Arts Campus and incentives attract new office buildings

  St. Cloud's rapid population growth and the local hospital's recent expansion have drawn a trio of new medical office developments to the city and its 240-acre Medical Arts Campus. Karl Theobald, a general contractor who also serves on the city's Economic Development Advisory Council, is prepping...

• Tampa CRE investment firm pays $6M+ for Altamonte Springs mixed-use site

  Quantum Capital Partners, a Tampa-based private equity and real estate investment firm, recently purchased Altamonte City Centre, a retail strip mall and office building on East Altamonte Drive. Quantum paid just over $6 million for the 25,526-square-foot property, according to a deed signed Feb....

• Orange County could hike transportation fees amid increases for other services

  Orange County Commissioners are once again weighing the decision to increase fees on new development in the fast-growing locality — potentially piling on top of another recent hike in impact fees for parks, fire stations and deputy gear.  Commissioners participated in their first workshop session...

• W.P. Carey pays $23.3M for high profile corners on I-Drive tourism corridor

  Net lease investment REIT W. P. Carey exercised a 5-year-old option agreement this week and closed on two key International Drive retail properties for a combined $23.3 million. Unicorp National Developments sold the Walgreens store at the corner of I-Drive and Sand Lake Road for $20 million.  ...

• Cincinnati Fortune 500 company files plans for second facility in south Orange County

  More industrial space is headed for south Orange County. Cintas Corporation, a recent newcomer to the Fortune 500 list, just filed plans with South Florida Water Management District seeking to build one of its uniform processing plants at 2510 Investors Row.  The vacant 8.68 acres would be developed...

• Pulte confirms plans for new vacation home resort in Four Corners

  Pulte Homes has found a landing spot for a vacation home business that is outgrowing its Westside Corridor space.  Orlando Division Director Clint Ball told GrowthSpotter the homebuilder expects to close this summer on 151 acres on Sand Mine Road, on the Polk County side of the county line. He...

• New York developer planning 700+ apartments on Osceola-Polk Line Road

  New York-based Sovereign Properties has a purchase contract for a 92-acre entitled Planned Development in the heart of the Reunion-ChampionsGate submarket.  It would be the company's entry into the Central Florida market. "We've been looking to get into that area for a while," Sovereign Vice President...

• Developer preps for new subdivision on failed Leesburg golf course

  Construction is expected to begin this summer on Silver Lake Club, a 233-home subdivision on the site of the dormant Silver Lake Golf and Country Club in Leesburg. The 104-acre site north of Morningside Drive, south of Jackson Road and west of Silver Lake Drive had been slated for redevelopment...

• Ocoee retail development site scores city approval a decade after rezoning

  An Ocoee retail project that was shelved in 2017 and has been in the works for a decade is once again making its way through city government.  The Ocoee City Commission voted unanimously on Feb. 19 to amend plans for the Ocoee Town Shops Planned Unit Development. Located on the northwest corner...

• Magnolia hotel design sails through Orlando ARB courtesy review

  Maybe it was the lecture from Planning Director Dean Grandin at the start of the meeting, or the design tweaks by Baker Barrios, but in either case a planned 19-story mixed-use tower sailed through Orlando's Appearance Review Committee with only minor comments. Grandin told the ARB members they...

• Upshot Capital buys vacant Apopka site for new urgent care center

  Upshot Capital Advisors just purchased a vacant commercial site in Apopka through one of its real estate funds with plans to build a new Centra Care urgent care facility and restaurant.  According to a deed recorded Thursday in Orange County, the fund paid $1.67 million for a roughly four-acre...

• Developers seek rezoning of 150 acres in East Narcoossee area for residential

  Veteran Orlando developer Bill Canty is teaming up with Elevation Development to further the transformation of Osceola's Jones Road from its pastoral setting to a suburban corridor linking Narcoossee Road to the future Sunbridge community. Osceola's Development Review Committee this week approved...

• NFL star linebacker sells Casabella at Windermere home

  Super Bowl winning linebacker Bruce Irvin has reached the end zone with his Casabella at Windermere home. According to a deed recorded Wednesday in Orange County, Irvin sold his home at 4083 Isabella Cir. for about $1.7 million. The deal for the 6,987-square-foot home breaks down to about $245...

• Epoch Residential gears up for construction on new Kissimmee apartments

  Winter Park-based Epoch Residential will break ground in the next 30 days on the a pair of multifamily communities totaling 448 units in Kissimmee's LOOP submarket. The luxury multifamily developer closed last week on 74 acres in the Flora Ridge Mixed-Use PUD, east of Dyer Boulevard and about a...

• Orlando developer targets lot across a cemetery for new single-family homes

  Orlando-based developer Khaled Hussein wants to introduce a new single-family home community directly across the Chapel Hill Cemetery in east Orange County. According to a recent Technical Review Group application filed in Orange County, Hussein is seeking to rezone four parcels of mostly undeveloped...

• Osceola County considering a major increase to its already high impact fees

  Osceola County is considering a nearly $1,400 per home Park Impact Fee increase in March to what is already the highest combined impact fees in Florida. Last year the county virtually doubled its mobility fees across the board, while school impact fees also jumped -- particularly for new apartment...

• St. Petersburg flooring retailer buys Eustis shopping center for $7.4M

  A St. Petersburg investor who is also a prominent Tampa Bay flooring retailer has acquired the Eustis Square Shopping Center and the deal could herald the expansion of the retail brand, JB Factory Flooring, into central Florida. Boukalis Development of St. Petersburg bought the shopping center,...

• Nvision preps first phase for newly proposed mixed-use project across Reunion

  Orlando-based Nvision Development Management Services is prepping the first phase of a new master-planned community along the booming Osceola-Polk County line. According to a conceptual site plan filed in Polk County, the developer is planning to build 120 townhome units in part of a multi-phase...

• Flagship files plans for new retail center across from NeoCity gateway

  Flagship Development is planning to break ground in April on a $4 million retail center across from one of the main gateways into Osceola's NeoCity tech district. It would be the next phase of Heritage Commons, a 20,000-square-foot plaza at the corner of U.S. 192 and Fortune Road, next to Osceola...

• Developer files plans for new mixed-use timeshare project along South I-Drive

  Developer Vincent Desai is looking to build a new mixed-use project along South I-Drive that can introduce up to 708 new timeshare units to the rapidly growing tourism sector there.  Robby Joshi of the architecture firm ARCHENICS filed a pre-app request with Orange County to discuss development...

• Ohio hotelier planning a new Staybridge Hotel near UCF campus

  Toledo-based Key Hotel & Property Management looks to be eyeing a second hotel site near UCF after entering the Orlando market in late 2018. Last December Key affiliate Ultra LLC bought property near SeaWorld that had county-approved plans for a pair of 135-key, extended-stay hotels. Ultra paid...

• Toll Brothers looks to capture cost-conscious homebuyers with new Sanford-area development

  Toll Brothers, the company that bills itself as America’s Luxury Home Builder, is introducing a more-affordable line of houses in a new Seminole County gated community. Parkview Place, a 70-home development under construction near the intersection of Lake Mary and Skyway boulevards, will feature...

• Investment fund run by Blackstone Group exec buys Maitland Center offices

  A fund that invests on behalf of Tony James, the vice chairman of one of the world's largest private equity firms, Blackstone Group, just paid $33.5 million for the Reserve at Maitland office complex in Eatonville.  According to a deed recorded Thursday in Orange County, Jefferson River Capital,...

• Banner breaks ground on downtown Orlando's newest apartment tower

  Construction is now underway on Downtown Orlando's next luxury apartment tower overlooking Lake Eola, and developer Banner Real Estate Group expects to be able to deliver the first units in late 2020. "We've got all our permits and and crews fully mobilized today," Banner's development director,...

• Jones Homes expands operations in Harmony with 55-plus section

  Jones Homes USA is expanding its footprint in Osceola County's Harmony golf community by coming in as the second builder in the active adult section, Lakes at Harmony. The Orlando-based homebuilder made the announcement as it executed the first takedown of lots in Harmony West. Jones Homes, the ...

• McCraney introduces new industrial park concept west of Orlando airport

  McCraney Property Company is eyeing some 70 acres of timberland directly west of Orlando International Airport for a new industrial park dubbed Cone Land. According to a Preliminary Review Plan filed with Orange County last week, the West Palm Beach-based developer is looking to build a 977,400-square-foot...

• Intram Investments sells another 40+ acres in Sunrise City to apartment developer

  Integra Land Company, which is wrapping up construction of a 300-unit class A apartment complex at Sunrise City, exercised its option to buy another 41 acres in the community. The Lake Mary developer paid $12.95 million for the land, which closes out the majority of the mixed-use project. The land...

• Condemned Sola at Celebration apartments to open again under new name

  The recent owners of the condemned Sola at Celebration multifamily community are drawing up plans to breathe new life into the vacated apartments. For one, Cohen Goldstein Investment Strategies is changing the community’s name to Astoria at Celebration, spokesman Bruce Beck confirmed. In an off-market...

• Penny tax for transportation in Osceola could be on special election ballot in May

  Osceola County officials want voters to add another penny sales tax for transportation that would make it the highest in the region and the state of Florida. County Manager Don Fisher told GrowthSpotter he will ask commissioners to vote Monday for an ordinance calling a special election on May...

• Osceola negotiating with boat manufacturer for lakefront site in NeoCity

  Osceola County is negotiating again with a private corporation that could make the first significant investment in its NeoCity tech district. Commissioners on Monday approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a company, referred to as "Project Blue," to build an "innovation center for the...

• Condemned apartment complex in Celebration fetches $43M

  A Woodland Hills, California-based investment firm just paid $43 million for the Sola at Celebration apartments — a condemned multifamily community at the center of litigation between developer Hines and its previous owner Southstar Capital Group.  With 306 units, Cohen Goldstein Investment Strategies...

• Deal for $20M sports complex on W192 falls through, land back on market

  The developer of a proposed sports complex on Osceola's W192 tourism corridor couldn't close the deal despite a $20 million commitment from the county, officials confirmed to GrowthSpotter. That leaves the county without a replacement site for its softball complex in Kissimmee, which Commissioners...

• Seminole County, Casselberry unite to create “main street” design standards for Oxford Road

  The city of Casselberry and Seminole County have joined forces to create what both governments hope will be a vibrant, mixed-use redevelopment district with a revamped Oxford Road as the “Main Street.” Both governments are shooting for a live, work, play environment that combines dense residential...