There isn't much right now in the extreme Southeast corner of Lake County, but if you pan out a bit on a multi-county map, it doesn't take long to deduce that the area's sparse condition is likely temporary.
To the east, the area abuts Orange County's booming and close to build-out Horizon West, and Disney's side door. To the North is fast growing Clermont. To the south is Four Corners, the intersection of Polk, Osceola, Lake and Orange counties and access to the I-4 corridor.
A while back, a group of large property owners decided it would be a good thing to plan for the development of the area so it would happen in an organized, rather than piecemeal way. They donated cash to create the plan and Wellness Way was born.
In the summer of 2015 Lake County commissioners approved the Wellness Way sector plan for the 16,200-acre, 25.28–square-mile chunk of land. The plan has one more trip to the state to go for final approval.
Next, the property owners plan to start coming to the county with individual zoning requests and development plans for their land.
"I can tell you that our group (about a couple dozen investor/owners of 1,400 acres) will be moving forward, said Jim Karr, an initial developer of Horizon West who took a lead position in planning Wellness Way along with other land owners.
He is expecting ground-breakings on some sites in 18 to 24 months.
FAST FACTS
Location: Southeast Lake County
Size: 16,200-acres, 25.28 -square miles
Theme: Wellness, with an emphasis on commercial uses to create jobs
Planning donation by landowners: $175,000
Estimated jobs to be created: 26,839
Start Date: Early 2017, estimated
End Date: Uncertain
tburney@growthspotter.com or 407-420 6261
