Lake County Developments

• South Florida custom builder and broker team up for trio of estate communities

  A developer and a broker with deep roots in South Florida are making a move into Central Florida. RCR Homes and Howard Chase Real Estate are teaming up to build and sell up to 34 ultra-luxury homes about an hour northwest of Orlando. “These are like big monster mansions,” said Howard Chase, broker...

• UPDATED: Blighted Groveland motels to be converted to apartments

  A South Florida developer is planning to convert two blighted motels in Groveland into an apartment complex called "Milestone Hills." Groveland Property Investment, affiliate of Miami developer Martin F. Ugarte and CRE broker Santiago Silva, paid $3.5 million last week for the the former Clermont...

• Mount Dora approves design standards for new home construction

  In a move to make future development in Mount Dora align with the historic city’s architecture and live up to its “Someplace Special” moniker, the City Council preliminarily approved design standards Tuesday for development in the Wolf Branch district on the east side of US 441, a likely location...

• Wolf Branch district changes recommended as Mount Dora, county weigh plan

  In the first four months since Lake County and the city of Mount Dora knuckled down on their intent to bring high-paying tech jobs and new housing to the region with the 1,300-acre Wolf Branch Innovation District some tweaks have been made to the plan's mixed-use employment center. “We are still...

• Retail center in Clermont pursues theme of healthy-lifestyle tenants

  A new 56,000-square-foot shopping plaza anchored by a new Planet Fitness and a health-conscious theme will soon break ground in Clermont. The Shoppes at Anderson Hill, located across the street from Walmart at the northwest corner of U.S. 27 and Anderson Hill Road, will be unlike any other commercial...

• Counties vow to coordinate planning across lines at Four Corners Summit

  County officials pledged to work together in the next year to develop an overlay district to regulate land use and development throughout the Four Corners area Wednesday during the 2018 Four Corners Area Council One Vision Summit. The Kissimmee Area Chamber of Commerce engaged Thomas Kohler, a...

• Proposed changes to Howey-in-the-Hills residential developments denied

  Town leaders in Howey-in-the-Hills have directed two developers to stick with their original subdivision plans, denying requested changes to the Venezia North and Whispering Pines projects, set to add a significant amount of homes in the Lake County town. “We do want new residential areas and some...

• Publix outparcel in Clermont sold at auction for over $2 million

  Winter Park-based Battaglia Group used the auction route to sell a vacant outparcel at a Publix-anchored shopping center in the Four Corners area of Lake County. The transaction hasn't closed yet, but Saunders Auctions President John Haney told GrowthSpotter the sale is pending for just over $2...

• New select service Hilton flag headed to Millenia Boulevard

  An Apopka hotelier has filed plans for a new select-service hotel next to the planned Mercedes dealership south of Mall of Millenia. Akber Jamal, who last year sold two Orlando-area hotels, told GrowthSpotter he's planning to start construction on a 129-room Hilton Garden Inn just off Millenia...

• Meritage buys homesites in Howey-in-the-Hills, where more activity awaits

  Meritage Homes has plans for dozens of single-family homes to close out the Venezia subdivision at Howey-in-the-Hills, where it will build the last homes in a 172-lot development set in an active area of Lake County. The builder this week has been seeking city approval for the models of homes that...

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• Park Square plans 166 homes in Mount Dora near S.R. 429 connector

  Park Square Homes seeks entitlements for 166 single-family homes planned in phase four of its Summerbrooke development in Mount Dora, according to filings with the city. The development, which stretches from Wolf Branch Road at its northern end to State Road 46 at its south and has access to U.S....

• Developer moving forward on revised plans for LaViance in Groveland

  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...

• Eustis says impact-fee incentives possible in 800-acre assemblage

  A nearly 800-acre property that city officials say is eligible for some Eustis impact-fee credits will soon be on the market. Orlando commercial real estate attorney John K. Keating owns the undeveloped rural pastureland south of the former Pine Meadows Golf Course along State Route 44. The series...

• Clermont weighs density bonuses as path to affordable or inclusionary housing

  Clermont is considering a staff proposal to incentivize or require developers to address affordable-housing concerns in their plans, with a similar approach to local governments across Florida and other parts of the country that employ inclusionary programs. Its Economic Development Office has...

• Former Pine Meadows Golf Course acreage back on market with site plan

  After several years as a sod field, the former Pine Meadows Golf Course east of State Road 19 northeast of Eustis is for sale again -- and in early stages of being annexed into the city of Eustis. The 241-acre property listed at $3.75 million, $15,560.17 per acre. Seller Peter Strimenos told GrowthSpotter...

• Eustis Lake Club property deal off; lakefront plans uncertain

  A deal to buy Sharp’s Mobile Park in downtown Eustis is off, according to the seller, creating an uncertain future for Eustis Lake Club, a Key West-style residential development planned at the lakeside property. Wilma Sharp says her family was ready to sell more than 7 acres along Lakeshore Drive,...

• Eustis seeks CRE investors to bid on vacant downtown building

  The City of Eustis is seeking property investors to bid this month on a vacant three-story building in its historic downtown, and would consider most commercial or mixed-use concepts for its reuse, according to a bid announcement issued Monday. Located at 17 E. Magnolia Ave. in the downtown's Central...

• Leesburg-based aggregates manufacturer pursues future w/employee ownership

  Consolidated Minerals Inc. (CMI), a manufacturer of specialty aggregates used in construction products with operations in Leesburg and Orlando, became a 100 percent employee-owned company in June. Chairman Randy Simpson told GrowthSpotter the establishment of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)...

• Lake County seeks contractors for traffic engineering & building plan review

  Mounting real estate development is prompting Lake County to hire new contractors for building plan review and traffic engineering services, according to two bid opportunities announced in late July. The county's Office of Building Services is seeking experienced vendors to perform building, electrical,...

• New $12M charter school to open in vacant Four Corners supermarket on U.S. 27

  A Jacksonville-based charter school developer has secured county approvals to open a K-8 charter school in a former Winn Dixie supermarket on U.S. 27 in south Lake County. Taylor Smith, president of Project Finance & Development Inc., said the new Pinecrest Academy in Four Corners would serve up...

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• Groveland to renew push for real estate development incentives in CRA district

  Lake County's City of Groveland will look to a new leader of its Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) to help change the face of downtown by drawing in new real estate development interest.  The city announced on Monday the hiring of Dan Murphy, an international economic development specialist...

• Aventura-based multifamily investor pays $68.5M to enter Clermont market

  An Aventura-based multifamily investor paid $68.5 million last week for its fourth property in Greater Orlando, buying a new complex in Clermont with its sights set on more core-plus properties in the region. An affiliate of Advenir LLC bought the year-old, 328-unit Veve at Castle Hill apartments...

• Richland seeks zoning approval for 155 acres of new homes in Minneola

  A California-born real estate company is seeking approval from the City of Minneola to develop hundreds of homes on vacant land it owns. Richland Communities is requesting the city approve Parkview Oaks, a 460-home Planned Unit Development on nearly 155 acres at the southeast and southwest intersections...

• Clermont seeks CRE developers & restaurateurs for downtown waterfront

  The City of Clermont is seeking a developer to purchase and revamp two city-owned parcels on a hard corner in its downtown waterfront area, and restaurant operators to take vacant space in the area.  Clermont is requesting Letters of Interest from commercial developers with at least five years...

• NY-based land owner preps S.R. 50 site near Clermont for new mixed uses

  A New York-based real estate investment company is taking a second stab at preparing a vacant 41 acres near Clermont for development, a step in its positioning of the property for sale.  Dubbed "East Clermont Village," the land along S.R. 50 that's now earmarked for future office could be rezoned...

• New 55+ community planned as next phase of Cagan Crossings in Clermont

  A Clermont-area mixed-use development of homes, shops and restaurants may soon welcome a $22 million age-restricted senior housing community. New plans for the 55-plus community "The Orchard at Cagan Crossings" show a 136-unit, four-story complex with a mix of surface and covered garage parking,...

• The Villages developer sets closing month & price for 1,115-acre deal in Leesburg

  The developer of The Villages, a burgeoning age-restricted community spanning three counties, is narrowly circling a land buy to expand thousands of homes further into Lake County. The Villages Land Company LLC — which owns more than 34 square miles in Sumter, Marion and Lake counties upon which...

• Mount Dora pursues concept plan, funding for 1,300-acre innovation district

  Mount Dora, a Lake County city known for its quirkiness, walkability and small-town feel, is moving forward with a plan to shape a high-powered employment district out of 1,300 acres to its east. Dubbed the Wolf Branch Innovation District, the area is composed of 172 mostly-vacant land parcels...

• Lake Commissioners postpone vote on raising transportation impact fees

  Lake County's bargain-rate transportation impact fees will stay in place for the foreseeable future after commissioners voted 3-2 Tuesday to postpone action on the fee hikes indefinitely. The board debated whether to raise impact fees in the North and Central areas of the county to the level they...

• Lake Commissioners considering 500-percent hike to road impact fee

  Lake County Commissioners are scheduled to vote June 5 on an ordinance that could more than quintuple transportation impact fees across two thirds of the county, matching the rates now charged in the southern third of the county and bringing them closer to those charged by neighboring jurisdictions....

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• Beucher family selling undeveloped land, finished lots at Lake's Mission Inn Resort

  For the first time, regional and national homebuilders will get a chance to build in one of Central Florida's most historic golf resorts. The Beucher family, which has owned the Mission Inn Resort & Club in Lake County since 1964, has engaged Maury L. Carter & Associates to sell dozens of finished...

• Florida Hospital Waterman plans new office bldg in Mount Dora to expand reach

  Florida Hospital Waterman is planning a new medical office building in Mount Dora about six miles from its main campus in Tavares, adding new services to a growing area of north Lake County. Located on U.S. 441 just south of the entrance to the Country Club of Mount Dora, the 10.84-acre site was...

• Eustis to offer incentives for new development & annexation into city

  The city of Eustis is seeking to grow both its population and economic base with two new incentive programs approved by city commissioners earlier this month. On April 5, commissioners enacted a one-year program to waive application fees usually charged for residents or business owners who want...

• Clermont seeks builder for new Kehlor Recreation Center building

  The city of Clermont is looking for a general contractor to lead construction on the new Kehlor Recreation Center building in its historic downtown, according to a Request for Bids (RFB) issued on Friday.  Located at the intersection of Fifth Street and Minneola Avenue, Kehlor Park offers public...

• Sun Terra buys Hills of Minneola for $70M+, plans construction this year

  Oviedo-based developer Sun Terra Communities paid $70.8 million last week for the balance of The Hills of Minneola, an approved Planned Unit Development in Lake County that's entitled for nearly 4,000 homes. The property straddles all four corners of the Minneola - Florida Turnpike interchange...

• Eyesore lakefront mobile home park in Eustis under contract for redevelopment

  For years, the city of Eustis has had Sharp’s Mobile Home park in downtown in its crosshairs for redevelopment. But residents of the unsightly mobile home community with a spectacular lake view balked at the loss of their homes. Now the mobile home park is on its way out, as a group of local investors...

• Orlando CRE attorney preps 125k SF of new flex-industrial space in Clermont

  Orlando commercial real estate attorney John K. Keating earned approval Tuesday night from the city of Clermont to build up to 125,000 square feet of mixed commercial and industrial flex space. Keating has owned the 21.53-acre project site on Hancock Road, east of the Greater Pines subdivision, since...

• Clermont seeks construction manager for new 18-acre Public Works facility

  The city of Clermont is seeking a Construction Manager to lead the coming construction phases for a new 18-acre Public Works facility, according to a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) issued on Wednesday.  Located on Hancock Road east of the Greater Pines subdivision, the project includes the construction...

• Single-family and apartment plans progress for massive Hills of Minneola

  It has been decades since the fierce 1980s freezes killed Family Dynamics Land Company's 1,840 acres of orange groves in rural Lake County. But in the past two months, the Leesburg family-owned business has taken key steps with developers for the land that takes up a good swath of Minneola. “I...

• Avalon Park Group preps initial home lots for mixed-use lakeside project in Tavares

  Avalon Park Group is making progress with plans to build 1,000-plus homes and a mixed-use community in Tavares around Lake Hermosa, a smaller version of its successful Avalon Park community in east Orlando.  Following the filing of a conceptual development plan in August 2016 with the city for...

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• Leesburg seeks construction manager for new lakefront community center

  The city of Leesburg is looking to hire a Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) to lead work on a new community center building at the Venetian Gardens Park, an estimated $5.8 million project, according to a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) issued last week.  City commissioners approved in December...

• Construction manager sought for 141-acre public park in Lake County

  Lake County is seeking a a Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) to complete full buildout of the long-awaited South Lake Regional Park and its associated road improvements in Groveland, a project estimated at $18.5 million, according to a Request for Proposals (RFP) issued on Thursday. Construction...

• Hanover and Richmond American swap lots to partner in Groveland, St. Cloud

  Local homebuilders Richmond American Homes and Hanover Family Builders completed a land swap last week valued at nearly $3.5 million, and will team up to complete the buildout of two neighborhoods in Groveland and St. Cloud. The builders finalized the deal less than a month after RAH bought Phase...

• Leesburg approves rezoning of 2,631 acres for The Villages w/developer's agreement

  Leesburg Commissioners voted Monday night to give initial approval for a new development of The Villages in its city limits, approving Age-Restricted Development (ARD) zoning for 2,631 acres near the Florida Turnpike. Commissioners also approved a development agreement between the city and The Villages...

• Clermont seeks engineering consultant for $12.6M in new downtown projects

  The city of Clermont is seeking an engineering consultant to provide planning, design and review services for multiple projects in its downtown waterfront area, according to a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) issued last week. Clermont adopted a five-, 10- and 20-year master plan in March 2015...

• Lake County Schools seeks architecture & engineering firms for master planning

  Lake County Schools wants to hire one or more architectural and engineering firms to help with its district-wide master planning in the coming year, according to a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) issued on Tuesday. The architecture and engineering consultants will be asked to provide master planning...

• New Leesburg-area mall owners update city on new tenants, investment efforts

  The new owners of Lake County’s only mall unveiled ambitious plans for its improvement to the Leesburg City Commission Tuesday evening, promising to bring new life to an underdeveloped property. Meir Benzaken and Laurent Abitbol, real estate investors and brokers with Exclusive Management and Properties,...

• Leesburg OKs design of new lakefront community center, eyes 2018 CMAR bids

  The city of Leesburg plans to start construction in 2018 on a new $6.3 million Leesburg Community Center in Venetian Gardens, with improved views of Lake Harris.  City Commissioners recently approved the design for a new one-story, 20,700-square-foot building that would include a lobby, meeting...

• Zenodro Homes signs world-famous architect for new Four Corners resort

  Zenodro Homes founder Lusant Ordonez has engaged world-renowned architect Carlos Ott to design his newest vacation home resort in the Four Corners area of Lake County. "The gentleman who designed the opera house in Paris is designing our product," Ordonez told GrowthSpotter, noting he wants to...

• Eustis seeks civil engineering, architecture and landscape design contractors

  The city of Eustis is looking to hire a new round of civil engineering, architecture and landscape architecture firms on continuing service contracts for 2018 and beyond, according to a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) issued this week.  The Lake County city of more than 20,700 residents is trying...

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• Tavares to issue RFQs for new seaplane bases, feasibility study for arts center

  The city of Tavares is preparing to issue requests for professional help to rebuild the city's downtown floating docks, and to conduct a feasibility study for a new performing arts center. "Probably, within the next 30 to 45 days, both will be out there," economic development director Bob Tweedie...

• South Florida CRE investors pay $23M for Leesburg mall, plan lease-up & growth

  Two South Florida real estate investors and brokers have paid a combined $23 million for the Via Port Florida mall in Leesburg, and say they have the experience to lease up and grow the struggling mall.  Meir Benzaken and Laurent Abitbol, brokers with Pompano Beach-based Exclusive Management and...

• Hill Gray Seven puts Leesburg retail site under contract for redevelopment

  Local developer Hill Gray Seven has a new multi-tenant retail site in Leesburg under contract, and is pursuing more land in Greater Orlando's secondary markets that national tenants have been clamoring for. Closing on the 1-acre site is anticipated by mid-December or earlier, founder and CEO Gregg...

• Lake County seeks CEI engineering firm for Citrus Grove Road extension

  Lake County is looking for a firm to provide construction, engineering and inspection services (CEI) for the first phase of extension work planned on Citrus Grove Road, according to a Request for Statements of Qualifications (RSQ) announced this past weekend. The chosen company would provide CEI,...

• Renovation-focused investor pays $1.1M for Leesburg Opera House

  An investor with plans to spruce up downtown Leesburg has bought the iconic building known as the Leesburg Opera House for $1.13 million. Located at 401 W. Main St., the buyer was TGRJR, LLC, an investment vehicle managed by Thomas Frost, CEO of Sarasota-based Datum Corp., a provider of consulting,...

• New 141-acre regional park in south Lake County nears design phase

  Lake County’s long-awaited South Lake Regional Park is moving closer to reality. The Master Plan for the 141-plus acres is complete and plans for grading are underway, said county spokeswoman Elisha Pappacoda. The county has applied for a permit with the St. Johns River Water Management District...

• Lake County seeks landscape architecture firms for service contracts

  Lake County is looking to hire one or more landscape architecture firms for continuing service contracts, according to a Request for Statements of Qualifications (RSQ) issued this week.  The continuing services contract could be offered to one or more firms for on-call services on an as-required...

• Lake County’s largest warehouse bldg sells for $40M to Alabama-based investors

  Birmingham, Ala.-based real estate investment firm Graham Commercial Properties paid $40.2 million on Sept. 20 for Lake County’s largest industrial warehouse building, drawn by credit tenants and Central Florida's growing role in the e-commerce boom. Located at 19925 Independence Blvd., the Lake...

• National apartment developer considers two new sites in Downtown Eustis

  National multifamily developer The Richman Group is discussing building two apartment projects in downtown Eustis on non-adjacent lots, a lead official with the city told GrowthSpotter.  The discussion is preliminary at this point, said development services director Lori Barnes, who added a key...

• ContraVest eyes January start on new 230-unit Clermont apartment complex

  Altamonte Springs-based ContraVest should break ground in January on a 230-unit "Class A" apartment community in Clermont near the intersection of U.S. 27 and S.R. 50. It will be the fifth of the company's "Addison" branded complexes in active development in the Orlando metro area. The multifamily...

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• Clermont lots first slated for office space now prepped for new apts near hospital

  An affiliate of Atlanta-based Inland Atlantic Development Corp. is planning to combine two vacant office pads across from South Lake Hospital in Clermont for a new 144-unit Class A apartment complex.  Located at the southwest corner of Oakley Seaver Drive and Citrus Tower Boulevard, the 9.57-acre...

• Lake County seeks architect & CMAR for new animal control building

  Lake County is seeking an architecture firm and Construction Manager at-Risk (CMAR) for its new animal control and shelter building being planned, according to separate requests for proposals (RFP) and qualifications (RFQ) issued this week.  The single-story building would be used by the county's...

• Medical office demand in Clermont sparks plans to build out Citrus Tower Park

  Riding on the success of Citrus Tower Park’s medical office space, a Clermont-based development group is planning to convert the last seven acres of the Lost Lake Reserve Tract at John’s Lake Road and Citrus Tower Boulevard into 56,000 more square feet of office. “We should have executed contracts...

• Clermont seeks architect for new expanded public works facility campus

  The city of Clermont wants to hire an architectural firm to design a new public works facility on 18 acres, according to a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) issued last week. To be located on Hancock Road, the new facility is meant to serve the current and future needs of the city's public works...

• Leesburg church plans second building near The Villages of Fruitland Park

  After two years of planning, First Baptist Church of Leesburg is launching construction plans for a second church sanctuary adjacent to The Villages in Fruitland Park. The church has submitted requests for a grading permit to the St. Johns River Water Management District for grading and retention...

• Leesburg seeks architect for new aquatics center, engineer for utility lines

  The city of Leesburg is seeking an architectural/engineering design services firm to lead its development of a new aquatic facility, and a civil engineering firm to help relocate utilities along a stretch of U.S. 441, according to two Requests for Qualifications (RFQs) published this week. Leesburg...

• Medical office and retail planned for Fruitland Park area of The Villages

  A developer is in the early stages of seeking permits for an office and retail center at the doorstep of The Village’s newest neighborhood off C.R. 466-A in Fruitland Park. Located at the northwest corner of 466-A and Micro Race Track Road, the 10.38-acre property is owned by Degma Investments...

• Clermont boat dealership plans move and expansion w/new building

  Tommy’s Florida, part of a national chain of boat dealerships, has filed plans to build a new two-story, 14,000 square-foot sales and service building in Clermont to replace its current leased facility nearby. Located on the south side S.R. 50 just east of a U-Haul rental business, a Development...

• Hanover Capital Partners launching new homebuilding division

  With its litigation over Hanover Lakes in Osceola County now resolved, Hanover Capital Partners executives told GrowthSpotter the 543-home boating community will be a key component in the launch of the company's new homebuilding division: Hanover Family Builders. "We're happy to put it in the past...

• Kolter Homes pursues 580-lot active adult community in SE Lake County

  West Palm Beach-based Kolter Homes is seeking permits for a 580-home “active adult community” within its larger 987-acre Serenoa residential development in southeast Lake County. Under its affiliate VK Avalon Groves LLC, Kolter has county and state approval for a total 1,600 units in what was formerly...

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• Second brew pub planned in historic Downtown Eustis

  Eustis has a second brew pub coming on tap in downtown, planned for the former Magnolia Café and bike shop on the prominent corner of N. Bay Street and Magnolia Avenue. Dubbed the Bay Street Brewery & Bistro, the new business is led by Eustis couple Lea and Bill Beckett, who own a craft liquor...

• Lake County land owners eye Clermont annexation as Wellness Way remains stuck

  Lake County land owners seeking to develop Wellness Way are getting restless waiting for the county’s plan to create a development corridor emphasizing health and wellness, even as Cemex is fighting to build a sand mine in the middle that some stakeholders say would be anathema to development’s...

• Eustis seeks design-build contractor for new skate park

  The city of Eustis is planning a new skate park at Sunset Island Park and is seeking a design-build contractor to lead the project, according to a Request for Proposals (RFP) published within the past week.  The RFP requires bidders to describe how the company can help the city achieve its goals...

• Lake County seeks PD&E bids for widening Round Lake Road

  As the extension of the S.R. 429 spur into Mount Dora moves ever closer, Lake County is preparing to upgrade rural roads that will get a lot more traffic dumped into the area at S.R. 44 and Round Lake in Mount Dora. The county has put out a Request for Statements of Qualifications (RSQ) from companies...

• Four Corners Bus Tour highlights booming economy, challenges from rapid growth

  After taking a one-year hiatus, the Osceola Kissimmee Chamber's Four Corners Bus Tour led participants through a whirlwind of new developments on Wednesday in a rapidly growing submarket. "Today we're seeing things that we were only talking about two years ago on the last tour," Four Corners Area...

• Lake County seeks land use attorneys to oversee real estate disputes

  Lake County is seeking land use attorneys to help oversee occasional real estate disputes involving environmental and land use issues, according to a Request for Proposals (RFP) published last week.  The county would contract qualified attorneys or law firms to serve as Special Magistrate (known...

• RNR Tire Express expands into Lake County via Leesburg

  The entrepreneur who started Champion Rent–To-Own furniture store recently bought a former Tuffy’s Auto repair shop in Leesburg, with plans to renovate and reopen as a national tires store.  Located at 10742 U.S. 441 across from Leesburg's Home Depot, The 4,550-square-foot building will reopen...

• PD&E bids sought for extension of Lake County's C.R. 455 to Wellness Way

  Lake County is looking for a consultant to provide project planning, engineering, and environmental analysis services for an approximate 3.5-mile extension of C.R. 455 from Hartwood Marsh Road to Wellness Way, opening a back-door entrance to South Lake County’s new planned growth corridor. Tasks...

• KB Home launching new subdivisions in Groveland, Winter Haven

  KB Home has started construction and will open sales this summer on two new subdivisions in Groveland and Winter Haven.  Lake Lucerne in Winter Haven is a reactivated project that KB had purchased for $9 million in 2005. The 388-lot subdivision is divided into six develoment phases. Jim Reinert,...

• New craft brew pub planned in Downtown Eustis in time for Octoberfest

  A new craft beer pub, dubbed Wolf Branch Brewing, will lease 1,700 square feet of space in the historic Iron Block Building on Bay Street in the heart of Downtown Eustis, and city development officials are excited. “We think a brew pub will bring positive activity and energy to downtown,” said...

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• Solar-powered neighborhood expanding in the shadow of The Villages

  A development of solar-powered homes in the shadow of The Villages in Lady Lake is growing, fueled by customer interest in energy-efficient homes with solar panels that cut their electric bills to almost nothing. Green Key Village developer and builder Greg Thomas and his wife, Kim Thomas, of MainSail...

• Leesburg’s Beacon College chases growth spurt with new student housing plans

  Leesburg-based Beacon College is in the middle of a growth spurt, sparking plans for campus renovations and expansion for the east side of the Lake County city’s downtown. Founded by a group of parents in 1989 to provide students with learning disabilities, autism and ADHD a college education,...

• Groveland's boundary redefining mixed-use project Villa City faces Feb. 22 vote

  Groveland is set, once again, to vote on annexing a 2,467-acre assemblage planned for mixed-use development as Villa City, a land mass that has the potential to double the city's size. The city voted on it last fall, but then the town was roiled by the revelation that its mayor was a convicted...

• The Villages buys more land in Leesburg

  The Villages Land Co. LLC bought 241 acres in Leesburg for $4.3 million from Pride Homes of Lake County, per a deed recorded Feb. 6. The land is on the west side of the Florida Turnpike, north of State Road 470 and east of the Sumter County line. As is its custom, The Villages did not return calls...

• Florida Hospital Waterman banks 2nd piece of land in past two months

  Florida Hospital Waterman spent $900,000 on Jan. 18 to buy its second piece of land on U.S. 441 in the past two months for future development. The purchase included two parcels totaling 3.7 acres in Leesburg on Sleepy Hollow Road with frontage on U.S. 441, across from where S.R. 44 comes into the...

• Second Four Corners shopping center sells

  WCOT Glen Brook Commons Florida, an LLC of a Prudential Real Estate Investment Trust, sold Glenbrook Commons, a strip shopping center with a total of 72,339-square-foot in the Four Corners area of South Lake County, for $6.6 million on Dec. 19. The buyer of the center at 1714 U.S. 27, near Clermont,...

• Judge rules Lake County’s Wellness Way sector plan out of compliance

  A judge has ruled that Lake County’s Wellness Way sector development plan for 16,200 acres in its southeast corner is not in compliance with state planning rules, leaving county officials and land owners to contemplate what to do next. “They didn’t kill the whole plan,” said Robert Chandler, Lake...

• Eyesore property at entrance to Eustis sells for redevelopment

  A former Lowe’s site that has sat empty for years on a prominent corner at the entrance of Eustis sold on Thursday for $1.6 million. The 9.29-acre property was bought by an LLC controlled by a local physician, who has plans to build a medical office development on the nearly nine acres along U.S....

• Florida Hospital Waterman buys 10.5 acres in Mount Dora near country club

  Florida Hospital Waterman paid $2.35 million on Nov. 18 for about 10.5 acres on U.S. 441 that lie just south of the entrance to the Country Club of Mount Dora, and about six miles from its campus.  A spokesperson for the hospital said it has no firm plans to develop the vacant Mount Dora land. ...

• Lake County citrus family trust assembles land around new Publix in Tavares

  The Whitaker Family Trust has added another 9 acres to its land surrounding the new Publix on S.R. 19 in Tavares, and is asking the city to annex the parcel and rezone it from Lake County’s Agricultural classification into Tavares to mixed-use Commercial. The city's Planning and Zoning board is...

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• Nonprofit & developer seek GC for Clermont's first affordable apts in 20 yrs

  Local faith-based nonprofit New Beginnings is nearing the construction phase on a 96-unit affordable apartment complex in Clermont and has yet to choose a general contractor, the group's CEO told GrowthSpotter.  Planned for 9.66 acres on the east side of S. Grand Highway and south of Citrus Tower...

• Large Groveland community plans call for rare water-saving measures

  When owners of Villa City, a 2,467-acre assemblage north of Groveland in Lake County, started working to get approvals to develop the land a couple of years ago there was one big problem: they couldn’t show they had enough water available to sustain the thousands of homes planned. "Villa City came...

• Groveland votes for mixed-use project that could double its size, developers sought

  Lake County's Groveland -- which carries the slogan “The city with a future, watch us grow!” -- voted on Monday to take its first step toward approving a 2,467-acre mixed–use development with the potential to double its size.  The Groveland Council started by voting to create a zoning category...

• Lake County entrepreneur plans industrial development in Tavares

  Lake County entrepreneurs interested in starter space for new industrial businesses should have a new option in Tavares soon. Audie Newman, owner of Vision Conveyor in Tavares, is looking to annex 3.14 acres across the street from his business on Southridge Industrial Drive into the city of Tavares...

• Owner prepares land for commercial sale or lease on U.S 441 in Mount Dora

  The Mount Dora City Commission annexed a 5.25-acre parcel of raw land on Tuesday, assigning it commercial zoning in a rapidly developing section of U.S. 441 between Mount Dora and Eustis, as its owner prepares for development. The owner intends to sell or lease the land for commercial use, said...

• Downtown Mount Dora CRE owner spends $1.3M on vacant landmark building

  Main Street Leasing, a major owner of retail space in downtown Mount Dora, spent $1.3 million earlier this month to take over a landmark building in the city's downtown that has been vacant for more than a year.  Located at 403 N. Donnelly St. on the corner with and Fourth Avenue, the 4,560-square-foot...

• Lake County owner of 640 acres seeks rezoning & like-minded developer partner

  Lowrie Brown’s family has owned some 640 acres of ranch land off S.R. 44 north of Leesburg since the 1960s. His deceased father loved the ranch life, and Brown has a sentimental attachment to the land that fronts Haines Creek and features a breadth of natural scenery. Now he thinks it's time to...

• Clermont digging deep, hoping to find water to fuel future growth

  Look pretty much anywhere in Clermont and you’ll see lakes, yet the fast-growing city is planning for a time when there’s not enough drinking water to slake the throats of new residents, bringing growth to a halt. So the city, with a lot of cash aid from the St. Johns River Water Management District,...

• Steakhouse owner invests in historic downtown Eustis real estate

  Local realtor Leigh Ann Pippin signed a two-year purchase agreement in 2014 to buy a cavernous brick building in downtown Eustis that was a bit down in the heels. On Sept. 1, her LLC affiliate closed on the building, which in the interim has become a hopping steakhouse restaurant famous for hand-crafted...

• Clermont's Olympians help drive economic development to city

  The 20 Olympic medalists from Clermont brought home five gold, three silver and two bronze medals between them from the 2016 Summer Olympics, plus some seeds for economic development that are starting to sprout in the hilly Lake County city nicknamed “The Choice of Champions.” The sheer number...