Osceola County Developments

• 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 files plans for new 500+ home subdivision near Poinciana SunRail station

  A new homebuilder is under contract to buy 150 acres within a half mile of the Poinciana SunRail station that had been slated for a luxury condo-hotel resort. Hanover Land Co. is instead seeking Osceola County's approval for a 502-home subdivision called "Cypress Hammock." The community would have...

• 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....

• 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...

• 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...

• 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...

• 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....

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• 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...

• 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...

• 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...

• Developer planning transit-oriented housing near Kissimmee SunRail station

  Altamonte Springs-based Wendover Housing Partners has filed plans to build a $38 million transit-friendly apartment complex on the site of a former concrete plant less than a block from the Kissimmee SunRail station. Wendover has filed a conditional use site plan seeking approvals for a 206-unit...

• 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...

• 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...

• 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...

• 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...

• 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...

• 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 ...

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• 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...

• Atlanta resort operator buys Reunion Resort, plans new hotel + wave pool

  Kingwood International Resorts purchased the AAA Four Diamond-rated Reunion Resort on Friday and released an ambitious expansion plan of the Disney-area golf destination. Specializing in golf-centered clubs and resorts, Atlanta-based Kingwood International currently owns and operates Kingwood Country...

• International developer buys, rezones land near Margaritaville

  Global developer Sternon Worldwide paid $1.1 million this month for 12.6 acres on the W192 tourism corridor, near Margaritaville Resort, and is still formulating a development plan for the site. The land is on Lake Wilson and includes 6.3 acres of upland property. It has a driveway access to W192...

• Hanover Capital pays $8.4M for retail/industrial project near SunRail

  An investment affiliate of Hanover Capital Partners paid $8.4 million last week to acquire a 10-acre retail and industrial complex just off S. Orange Blossom Trail near the Poinciana SunRail station. The five-building campus has a total of 96,528 square feet of office, industrial, retail and showroom...

• Developer seeks Mixed-Use zoning, plan approval for site across from Harmony

  After managing the buildout of Starkey Ranch, Tampa Bay's top-selling master-planned community, for the last six years, St. Cloud-based Gentry Land Co. is turning it sites to a project closer to home. Gentry Principal Reed Berlinsky told GrowthSpotter he has a purchase contract on 103 acres on...

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• Apartment developer pays $25 million for 45 acres in Intram's Sunrise City

  The same company that built the Solstice Signature luxury apartments in Orlando's tourism corridor paid $25 million on Wednesday for 45-plus acres just over the county line in Osceola's Sunrise City. An affiliate of Northwood Ravin and Tampa-based Framework Group purchased the undeveloped land...

• Melbourne developer ventures into Osceola with Harmony Central acquisition

  A Brevard County developer is crossing into Osceola with the acquisition of Harmony Central. Melbourne-based Forte Macaulay Development Consultants, Inc. (FMDC) paid $4 million on Friday to buy the proposed 463-lot subdivision from Harmony master developer, Sun Terra Communities. Sun Terra bought...

• D.R. Horton to break ground soon on new St. Cloud subdivision

  D.R. Horton paid $1.2 million for 40 acres recently annexed into the City of St. Cloud and will break ground this quarter on a new subdivision called Savannah. The property is on Friar's Cove Road, just east of the Florida's Turnpike and immediately south of the Deer Creek community.  St. Cloud's...

• Orlando gift shop mogul buys former JungleLand Zoo on W192 in Kissimmee

  It closed its doors for good back in 2002 amid allegations of animal mistreatment, but the former JungleLand Zoo property on US 192 in Kissimmee is now poised for a renaissance in the hands of its new owner, Florida businessman Arvind Nandu. Nandu, president of Benzer International, Inc., and the...

• Park Square to introduce new senior living concept in Tapestry

  Park Square Homes is introducing a new senior living concept with its first Arya branded community at the former Sonoma Resort in Kissimmee's Tapestry master-planned community. Sid Gautam, commercial real estate director for Park Square, told GrowthSpotter the company expects to invest $30 million...

• Tampa developer to build $65M luxury apartments in Kissimmee's Sunrise City

  Tampa-based Sembler Investments has filed construction plans for a 340-unit apartment complex in the Sunrise City mixed-use district in Kissimmee's tourism corridor. This would be the second multifamily community in Sunrise City, following the completion in 2018 of Integra's Sunrise Parc.   Sembler's...

• Winter Park developer planning medical office park, emergency clinic on E192

  A Winter Park-based developer is planning to break ground this summer on a medical office park with a 24-hour emergency clinic across from Osceola County's government annex on E192 at Partin Settlement Road. Carson Good, who was involved in the development of the Publix-anchored shopping center...

• St. Cloud to consider Thompson Grove annexation, mixed-use plan

  A 46-acre mixed-use development on U.S. 192 at Narcoossee Road is set to go to the St. Cloud City Council for final approval this week after being stalled last year under the old administration. Developer/Engineer Randy June is seeking annexation and Mixed-Use zoning for the property, known as...

• Local builder partners with Chilean firm for trio of townhouse developments

  Bellavista Building Group has formed a partnership with a Chilean investment firm FFB Properties to launch three new townhome communities in the Orlando market this year. Bellavista CEO Aldo Martin told GrowthSpotter the partnership almost didn't happen. The investors debated whether to take the...

• Celebration golf course estate sells for $3.55 million after full renovation

  A Greenwich-based firm that specializes in estate home flips sold a mansion across from the Celebration Golf Club for $3.55 million after just 19 days on the market. “That’s the highest price sold in Celebration in the last five years,” said seller’s agent Jeffrey Eddowes, with Century 21 Blue...

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• New charter school in St. Cloud promises a private-school education without the high price tag

  The former owners of a private pre-school in Winter Springs are bringing that school’s highly touted educational philosophy to a new charter elementary school in St. Cloud. Construction of the Creative Inspiration Journey School of St. Cloud will begin this week with a formal opening set for August,...

• Bluerock pays $65M for apartments in ChampionsGate Village

  New York-based Bluerock Real Estate paid $65 million this week to buy The Gate apartments in downtown ChampionsGate village. The Class-A, 308-unit complex was built in 2017 by Investors Realty. Chris Fiscelli, Bluerock's director of investment research, told GrowthSpotter the 5-story, urban-style...

• Osceola County selling land at Vineland interchange, softball complex

  Osceola County is seeking bids for a 5.9-acre site on Vineland Road at the Osceola Parkway interchange. County Commissioners voted in 2017 to declare the land surplus, but the county has not actively marketed it for sale. The minimum bid is $2,823,555, according to the solicitation documents available...

• Disney buys another 1,500+ acres in Osceola County for $11 million

  It may have taken 50 years, but Disney finally convinced one of Osceola County's pioneer ranching families to sell their land holdings. Decendents of legendary cattle rancher Oren Brown -- notorious for refusing to sell his land to Disney for the original theme park -- agreed to sell most of their...

• New York real estate firm getting in the Reunion vacation rental business

  New York-based GMF Capital has invested nearly $11 million over the last few months to enter the luxury vacation rental market in Reunion Resort near Disney. The firm bought five vacation homes in December -- including three in a single week -- and three vacant lots in the fall. The most expensive...

• Mediterranean estate on Celebration's Eastlawn Drive sells for $1.7M

  A nearly 6,000-square-foot custom-built Mediterranean estate home on the most coveted stretch of Eastlawn Drive in Celebration sold last week for $1.7 million. "It's a great sale for the estate market in Celebration. It's the highest price-per-square-foot for all of 2018," said Keith Renner, broker...

• Mattamy plans lay groundwork for Celebration Island Village

  Mattamy Homes has been tight-lipped about designs for Celebration Island Village, but plans filed with Osceola County provide new details about the community and the types of homes that will be built there. The Canada-based homebuilder will introduce new architectural styles, giving buyers more...

• Lennar expanding Storey Lake Resort with 570 more vacation homes

  Lennar Homes is prepping for a major expansion of its booming Storey Lake Resort community in Osceola County with a new section called "Shingle Creek." Lennar paid $16 million in June to buy 323 acres of vacant land between Storey Lake and Shingle Creek. The builder has rezoned it to Tourist Commercial...

• The year in review: GrowthSpotter’s top stories of 2018

  From lawsuits to long drives to Lay’s potato chips, GrowthSpotter readers gravitated toward all kinds of stories in 2018. Big in the mix, not surprisingly, was new construction – factories, shopping centers and entertainment venues among the most clicked. Did you miss any of our “biggest hits”...

• Osceola native takes helm at W192 Development Authority

  In her new post as Executive Director of the W192 Development Authority, Christina Morris will have a new channel in which to direct her passion for helping people, a quality she discovered nearly 20 years ago when she began her tenure with Osceola County. “It’s a great opportunity,” Morris told...

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• Institutional buyer scoops up 100-plus rental homes in greater Orlando

  A New York investment firm that has been sweeping up single-family rental homes nationwide has made another big push into central Florida. Cerberus Capital Management spent $20.5 million for 113 homes, according to deeds dated Nov. 27. The portfolio includes 39 homes in Osceola County that sold...

• South Florida couple buys W192 hotel in mid-renovation

  A South Florida couple who oversaw one of the most successful hotel rebrandings in the West Kissimmee submarket has purchased a second hotel asset on the W192 tourism corridor. Carina Radonich and Ariel Tomat, who own a high-end construction company in Sunny Isles Beach, bought a distressed motel...

• Disney pays $23M for nearly 1,000 acres of ranch land next to Celebration

  Disney paid $23 million Thursday for a 965 acres of Osceola County ranchlands southeast of Celebration. The BK Ranch, located on Old Tampa Highway about a mile west of the Poinciana SunRail station, was envisioned for years a master-planned community to rival Celebration. It's entitled for 3,000...

• Encore releases new details and images of SPECTRUM+ at Reunion Resort

  Encore Capital Management has released details and pricing information for SPECTRUM+, its new 296-unit resort condo community at Reunion Resort.  Encore, the master developer of Reunion, has increased the unit count from the original 288, first reported by GrowthSpotter in late 2017. The Boca Raton-developer...

• Pulte pays $3.3M for Westside land to expand vacation home resort

  Pulte Homes paid $3.3 million this week for 47 acres in the heart of Osceola's Westside corridor to expand its popular Windsor at Westside resort community. The homebuilder filed a Preliminary Subdivision Plan (PSP) and Site Development Plan (SDP) with Osceola County in May for the parcel at the...

• Developer pays $4.5M for entitled multifamily site next to NeoCity

  A local developer and its Boston-based financing partner paid $4.485 million this week for the 16-acre site entitled for a luxury apartment complex next to Osceola County's NeoCity tech district. Investors Realty teamed up with Panther Residential Management for the 292-unit Neo Square apartment...

• Osceola signs off on new concept plan for Tavistock's Sunbridge project

  When Tavistock Development Company agreed back in April to relocate the utility plants for its massive Sunbridge community in Osceola County, that set the planning and construction schedule back at least a year. It was one of the key reasons the developer of the 19,000-acre master-planned community...

• Avex Homes files plans for new 298-home subdivision in Narcoossee area

  Avex Homes' new 298-lot Narcoossee-area subdivision, which goes to the Board of County Commissioners next week for approval, is the first implement the new subdivision standards in Osceola County's updated Land Development Code. "This is our first development in Osceola County," President Eric...

• Osceola buys land in tourism corridor for sheriff's command center, fire station

  Osceola County Commissioners on Monday agreed to pay $5.5 million for a former Publix grocery store on the tourism corridor to convert to a Westside Command Center for the sheriff. The grocery store at 2925 International Drive, just north of W192, had been vacant since since Publix opened its Celebration...

• Starlight U.S. Multifamily pays $75.3M for Kissimmee apartment complex

  Toronto-based real estate investment firm Starlight U.S. Multifamily paid $75.3 million just before Thanksgiving for its fifth asset in the Greater Orlando market, buying the 356-unit Altis Shingle Creek apartments in Kissimmee. This is the firm's third acquisition of an "Altis" branded property....

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• Orlando physician plans new mixed-use with hotel at NeoCity

  An Orlando gastroenterologist and real estate investor has filed plans with Osceola County for a mixed-use development on the E192 tech corridor in front of NeoCity. M. Asif Mohiuddin, who has a practice in St. Cloud, paid $1.2 million in 2016 the 3-acre lot with plans for a development to compliment...

• Osceola seeks development team, project manager for new tax collector office

  Osceola County is seeking a development team for a new $4 million tax collector's office that will be the first phase of a planned government annex in south Kissimmee, a mile from the Poinciana SunRail Station. The county's procurement office this week issued two Requests for Proposals: one for...

• D.R. Horton prepping for Phase 3 of Kindred in Osceola

  D.R. Horton is prepping for the next phase of Kindred, its massive master-planned community near Osceola County's NeoCity tech district. The homebuilder has filed a Preliminary Subdivision plan for Phase 3, which comprises 356.6 acres, and is seeking approvals for 702 single family home lots and...

• Tampa pharmacist pays $3.15M for historic downtown Kissimmee ALF

  A historic landmark building in downtown Kissimmee sold last week to a Tampa pharmacist and investor for $3.15 million. Kona Properties LLC purchased the Greenleaf Assisted Living Facility at 509 W. Verona Street, about a block from Courthouse Square. Built in 1919, the two-story building originally...

• 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...

• English couple sell $1.1 M house in Reunion to Michigan doctor and wife

  The parents of a famous English television personality recently sold their vacation home in the Reunion Resort for $1.1 million, according to a deed recorded in Osceola County on Monday. Located on a 0.3-acre lot on Wynstone Way, the custom home features seven bedrooms and six bathrooms across...

• Park view helps land off-market sale of Celebration estate home

  An estate home in Aquila Reserve that feels like it sits on many acres just sold in Celebration for $1.32 million. “This is a very unique sale. There are some special lots in Celebration. In front of the park [on Aquila Loop] there are two estate homes and they look out over this nice preserve...

• Encore adding townhomes to Nicklaus-themed Bear's Den in Reunion

  The Jack Nicklaus-branded neighborhood on the famed golfer's namesake course in Reunion Resort, where home prices start at $1.2 million, is about to get townhomes. Encore Homes has filed a Preliminary Subdivision plan (PS) with Osceola County for Phase 3 of its gated Bear's Den at Reunion seeking...

• Luxury builders planning marina subdivision on East Lake Toho fish camp

  Nearly 100 acres of lakefront property with a private marina on Boggy Creek Road was just way too tempting to sit on the market forever.  Representatives from Ashton Woods and Toll Brothers met Wednesday with Osceola County's planning staff to discuss plans for converting the Boggy Creek Resort...

• Park Square Homes secures $4M investment for Kissimmee resort community

  Park Square Homes has sold the final phase of its BellaVida Resort community for just less than $4 million to a local Chinese American brokerage that will take over sales and target international buyers. Park Square is wrapping up construction on the resort community's second phase and is in permitting...

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• Encore files plans for potential hospital site, vacation homes at Reunion Village

  Encore Capital Management is seeking entitlements for a 240-bed hospital and 96,000 square feet of office space as part of its mixed-use Reunion Village development at the I-4/ChampionsGate interchange. "Orlando Health is continuing to plan for the expansion of healthcare services in Osceola County,...

• Pilot withdraws request for fly-in community after Osceola staff rejects plan

  An airline pilot's dream of building Osceola County's first luxury fly-in community appears to have stalled on the runway after failing to secure approvals from the county's planning and engineering staff. Brian Hickok, a captain for JetBlue, purchased 50 acres in Harmony right across from the...

• Park Square redesigns, renames Kissimmee apartment complex near NeoCity

  Park Square Homes has redesigned and renamed its proposed apartment complex next to the Valencia College Osceola Campus in Kissimmee.  Senior Project Manager Robert Mick and his development team met Tuesday with the city's Development Review Committee to review the new site plan, which adds density...

• Local developer targeting Osceola for new apartment communities

  Orlando-based Elevation Development is eyeing a pair of sites in the Kissimmee submarket for new apartment communities, but they may have to tweak their plans before submitting any formal applications, county planners said. Elevation Principal Shaman Foradi met last week with Osceola's Development...

• Lennar pays $18.5 million for Osceola's Woodland Park project near Kissimmee

  Lennar Homes will start construction before the end of the year on the first phase of Woodland Park, a roughly 400-acre subdivision in Osceola County that's approved for 1,018 homesites. The nation's largest homebuilder paid $18.5 million this week for the project that was designed in 2015 by Tramell...

• W192 redevelopment official leaving for post in West Coast suburb

  David Buchheit, executive director of Osceola's W192 Development Authority, announced he is resigning to accept a position as downtown manager for the city of Renton, a suburb of Seattle. Buchheit joined the authority in April 2015 following a two-year stint overseeing Winter Park's CRA. Before...

• New owners to spend at least $30M on massive renovation of Disney-area hotel

  The Sarasota-based hotel company that bought the former Magnuson Grand on Kissimmee's W192 tourism corridor is planning to spend anywhere from $30 million to $50 million on a full renovation and expansion, a company executive told GrowthSpotter. Marc Gagliardi, vice president of Kapstones Holding,...

• Dubai-funded agribusiness buys another 1,363 acres in Osceola County

  Global agribusiness firm Optimum Agriculture has expanded its Osceola County holdings, paying $7.9 million on Friday for 1,363 acres of orange groves adjacent to the El Maximo Ranch. It was the second major Central Florida acquisition this year for the company, which partnered with the Investment...

• Litigation, construction needs push Southstar to list condemned apartments

  When Southstar Capital Group spent $67 million on a 306-unit multifamily development and renamed it Sola at Celebration in 2016, they did so, says President and Chief Financial Officer Gina Williams, “at a top price, because we were confident in the Celebration market.” That assessment of the sector...

• Tupperware expects flurry of sales around Kissimmee campus in coming months

  Tupperware's Deerfield Land Development has sold its fourth multifamily site to Fore Property Company and expects a flurry of other land closings before the end of the year, a lead executive said. Fore paid $2.6 million for the 7-acre site at the intersection of Ball Park Road and Batts Street,...

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• RIDA announces new tenant line-up for downtown ChampionsGate

  RIDA Development Corp. has added four new tenants to its Downtown ChampionsGate Shopping Center, leaving just one end-cap space available. RIDA Senior Vice President Marc Reicher told GrowthSpotter he has executed leases with Huey Magoo’s Chicken Tenders, Great Clips, Little Greek Fresh Grill,...

• Second plasma center heading to Kissimmee shopping center next to SunRail

  A Boca Raton-based plasma collection company appears to be headed to Kissimmee's Gateway Station, making it the second such company to locate in the same shopping center next to the new Tupperware SunRail station and walking distance from the new Orlando Health Tupperware campus. CSL Plasma spokeswoman Mary...

• Stetson University accepting offers for property in downtown Celebration

  Stetson University is looking to sell its Center at Celebration academic building in the heart of the Disney master-planned community. The DeLand-based private university has issued a call for offers for its 36,000-square-foot academic center at 800 Celebration Ave. The three-story building is...

• Tampa investment firm pays $16.8M for Kissimmee Walmart-anchored center

  A Tampa investment firm that specializes in mid-market grocery-anchored retail centers paid $16.8 million this month to enter the greater Orlando market via Kissimmee. East Coast Acquisitions (ECA) purchased the Walmart Neighborhood Market-anchored Vine Street Square in a deed that posted Sept....

• Company that built condemned Celebration apartments files for Chapter 11

  The construction company that built a luxury apartment complex in Celebration that was condemned a year after completion has now filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of Texas. Urban Oaks Builders, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Texas-based Hines, announced the filing...

• Osceola settles code enforcement case with key Disney-area land owner

  Osceola County Commissioners voted Monday to reduce code enforcement penalties against the owner of the Orlando Sun Resort & Spa by $560,344 and close the case against the long-vacant hotel. The move clears the way for the owner to proceed with a rezoning and DRI rescission for the property and...

• Four Corners Council brings in UCF expert to resolve cross-county conflicts

  After years of holding summits and bus tours, the Four Corners Area Council brought in one of the region's top conflict resolution specialists to help it create a unified plan for the booming area that crosses jurisdictional boundaries.   The council has contracted with the University of Central...

• Osceola seeks South Korea business expert to recruit firms to NeoCity

  Osceola County is looking for expert help to recruit South Korean technology companies to NeoCity.  The county published a Request for Letters of Interest (RFLOI) and Statement of Qualifications for consultants fluent in the language and business culture of South Korea. "The South Korean government...

• Magic Village resorts to be rebranded as Wyndham Trademark properties

  Orlando-based Magic Development and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts revealed the details of their new branding partnership on Tuesday, including relaunching the company's two vacation-home resorts as Wyndham Trademark Collection properties. Magic CEO Rodrigo Cunha told GrowthSpotter the company decided...

• Magic Development planning huge new food hall to anchor retail at W192 resort

  Orlando's largest food hall is headed to Kissimmee's W192 tourism corridor. Magic Development CEO Rodrigo Cunha told GrowthSpotter the company will build a 30,000-square-foot food hall to anchor the first phase of the company's multi-billion dollar Magic Place by Pininfarina luxury resort.  "It's...

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• Magic Development signs Wyndham Hotels as branding partner for resort properties

  Magic Development and Wyndham Hotel & Resorts will announce details of a new branding partnership Aug. 28. Orlando-based Magic Development currently has three luxury vacation home resort properties in operations or in development on Kissimmee's West 192 tourism corridor. The firm is now building...

• NeoCity-area apartments to provide relief for W192 Kissimmee motel families

  One of Osceola County's leading developers of affordable multifamily housing will build an 80-unit apartment complex less than a mile from the NeoCity high-tech district. Birdsong Housing Partners is under contract to buy 11.6 acres at the intersection of Simpson Road and East U.S. 192, near the...

• Frito-Lay plans $130M plant in Osceola across from Poinciana SunRail station

  One of the world's largest snack food companies outlined plans on Monday to build a $130 million plant in Osceola County across from the Poinciana SunRail station. Frito-Lay is planning to construct a 286,000-square-foot, high-tech service facility to be completed in 2021. The automated distribution...

• Battaglia Group seeks PUD rezoning for 105 acres next to St. Cloud's Tohoqua

  Winter Park-based Battaglia Group has applied to rezone 120 acres in St. Cloud for a Planned Unit Development with entitlements for nearly 1,600 homes and a town center to position the property for sale.  The orange grove is located at the southwest corner of Neptune Road and Old Canoe Creek Road,...

• Xentury City marketing land around Gaylord Palms for new luxury hotels

  Next year's opening of Disney's Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge attraction has prompted the Saudi owners of 200-plus acres surrounding the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center to revamp their marketing strategy for the land. Master developer Xentury City has engaged CBRE's Robert McEwan to market...

• Miami Beach investor pays $4.1M for business park next to Kissimmee airport

  After putting down stakes in Orlando's small-bay flex industrial market in 2015, Miami Beach's Z Asset Management Corp. paid $4.1 million last week for a 4-acre business park next to Kissimmee Gateway Airport. Built in 2004, the Armstrong Business Center is comprised of four multi-tenant flex warehouse...

• Minnesota construction firm exec buys rare Lake Toho estate home for $1M

  A traditional brick estate home with stunning views of Kissimmee's Lake Tohopekaliga convinced the owners of a Minnesota construction firm to look outside of the tourism corridor for their new vacation home. The 9,000-square-foot home on Kissimee's gated Grandview Boulevard features six bedrooms...

• BioLife planning $7M plasma center near new Orlando Health-Tupperware campus

  An international biotech firm has filed preliminary plans to build a 15,210-square-foot plasma center within walking distance of the new Tupperware SunRail station and Orlando Health emergency room.  BioLife Plasma Services is eyeing a 3-acre outparcel in the Gateway Station Shopping Center, a...

• Affordable housing developer eyes site in Kissimmee for new apartment complex

  A South Florida multifamily developer that specializes in affordable housing has plans to build 96 apartments next to Kissimmee's Shingle Creek Regional Park. Kemissa Colin, a development analyst for Housing Trust Group, met Tuesday with Kissimmee's Development Review Committee to finalize the...

• Osceola's W192 board launches study for tourism corridor design guidelines

  For years Osceola County's W192 Development Authority has talked about the need for design guidelines to regulate development along the tourism corridor. Now the board is closer to making it a reality. This week, the board had a kick-off meeting with planning consultants from Logan Simpson, who...