Residential Property Developments

• IMT Residential expands Orlando portfolio with $73M apartment buy in Horizon West

  A California-based apartment operator just expanded its Greater Orlando portfolio with a $73 million purchase of a new apartment complex in Winter Garden. This is the company’s second major acquisition in Central Florida. IMT Residential entered the market about a year ago with its $76.6 million...

• 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...

• Tampa homebuilder wants to ditch plans for timeshare near Ruby Lake for multifamily

  A Tampa-based homebuilder wants to do away with plans to build timeshare units near Ruby Lake, and instead build up to 400 multifamily units along with additional commercial space. The change is being sought by Bering Homes, which recently reactivated the shelved Tierra Del Sol resort development...

• Ocoee planning board approves new phase of city's largest subdivision

  City planners have given the thumbs up to another phase of construction in the Arden Park North subdivision, bringing 90 more homes to the largest residential development in Ocoee. Lennar Homes will continue construction clockwise around Lake Sims on a parcel on the north side of Clarcona-Ocoee...

• Pulte kicks off 2019 with a pair of major land deals for $19M

  Pulte Homes is confirmed as the first production homebuilder in Tavistock Development Company's Poitras master-planned community in south Orlando. Pulte paid $12 million in late December for 500 homesites in Phase 1 of Poitras, which is approved for 2,734 residential units across its nearly 1,150...

• Developer plans to demo Universal Boulevard shopping center for apartments

  A California-based multifamily housing developer has filed plans to convert a largely dormant shopping plaza in southwest Orlando into the 399-unit Republic Square Apartments. Legacy Partners Residential has applied with the city’s planning division to construct five buildings of four stories each...

• D.R. Horton launches Palms at Serenoa 55+ community in Clermont

  D.R. Horton this week opened a preview center and launched pre-sales for its new 550-home active adult community, Palms at Serenoa, in Clermont. Horton is planning approximately 190 homes in Phase 1. Those include duplexes and single family homesites, which will be developed under the Freedom Homes...

• 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...

• Orlando staff to meet with six bidders for Clear Lake redevelopment site

  Orlando Economic Development Director Brooke Bonnett was right to be optimistic about the timing of the city's offering of a 4.7-acre redevelopment site near Camping World Stadium.  The city received six bids -- all from companies with a successful track record of building affordable and mixed-income...

More News

• 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...

• Seminole’s largest mixed-use project promises sustainability, transit options

  The developers of Parkside Place, a proposed 110-acre mixed-use development near Sanford, say they want to create a community with ample green space for healthy recreation and transit options that will reduce residents’ reliance on automobiles. Palmeira Holdings, the Toronto-based developer, envisions...

• 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...

• Apopka Council approves land use change for two new subdivisions near Wekiva interchange

  A pair of residential developments could bring more than 400 new homes to what is expected to become a bustling section of northwest Apopka. Large Scale Comprehensive Plan Amendments (CPA) for parcels on West Kelly Park Road and at 3845 and 4011 Golden Gem Road went before the Apopka City Council...

• D.R. Horton prepping townhouse project in airport market

  The owner of 99 acres on Wetherbee Road has applied for a mass grading permit to prep the first phase of D.R. Horton project that could add hundreds of townhomes and apartments to the airport submarket. The homebuilder is listed as the contract purchaser for the land, which is just west of Boggy...

• Orlando developer Saathoff sells more land near Sanford to homebuilder D.R. Horton

  Orlando developer Dwight Saathoff’s firm, Project Finance and Development, sold 44 acres near Sanford to Texas-based homebuilder D.R. Horton for $3.72 million, according to a deed filed Monday in Seminole County. The land, now vacant, is just east of the Sanford city limits on Celery Avenue between...

• Cassidy Homes planning new townhouse community on U.S. 27 corridor

  A Winter Haven developer is seeking county approval for 346-unit townhouse community on Polk County's U.S. 27 corridor, across from Heart of Florida Regional Medical Center. Cassidy Organization spent much of the last year and $1.36 million to assemble the 34.5 acres between Florida Development...

• 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...

• Texas developer files plans for first residential project in The Packing District

  San Antonio-based Embrey Partners has filed a proposed Master Plan with the City of Orlando to build a 310-unit urban midrise apartment building in the heart of The Packing District. Embrey has a long history in the Orlando market, having developed approximately 5,000 units here in past development...

• SunTrust backs Creative Village apartments with $66M loan

  SunTrust Robinson Humphrey has backed the first Class A, market-rate apartment building in Creative Village to the tune of $66 million. Co-developers Ustler Development and The Allen Morris Company have already started construction on the 14-story, $108 million building at the corner of Amelia...

• Orlando seeking bids to redevelop Clear Lake multifamily site

  The City of Orlando is offering nearly 5 acres for sale just south of Camping World Stadium to the right developer who will build mixed-income housing in downtown's Clear Lake neighborhood. "I think the market is pretty ripe for moving development forward on this site," Orlando's Director of Economic...

• 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...

• Horizon West founder files plans for 700 more homes

  Horizon West founder Jim Karr has filed a rezoning application for a new Planned Development that would add a combined 700 homes and apartments plus retail uses to the community's Village I. The Karr Planned Development comprises 134 acres north of Hartzog Road and east of Avalon Road. It's currently...

• Orlando CRA to build single family homes in Parramore's Carver Park

  An effort to provide affordable home ownership opportunities in the downtown Parramore neighborhood is back on track, with Orlando’s Community Redevelopment Agency stepping in to provide what could be an $8 million investment in 41 new homes. A memorandum of understanding between the redevelopment...

• City may order shutdown of car museum at Artegon for zoning violations

  The South Florida billionaire who dreamed of converting the former Artegon Marketplace into an entertainment venue and museum showcasing his vast car collection could be shut down by the City of Orlando because of zoning and code violations.  Miami-based Dezer Development paid $23.75 million in...

• 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...

• 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...

• Goal for Ovation in Horizon West: Establish continuity for builders

  With a vision for continuity and the land to make it happen, Columnar Investments is bringing more than 4,000 homes and approximately 300,000 square feet of commercial in the Ovation community in Horizon West’s Village I to market with a master-planned feel. “At Ovation, we wanted it to seem a...

• Elevation Development makes foray into Polk County with mixed-use on U.S. 27

  Orlando-based Elevation Development is submitting plans for a 42.42-acre, mixed-used development about a mile south of Posner Park mall on busy U.S. 27. Elevation principal Owais Khanani told GrowthSpotter the development, dubbed Shoppes at Citrus Ridge, will have 75,000 square feet of retail along...

• 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...

• Plans for another 1,000-plus Horizon West homes emerge

  Dallas-based landowners are seeking entitlements to add more than 1,000 homes in the active Village I area of Horizon West in western Orange County, according to plans posted Monday by the county. In the Withers PD east of Avalon Road, which stretches north from Hartzog Road on approximately 320...

• 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...

• 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...

• City approves rezoning for 457-home subdivision on Davenport Blvd.

  The City of Davenport is rezoning 119.5 acres of citrus groves right on U.S. 17-92 for a new 457-lot subdivision. The acreage consists of 11 parcels on the south side of Davenport Boulevard and west of the CSX train tracks. City Planner Raymond Perez told GrowthSpotter the boulevard between U.S....

• ContraVest sells fast-leasing Addison on Millenia apartments for $62M-plus

  Altamonte Springs-based ContraVest has sold the 292-unit The Addison on Millenia apartments it developed in 2016 to a South Florida investor for a recorded $62,617,000 as it plans two other multifamily projects in the area. The timeframe fits the expectations ContraVest had when it planned the...

• 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...

• Plan seeks 800-plus homes, more at Gem Groves site in Horizon West

  A joint-venture applicant has filed plans for 485 single-family homes and 370 multifamily units as well as commercial sites on approximately 258 acres near Avalon Road and Flemings Road at the Gem Groves property in west Orange County. A planned-development and land-use plan filed with the county...

• 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,...

• Clearwater developer planning new Four Corners subdivision

  Clearwater-based CG Land Development Company is planning to add another 188 homesites to Polk County's booming U.S. 27 corridor in the Four Corners submarket. The land developer has filed a residential site plan for the 73-acre site, which is southwest of the intersection of U.S. 27 and Four Corners...

• 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...

• 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...

• Dr. Phillips expanding Packing District, revising development plan

  Dr. Phillips Charities has filed plans with the City of Orlando to formally change the name of its ambitious mixed-use district west of College Park to "The Packing District" and has identified more than a dozen industrial buildings that could be converted for other uses. Dr. Phillips President...

• 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...

• Volusia developer Henin Group plans 160 townhomes on Sanford artery

  Jerome Henin, developer of the Mediterranean-themed Riviera Bella community in DeBary, wants to build something less pricey in Sanford that will appeal to the middle-of-the-road buyer.  Henin, principal at the Henin Group, said new housing stock coming on line is too expensive for many potential...

• Pulte plans another 220-plus homesites at Lake Pickett neighborhood

  Pulte Homes has purchased an assemblage of land, many of the parcels having frontage on Lake Pickett, in east Orange County for a total of approximately 300 acres, paying a recorded $8.42 million in all. The builder plans 224 homes similar to its product at nearby Lake Pickett Reserve developments,...

• 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...

• 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...

• Low-cost brokerage Purplebricks aims to disrupt Orlando real estate market

  Orlando's red-hot housing market has lured another low-cost, tech-focused real estate brokerage seeking to disrupt the traditional home sales model. Purplebricks, which launched in the UK in 2014 and expanded a year ago to several U.S. markets, opened its Florida operations Tuesday with service...

• Developer works with Lake Helen before purchasing dozens of homesites

  Melbourne-based Vintage Estate Homes has purchased 44 estate homesites in Lake Helen, a city north of Orlando long known for carefully managing growth, with plans for single-family homes similar to existing product that swayed historical-board members’ favor before the deal closed. Vintage paid...

• Land-use plan seeks to build 100 homes in key Apopka area

  Surrey Homes has plans to build up to 100 single-family homes off Plymouth Sorrento Road about a mile southeast of the State Road 429 interchange with Kelly Park Road in Apopka, according to filings with the city that request a land-use change. The homes would sit on an assemblage of four parcels...

• PF&D’s Saathoff planning 34-acre residential, commercial development in Sanford

  Orlando developer Dwight Saathoff is planning a $45 million mixed-use development in Sanford that will include 176 homes along with retail and commercial businesses.  Saathoff, a principal in Project Finance & Development LLC, is asking Sanford officials for a land-use change from industrial to...

• 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...

• ContraVest plans another Addison multifamily development for active area

  Contravest is planning 218 apartments along Winter Garden Vineland Road in a quartet of 4-story buildings across the street from Grand Cypress Resort west of Apopka Vineland Road. Addison at Cypress Sound would have more than 180 one- and two-bedroom apartments with a handful of studios and three-bedroom...

• Near Mount Dora, 245 single-family homes planned

  D.R. Horton is looking to build 245 single-family homes near Mount Dora according to plans filed with Orange County on Monday. The subdivision listed as Holly Estates in county plans is set on a 107-acre parcel along State Road 441 north of Willow Street and west to Mohawk Drive.   It would contain...

• 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...

• Haines City approves townhomes in new 28-acre mixed-use community

  Haines City has approved plans for a 182-unit townhouse community  on the rapidly growing C.R. 544 corridor east of Little Lake Hamilton. "A lot of the development we're seeing in Haines City is single family," Deputy Director of Development Mark Bennett said. "This is a great project because it's...

• Sun Terra buys 63 acres in Horizon West for Dream Finders development

  An affiliate of Sun Terra Communities has purchased approximately 63 acres along Avalon Road at the western end of New Independence Parkway for a recorded $12.39 million, as part of a facilitation deal in which Dream Finders Homes will build 177 single-family residences. “We’ll probably be bringing...

• Developer plans more luxury townhomes in Orlando's SODO district

  A pair of local real estate investors have plans to expand the luxury residential boom in Orlando's SODO district by converting an auto body shop into a high-end townhouse community. Venue Investments partners Amit Ghosh and Shibin Wang own a real estate portfolio that primarily consists of single-family...

• M/I Homes buying homesites at Johns Lake Landing near Clermont

  M/I Homes of Orlando plans to build 136 homes ranging from 1,750 to 3,600 square feet just east of Clermont in Johns Lake Landing, having closed on 54 finished sites so far. Buying 50-, 75- and 85-foot sites in phases 4 and 5 for the community that fronts the northwestern reaches of Johns Lake,...

• Altamonte developer seeks approval for high-end condos in Maitland

  Altamonte Springs-based ERM Development Corp. wants to build a 50-unit luxury, lakefront condominium community in Maitland that will appeal to well-off empty nesters. ERM president and owner Eli Melamed told GrowthSpotter the proposed condos at 473 S. Keller Road will be approximately 2,100 square...

• Toll Brothers plans single-family homes in Seminole

  Toll Brothers told Growthspotter on Wednesday the builder is planning 70 single-family homes east of Lake Mary, set to open for sale early next year. “It’s the first time we’ve been in Seminole County in almost eight years,” said Brock Fanning, Senior Vice President of Toll Brothers’ Central Florida...

• UPDATED: DR Horton files plans for 200-plus homes along S.R. 429 near Apopka

  DR Horton is making plans to build 208 single-family homes on a 71-acre parcel along State Road 429 approximately 2 miles north of the North Orange Blossom Trail interchange, according to filings with Orange County. The land along Ponkan Road neighbors the north end of Zellwood Station Country...

• Among high-end Park Hill townhome buyers: Tupperware's Tom Roehlk

  Hill Gray Seven has sold one of its new, high-end townhomes on Winter Park’s trademark Park Avenue for a recorded $2.85 million to Tom Roehlk, executive vice president of Tupperware Brands. The development of 10 townhomes is half sold out, said Gregg Hill, founder of Oviedo-based Hill Gray Seven,...

• 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...

• Apartment tower planned on church-owned land in downtown Orlando

  Tennessee-based Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) is eyeing a 2-acre corner lot in downtown Orlando for a new 325-unit apartment tower with ground-floor retail. MAA filed a Master Plan (MP) with the city for 9-story tower and parking garage at 336 N. Orange Ave., immediately south of the...

• Benge Development outlines big 429 West mixed-use project in Apopka

  Benge Development revealed on Monday plans for a 100- to 130-acre mixed-use development at the northwest corner of state roads 429 and 441, with an early cost estimated of $400 million, that stands to become the largest in development along the Western Beltway north of Florida’s Turnpike. Plans...

• Epoch Residential plans Palm Parkway apartments after purchase from Daryl Carter

  The latest big land deal along Palm Parkway and Interstate 4 has Daryl M. Carter one step away from exiting the mixed-use corridor, closing on 10 acres south of Daryl Carter Parkway with buyer Epoch Residential for a recorded $7.5 million. Epoch’s plan is to build 250 apartments on the parcel south...

• Meritage plans 200 townhomes in Ocoee off S.R. 429 & West Orange Trail

  Meritage Homes is looking to build 200 townhomes on 29 acres in Ocoee on the West Orange Trail just west of State Road 429. The Greens at Forest Lake community is expected to begin construction a year from now, said Adam Schott, Director of Land Acquisition for Meritage, and will include homes...

• Lennar introducing new home designs in first Polk solar community

  Lennar Homes is introducing an affordable, energy-efficient product line starting in the low $200,000s in two new subdivisions in Haines City on the U.S. 27 corridor. North Ridge Estates will be Lennar's first all-solar community in Polk, and the first to feature its "American Dream Series," Orlando...

• Equinox plans 48-acre mixed-use town center across from Margaritaville Resort

  Maitland-based Equinox Development Properties has assembled nearly 50 acres next to Disney's Animal Kingdom and across from Margaritaville Resort for a mixed-use town center combining experiential retail, dining, residential and hotel uses. Dubbed "WaterStar Orlando," the town center in southwest...

• 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...

• 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,...

• AV Homes enters Apopka market with new high-end Lakeside community

  AV Homes will showcase a new array of larger, more contemporary home designs as it enters the Apopka market for the first time.   The Arizona-based homebuilder broke ground Friday on Lakeside, a 301-home gated community that will have its own park and community boat dock on Marshall Lake. Matt...

• Polk developers buy Haines City land approved for 367-lot subdivision

  A Polk County developer paid $1.2 million last week for nearly 90 acres of timberland on Haines City's Scenic Highway that has city approval for a 367-lot subdivision. Cassidy Organization, a Winter Haven-based land developer, won approval June 21 to rezone the property just east of Little Lake...

• 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,...

• 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...

• St. Cloud's AmeraTrail planning new HQ and manufacturing plant on E192

  St. Cloud-based AmeraTrail, which builds custom boat trailers, is planning for a new 150,000-square-foot manufacturing facility as part of a larger 55-acre mixed-use development. Owner Scott C. Locke has applied to rezone the land at the intersection of U.S. 192 and Old Melbourne Highway, near...

• D.R. Horton under contract to buy 550-lot resort subdivision in Haines City

  National homebuilder D.R. Horton has a purchase contract for 186 acres just west of Polk County's Heart of Florida Regional Medical Center. Haines City Commissioners have approved revisions to a Developers Agreement (DA) for Lake Charles Resort, a proposed 550-lot vacation home resort community...

• Arizona land banker pays $5.4 million for 105-acre Narcoossee subdivision

  Coronado West, an Arizona-based land banker, paid $5.4 million last week for 105 acres in northeast Osceola County that's already approved for 349 home sites. President John Cork told GrowthSpotter the acquisition was a land banking transaction on behalf of Ashton Woods. "We basically follow homebuilders...

• High-end condo conversion proposed for Winter Park office bldg near Park Ave

  Winter Park investors are proposing to convert a 20-year-old office building just two blocks from central Park Avenue into high-end condomiums, following a successful trend of redeveloping commercial sites into luxury homes near the city's downtown. Located at 338 W. Morse Blvd., the acre parcel...

• Kissimmee nonprofit plans shipping container apartments in tourism corridor

  A Kissimmee nonprofit agency that serves the homeless and needy along W192 wants to tap into the container housing trend to solve Osceola's affordable housing crisis.  The Community Hope Center met with the county's Development Review Committee Wednesday morning to discuss preliminary conceptual...

• Developer’s attorney: strong case still to be made for controversial River Cross project

  Despite an emphatic rejection by Seminole County planners, an attorney for developer and former state legislator Chris Dorworth said he has a strong chance of prevailing when county commissioners are asked to approve his 670-acre River Cross mixed-use development in August. The development, for...

• Lower-density changes OK'd for Tierra Del Sol vacation home resort

  The new owner of a stalled Four Corners resort community has the blessing of Polk County's staff and Planning Commission to re-launch the townhome project with mix of housing types and lower density. Tierra Del Sol, on the Osceola-Polk border, was originally approved in 2008 for 1,821 resort-style...

• Pilot planning new luxury fly-in subdivision near Harmony golf community

  An Orlando-based airline pilot has filed preliminary plans for Osceola County's first luxury fly-in community near Harmony. Owner/developer Brian Hickok, a captain for JetBlue, told GrowthSpotter he has always dreamed of owning a home with a private hanger in a fly-in community, but he couldn't...

• Polk developers want to downzone Winter Haven MF site for new subdivision

  A Winter Haven real estate developer with deep ties to the citrus industry wants to downzone a site on Eagle Lake Loop Road to build a 205-lot subdivision. The 53-acre orange grove was approved in 2010 as a Planned Unit Development with entitlements for up to 540 multifamily units.  SDD Development...

• Mattamy Homes prepping for next phase of Solara Resort on Westside

  Mattamy Homes delivered its first vacation homes in Solara at Westside this month, and now the homebuilder is prepping for the next phase of its first short-term rental resort community. Orlando Division President Alex Martin told GrowthSpotter that since launching the community last summer, Mattamy...

• Developer to engineer mixed-use plan to win over St. Cloud Council for annexation

  The would-be developer of a 46-acre mixed-use project near the intersection of U.S. 192 and Narcoossee Road is making a bold and costly gesture to win approval from St. Cloud's City Council for the annexation. Engineer Randy June last week asked for a two-month continuance on the annexation vote...

• Lennar pays $16M for major expansion of vacation homes at Storey Lake Resort

  Lennar Homes paid $16 million this week to buy 323 acres of vacant land adjacent to one of its top-selling communities: Storey Lake Resort. "It's a successful community for us, and we had a relationship with the land owner," Orlando South Division President Brock Nicholas told GrowthSpotter on...

• 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...

• NAREE18: Roofstock names Orlando top real estate investment market in US

  Orlando is the nation's top market for investors looking to buy and sell single-family rental properties, according to online marketplace Roofstock. Co-founder Rich Ford released his Top 10 list Wednesday during the National Association of Real Estate Editors Spring Conference in Las Vegas. He...

• D.R. Horton assembles land in East Narcoossee for 96-lot subdivision

  D.R. Horton has assembled 22 acres in Osceola's East Narcoossee community for a new 96-lot subdivision. The homebuilder rezoned the properties last December for low-density residential development, and this week applied for environmental permits with the South Florida Water Management District....

• Taylor Morrison to acquire AV Homes for $963M, little project overlap locally

  Taylor Morrison Homes and AV Homes are joining forces in the second major merger of national homebuilders this year. The two Scottsdale, Arizona-based companies announced the plans this week after each respective board unanimously approved Taylor Morrison's $21.50-per-share purchase price. Now...

• Sun Terra signs Jones Homes for land in Harmony West expansion

  Jones Homes USA is expanding its footprint in Osceola County's St. Cloud market by reaching a deal with master developer Sun Terra Communities for Phase 1 of Harmony West. Sun Terra Principal Richard Jerman told GrowthSpotter the Altamonte Springs-based homebuilder has signed a contract to buy...

• Pulte to buy 25-acre parcel near East Lake Toho from Osceola Schools

  The School District of Osceola County is expected to sell 25 acres of surplus land in St. Cloud to Pulte Homes for $1.53 million.  The land is one of three parcels the district offered for sale as a competitive bid process in April, but lack of interest forced the district to extend the bid deadline...

• Park Square redesigns new Davenport subdivision Madera Park

  Park Square Homes is prepping its fourth new subdivision in the Davenport/Four Corners area. The Orlando-based homebuilder has filed a new residential site plan with Polk County's Development Review Committee for Madera Park, a 127-lot community on Florence Villa Grove Road at the Polk-Osceola...

• Pulte Homes files subdivision plan for expansion of Windsor at Westside

  Pulte Homes is prepping a third phase of its popular Windsor at Westside vacation home resort community. The homebuilder filed a Preliminary Subdivision Plan (PSP) and Site Development Plan (SDP) with Osceola County last week for the 46-acre parcel at the the southeast corner of Westside Boulevard...

• Pineloch to resubmit Center Lake Ranch annexation with new data

  Pineloch Management Corp., which owns Osceola County's Center Lake Ranch, will eventually resubmit an annexation request with the City of St. Cloud for the 2,016-acre project -- this time with a detailed financial report illustrating the potential tax revenues it could generate. "Ultimately, we...

• 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...

• Osceola delays vote on solar mandate for new home construction

  Osceola County Commissioners have postponed a vote on new energy efficiency building policy that would mandate installation of solar panels on all new homes and major residential remodels. County spokesman Mark Pino told GrowthSpotter the item was pulled from next Monday's meeting agenda. This...

• Fuqua refreshes master plan w/new detail for 677 acres on Osceola's Lake Toho

  Veteran Orlando developer Jeff Fuqua has filed a revised and more detailed conceptual master plan (CP) for Fontana Lakes, an approved 677-acre mixed-use marina development on Lake Tohopekaliga.   The concept plan represents the first new filing for the project since 2015. But Fuqua, president of...

• Developer of Apopka's Oak Pointe project nears groundbreaking after 13 years

  A South Florida developer who has sat patiently on 100 acres in Apopka since 2005 is approaching his long-awaited groundbreaking in the next two months, with the benefit of new infrastructure and population growth in Orange County's second largest city. Land for the Oak Pointe development covers...

• Orlando to offer two downtown parcels for affordable housing redevelopment

  The city of Orlando is preparing to offer two pad-ready sites next week in downtown's west side for developers to build mixed-income affordable housing, with a special focus placed on making units available for the homeless.  The city acquired seven foreclosed properties from FannieMae back in...

• 400+ acres in Horizon West shopped for development w/road extension prospects

  More than 400 acres of grove land in Horizon West owned by a multi-generational real estate family is being marketed for expansive development, with value-add potential if a new public road can be extended westward into Lake County.  Bounded by S.R. 429 and Avalon Road (S.R. 545) to the east,Schofield...

• Developer bucks Seminole rural protections with 669-acre project & rezoning request

  A Lake Mary real estate investor, who once represented western Seminole County in the state House of Representatives, is challenging the county’s rural land protections with a proposed 669-acre mixed-use development. Chris Dorworth, now a lobbyist for Ballard Partners, filed conceptual plans earlier...

• Osceola planners want redesign of AV Homes community next to SunRail station

  AV Homes Division President Ken Thirtyacre had hoped to be under construction this summer at the company's new Solstice community by the time SunRail opened its Poinciana station in July. But Osceola County planners have sent the developer back to the drawing board, ordering a redesign of the Preliminary...

• Kissimmee W192 Lake Cecile site eyed for new condo resort community

  A Brazilian multifamily developer is planning its Orlando entry via Kissimmee with a $30 million condominium project on the W192 tourism corridor. Four Seasons Company partner Ricardo Amaral and his representatives met this week with Osceola County's Development Review Committee to discuss developing...

• D.R. Horton moving forward with 110-acre commercial section of Kindred

  Three years after it started building homes in Osceola County's Kindred community, D.R. Horton is moving forward with plans for roughly 110 acres of commercial property in the sprawling mixed-use development south of NeoCity. The developer has filed a Preliminary Subdivision Plan designating a...

• 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...

• K. Hovnanian expands position in Horizon West with 100+ acres on Avalon Road

  K. Hovnanian Homes recently paid $6.4 million for the next phase of its master-planned Winding Bay community in Horizon West. Orlando Division President Kyle Upper said the acquisition was part of an aggressive growth plan to open six new KHov communities in the next 12 months. "We're going to...

• Orange County preps rural enclave protection measures for 640 acres

  Orange County is primed to take a step Tuesday toward adding the first rural residential enclaves to its Comprehensive Plan, which would protect three areas of the county with nearly 640 net acres from suburban redevelopment in the future.  Commissioners are expected to vote Tuesday night to transmit...

• Greater Orlando planners working together to find affordable housing solutions

  In an effort to combat Central Florida’s affordable housing shortage, city planners in Orlando and neighboring counties have been formulating potential solutions, including code amendments, which could help close the gap between slow-growing incomes and fast-rising rents. “We review all new developments...

• Lennar files construction plans for ChampionsGate addition

  Lennar expects to close in the next few months on the first of two major additions to ChampionsGate, a top executive told GrowthSpotter. The developer filed construction plans last week for a 30-acre site adjacent to the next phase of its ChampionsGate Country Club expansion on the north side of...

• Taylor Morrison pays $4.3M for Hamlin Town Center subdivision site

  National homebuilder Taylor Morrison has purchased 42 acres in Hamlin Town Center in Horizon West for $4.3 million. The land on Hamlin Groves Trail lies northeast of the Walmart Supercenter at Hamlin Town Center and west of the new medical campus and proton center on New Independence Parkway. The...

• Pulte planning 550-lot subdivision in hot Four Corners market

  Pulte Homes is eyeing 151 acres on Sand Mine Road in Davenport for a new 550-lot subdivision. Chris Cleary, director of land acquisition for Pulte, has applied for a Level 1 review with Polk County's Development Review Committee later this month for the project. He indicated the community would...

• Tavistock adjusts development program for Poitras East land as closing date nears

  Tavistock Development Company has refined its development vision for the first 1,162 acres of "Poitras Property" under contract south of Orlando International Airport, and anticipates closing on the land in April -- potentially as soon as next week.  The final draft of Tavistock's Planned Development...

• Beazer Homes pays $2M for land near future Osceola Parkway Extension

  Beazer Homes has paid $2 million for two parcels totaling 36 acres on Boggy Creek Road in the Buena Ventura Lakes area, near the future Osceola Parkway Extension. The property was rezoned last year to Low Density Residential. The larger parcel is 34 acres and has an approved preliminary subdivision...

• Developer brings Sanford Reagan Center land under contract, talks mixed-use vision

  A new developer with Canadian roots has the former Flea World property in Sanford under contract, and envisions mixed-use for the remaining 110 acres that would feature nature throughout a live/work/play destination.   Located on U.S. 17-92 and Ronald Reagan Boulevard at County Home Road, the "Reagan...

• Saathoff eager to restart plan design after governor approves 1,200-acre 'The Grow'

  Local developer Dwight Saathoff breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday that was seven months in the making after his 1,200-acre Lake Pickett South development was freed to proceed by Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet. "It was a big victory for us," Saathoff told GrowthSpotter. "We're going to...

• Two developers amass 184 acres in Osceola's Westside after flurry of closings

  Two developers now control 184 acres of vacant land in Osceola County's Westside tourism corridor after a flurry of concurrent closing this week totaling more than $10 million. Illinois homebuilder Eli Steinhardt paid $6.4 million for 104 acres of Wheeler Farms' orange groves, while at the same...