Pulte plans residential subdivision near the Wekiva Parkway interchange at Kelly Park Road

Pulte Homes is under contract to purchase a large assemblage of properties in Apopka with plans to build a new residential community.

The homebuilder is planning a 175-unit single-family home subdivision on about 50 acres between S.R. 429 and Plymouth Sorrento Road, south of Joey McGuckin Road.

A rezoning application submitted to the city shows Pulte representatives are seeking a Kelly Park Interchange Mixed-Use zoning that will allow for five units per acre.

The zoning overlay district was created by city officials to help manage a large number of developments expected to rise around the Wekiva Parkway interchange at Kelly Park Road, competed in 2017. The interchange is one of four interchanges that opened as part of the extension of the Wekiva Parkway (S.R. 429) to S.R. 417, which is under construction and scheduled to be complete in 2023.

“That new interchange made the area much more accessible to folk who need to get Heathrow and downtown Orlando,” Max Perlman, Pulte vice president of land acquisition, told GrowthSpotter.

Perlman said the company plans to close on the property by the end of 2021 and is expected to start sales by the fall of 2022.

Plans show residential units will be a mix of minimum lot widths of 34-feet and 40-feet with minimum living areas of 1,300 square feet. The largest lot sizes in the proposed subdivision span about 55-feet wide with a minimum living area of 1,500 square feet.

Perlman said some of the homes will be bungalows. Features in the residential community include multipurpose trails and a 1-acre amenity park that will consist of a clubhouse and swimming pool.

Developments in the KPI Transition Overlay District may feature densities between five dwelling units per acre and 10 dwelling units per acre, so long as developers meet certain code standards and criteria.

With plans in process, Pulte joins other active homebuilders in the area including Hanover Land Co., Toll Brothers and D.R. Horton.

Luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers is currently building out its 124-unit Oaks at Kelly Park single-family home community on Park Ridge Street and Kelly Park Road. Meanwhile, Hanover is planning a 114-lot subdivision on about 40 acres at 4532, 4622 and 4630 West Kelly Park Road.

D.R. Horton was one of the first homebuilders active in the area with its 152-lot subdivision Bridle Path, east of Plymouth Sorrento Road and north of Kelly Park Road. The homebuilder recently launched plans to expand its community by an additional 200 homes just south of the Bridle Path community.

Nearby, a new shopping center anchored by Publix is almost complete.

Perlman said Pulte has been active in Apopka for more than five years. The homebuilder has about 30 lots left to sell and build at its 153-lot Vista Reserve community off Rogers Road. Sales began in late 2019.

Prior to that community, Pulte built the Rock Springs Estates 60-lot community located southeast of Lester and Vick roads. By the end of 2020, Pulte closed out its 136-unit Crossings Emerson Park townhome community, Perlman said.

Businesses are also setting up shops in Apopka.

Companies like e-commerce giant Amazon, Goya Foods, Universal Studios Orlando, and Coca-Cola Co. are building or planning to lease distribution centers in Apopka.

Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at arabines@GrowthSpotter.com or (407) 420-5427, or tweet me at @amanda_rabines. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.