Lennar buys into hot new Apopka neighborhood
One of the nation’s largest home construction companies is diving into a fast-growing submarket in Apopka where other homebuilders are also quickly planting flags.
Records show Lennar Homes paid $3.15 million for about 35 acres of agricultural land at 4550 Golden Gem Road with plans to develop a single-family home subdivision listed on city documents as Golden Orchard Estates. Tropical plant and foliage supplier ForemostCo Inc. is listed as the seller.
Macallan Acquisitions LLC, a family real estate company based out of Coral Gables, took the property through the zoning and approval process and assigned its interest in the deal to Lennar Homes through its subsidiary, MJS Ventures LLC.
Principal Michael Serviansky told GrowthSpotter the land can feature 165 single-family homes in Apopka’s Kelly Park Interchange District.
“What drew us there is the clear path of growth,” he said. “It seemed like the logical next steps to move in terms of land development.” According to Serviansky, every home will have solar panels, as part of Macallan’s new Green Initiative.
“About six months ago we made a commitment that every project we do has to have some sort of green aspect, it has to be sustainable and do right by the environment,” he said. “We are very excited to see Mayor [Bryan] Nelson’s vision of the Kelly Park Interchange District come to fruition and for Lennar to deliver a beautiful community.”
The Golden Orchard Estates subdivision features 32-foot-wide and 50-foot-wide lots that can hold two-story bungalow-style homes. Plans feature wide amounts of open space and a community recreational center.
The homebuilder joins others closing in on land being prepped in the Kelly Park Interchange District, including Hanover Land Co., Toll Brothers and D.R. Horton.
Host Hotels buys land near Four Seasons
After paying more than $1 million per key earlier this year for the five-star Four Seasons Resort Orlando, Hospitality REIT Host Hotels & Resorts just dropped another $30 million for five acres of undeveloped land abutting the hotel property.
The HHR Four Seasons acquisition in May for $610 million cash broke records for the Orlando market. At the time of the sale, GrowthSpotter reported that the actual size of the deal was $640 million and that it included a future development parcel adjacent to the hotel.
The development plan for the hotel and adjacent Golden Oak community was last updated in 2014 and designates the oblong parcel as site for future Four Seasons fractional development, although a portion of the land is being used for a stormwater pond that serves both the existing hotel and future development.
No specific plans for the property have ever been submitted, but the Planned Development is entitled for 60 timeshare units with a minimum of 800 square feet of living space. The development standards for the property would allow for a maximum building height of 10 stories.
Representatives from HHR were not immediately available for comment.
The Four Seasons Resort Orlando is Central Florida’s only AAA Five Diamond luxury resort. It sits on 289 acres at and around 10100 Dream Tree Blvd. and provides complimentary transport to four Disney theme parks and Disney Springs.
In addition to its 18-hole golf course and golf club, the resort features five pools, three tennis courts, a 13,000-square-foot spa, and a 5-acre water park and entertainment area called Explorer Island.
Disney’s exclusive Golden Oak community also features a private Four Seasons Residences neighborhood, where owners have access to the hotel amenities and services. Each home in the private community is built with two kitchens — one for the owner and one for the hotel staff to created catered meals or deliver laundry and fresh flowers.