Sleepy town of Mascotte waking up
City officials reviewing number of large-scale proposed developments
One of the smallest cities in Lake County may welcome some of its biggest development plans yet.
There are several large-scale proposed developments of more than 1,000 acres being reviewed by city land planning officials, Mascotte Interim City Manager and Finance Director Dolly Miller told GrowthSpotter. Three are in the discussion phase, she said.
Not included in the group is another sizable project closer on the horizon.
Real estate veteran Chuck Piper is under contract to purchase about 1,000 acres in Mascotte where he plans to develop a master-planned community with a maximum of 2,800 single-family and multifamily residential housing and up to 250,000 square feet of commercial space.
A Development Agreement between Mascotte and Piper is currently under review. Piper declined to comment on his plans.
The proposed projects have the potential to expand the city limits and jolt up the city’s population.
Miller said she considers the city a bedroom community, as in it’s a place that is primarily residential, rather than commercial or industrial.
“I think people look to Mascotte as a place to live long-term,” she said. “I imagine it has a lot to do with opportunity, people see opportunities here, they see the City Council wants to work with citizens to start to bring more items that have to do with parks and recreation.”
Within and around the city are several parks and nature reserves, including Lake David Park, the Lake Catherine Blueberries farm, the Ocala National Forest, the Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve and Lake Apopka.
According to the University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research the city’s population, as of April, stood at 7,321, up more than 10% from the 2020 population of 6,609. Five years ago, Mascotte’s population was at about 5,515.
BEBR research predicts the city’s population will increase by about 12.55% over the next five years. But based on the current growth rate and pending development approvals, it’s likely the population could double over that period.
Land planner Alex Stringfellow likes to compare the southern Lake County area to the fast-growing Horizon West community in west Orange County.
“Not unlike Horizon West, Groveland and Mascotte are about a 45-minute drive down Florida’s Turnpike,” he said. “I think growth’s heading that way because its relative adjacency to employment centers, plus Kroger has their distribution center out there.”
He adds he believes Mascotte is growing in unison with Groveland, which is driving different industries to the U.S. 27 commercial corridor.
Apartments near SunRail stop planned
Miami-based Waterstone Capital paid $11.45 million Friday for 16.5 acres next to the Tupperware SunRail station and plans to build 448 transit-oriented apartments.
This is the developer’s first project in Central Florida, and it’s the third transit-oriented housing community within walking distance of the transit station and the Orlando Health Tupperware Campus.
Waterstone Managing Director Mauricio Bello told GrowthSpotter they’re looking to do a four- or five-story complex with concrete construction and surface parking. Bello said he’s already met with Osceola County staff, and they’re excited about the project. He hopes to have permits in hand within eight months.
“Our intention is to move fast with this development,” Bello said. “We know the challenges right now that the market is presenting in terms of construction cost and materials and all that. But we feel confident that with this amazing location, we need to move forward. There’s a lot of demand from people moving to Florida, to Orlando and Tampa, so the time is right to do a development like this.”
Bello said Waterstone has a longstanding relationship with Miami-based architecture firm Behar Font, which will be designing the Tupperware apartments.
“Right now they are doing three projects for us — a hotel next to the Fort Lauderdale airport and a skilled nursing facility in South Miami,” he said. “They’re very, very experienced, and they do a lot of multifamily work.”
The property is part of the approved Osceola Corporate Center Planned Development, which was redesigned by Tupperware to complement the new transit service. Tupperware sold the 37-acre station area, along with all of its land assets, to O’Connor Capital Partners in 2019 for $87 million.