Tavistock looks to make Lake Nona grow even more
As new construction continues to rise at Lake Nona — including a trio of high-rise apartment buildings, a Disney office complex for roughly 2,000 employees and the future national headquarters of a Dubai-based air and travel company— Tavistock Development Company is preparing for even more growth.
The developer has submitted a request to the city of Orlando seeking approval of a revised long-term plan that’ll guide development over the next 40 years. Tavistock is seeking entitlements for an additional 7,225 housing units, in addition to the 13,592 currently approved for the area. In addition to the promise of more housing units, it includes a greater emphasis on attracting retail options and corporations, particularly within the aviation and aerospace sector.
The current development plan for Lake Nona dates back to the early 1980 s, when the land was occupied by a golf course, citrus groves and cattle fields. At that time, it was viewed as a suburban, rural location.
A lot has changed.
“We are adjusting to a model that is looking to be more dense than previously envisioned in the early 1980s,” Jessi Blakley, Tavistock’s Vice President told GrowthSpotter. “As a thriving city within a city, there’s a lot of opportunity for growth across the board.”
After purchasing its first tract of land in 1996, Tavistock would eventually acquire a total of 11,000 acres. In doing so, it also inherited long-term permitted plans for the construction of 13,592 housing units, 2,250 hotel rooms and 7.6 million total square feet of airport support space. The original entitlements granted to Tavistock by the city also included 1.8 million square foot of retail space and 1.2 million square foot of office space.
Today, the area is the top-selling residential community in Orange County, adding 685 rooftops in 2021. Last year the community ended the year ranked 18th among the fastest-growing master-planned communities in the nation, according to RCLCO. In 2021, the area got another economic boost with the arrival of the UCF Lake Nona Hospital.