LET'S HEAD TO HAMLIN

The first phase of Horizon West’s town center is a waterfront jewel.

Making plans for the weekend? A movie or a concert would be fun, perhaps followed by a late dinner at a gourmet restaurant. How about a little window-shopping along a lively street lined with intriguing boutiques? Or a leisurely stroll along a scenic boardwalk that hugs the shores of a pristine lake? Or a bracing jaunt through a series of beautifully landscaped parks linked by a pedestrian trail network?

In the next few years, developer Scott Boyd hopes that Central Floridians looking for a relaxation destination will reflexively say: “Let’s head to Hamlin.”

“We don’t have all of that in any one place in Central Florida,” says Boyd, president of Boyd Development, who’s developing Hamlin in partnership with Dallas-based Stratford Land. “Certainly nothing of this scale with so much waterfront. That’s the great opportunity we have here.”

You probably haven’t heard of Hamlin yet. But the 640-acre, mixed-use development, which boasts three miles of frontage along beautiful Lake Hancock, will be the heart of Horizon West’s 3,700-acre Town Center. 

Hamlin, which is anticipated to cost $1 billion, was kick-started last year with the opening of two new roadways. 

New Independence Parkway was extended from the S.R. 429 interchange east for nearly a mile to Schoolhouse Pond Road, which leads to the community of Independence. A new four-lane north-south road, dubbed Hamlin Grove Trail, now runs parallel to S.R. 429 from New Independence Parkway to Summerlake Park Boulevard, which leads to the community of Summerlake. 

Boyd Development funded most of the $19 million in road, utility and landscape improvements. It means Horizon West residents will now enjoy dramatically shorter commutes into downtown Orlando. But it also means the New Independence Parkway interchange has become a highly desirable place for retail growth.

Boyd expects that by midyear of 2015, the northeast and southeast quadrants of the exchange will encompass four major anchor retailers and at least 500,000 square feet of retail space. The entire development could have as much as 2 million square feet of retail space and as many as 1,700 homes.

“The first activity will take place around the interchange,” adds Ken Kupp, a partner at Boyd Development, who noted that some 40,000 people already call Horizon West home. Plus, 50,000 employees of Walt Disney World, just two exits off S.R. 429 to the south, are potential customers for businesses that will be jockeying for space as development gets underway.

Boyd and Kupp are eagerly looking ahead to the followup phase, which will focus on the 28-acre area around Lake Hancock. There they expect to develop a delightful small town with an Old Florida feel and plenty of inviting parks and public areas, which they say is crucial in creating a sense of place.

Visitors can look forward to an array of retail and dining experiences as well as a boardwalk and a small marina so the area can be reached by boat. The boardwalk will link to a multiuse trail system and a lakefront park accessible by foot, bike or golf cart. 

Boyd has already spent millions on monument-style signage, four-board fencing and landscaping with primarily indigenous plants. The expenditure wasn’t necessary yet, says Boyd, whose joint venture bought the land for $30 million in 2011. But they wanted to make a statement about the quality of the development.

“To become a destination, a place has to have personality,” adds Kupp, who notes that despite all the lakes in Central Florida, most people can’t access them unless they own a waterfront home. “It has to have character, interesting architecture and great public spaces.” 

Clearly, Boyd and Kupp are viewing Hamlin as a legacy project. Boyd notes that the land was bought in cash, from one seller — insurance giant AIG — so it isn’t burdened by debt. And as a private venture, there aren’t far-flung investors demanding an instant return.

“We don’t have to be in a hurry,” Boyd says. “We can do something that will stand the test of time.” Plus, he adds, Boyd Development intends to remain and manage the property once it’s built out.

Still, none of that means Hamlin is going to develop at a particularly leisurely pace. Boyd and Kupp say that the entire project will be largely complete within five years.

Boyd’s team isn’t developing the residential components in Hamlin, but they’re particular about who does. That’s why they’re pleased with what Taylor Morrison has done in Overlook at Hamlin — and what the builder is about to do in The Cove at Hamlin, which is slated to open in September.

Overlook at Hamlin encompasses 381 homesites, many of which are lakefront. All homes are within walking distance of the planned boardwalk and retail district. 

With floorplans ranging in size from 1,600 to more than 5,100 square feet, there’s certainly something for everyone. Amenities include a clubhouse, a family pool, a splash park, a playground, an amphitheater and even a multipurpose sports lawn. Prices range from the high $200s to more than $1 million.

The Cove at Hamlin will offer homes ranging in size from 3,700 to 4,900 square feet as well as Urban Cottages ranging in size from 1,700 to 2,200 square feet. The newer community will also feature such amenities as a clubhouse, a family pool, a splash park, a playground and several inviting pocket parks. Prices had not been announced at presstime.

Hamlin may be the first out of the gate in the Horizon West Town Center, but plenty more is coming. The Town Center site totals 3,700 acres, 1,200 acres of which is developable, just west of the Village of Bridgewater.

Plans call for 6,400 homes, 5.7 million square feet of office space, 2.1 million square feet of retail space, 384,000 square feet of warehouse and light industrial space, and 1,200 hotel rooms with a conference center. Health Central and Valencia College also own Town Center tracts.

The Town Center will be divided into four distinct districts, each with a specific use:

• Retail and Wholesale District. Will include big-box retailers, restaurants and businesses of all varieties.

• Corporate Campus and Mixed-Use District. Will include a mix of offices and homes in campus-like and neighborhood settings.

• Corporate Neighborhood Center District. Will include neighborhood retailers, service businesses and civic facilities. 

• Traditional Town Center District. Will include retailers, cultural venues, educational facilities anchored by Valencia College and a waterfront park as well as some 1,140 homes. 

SYNONYMOUS WITH SWEET

So what is a Hamlin, anyway? Not surprisingly considering the history of the land encompassing Horizon West, it’s a type of orange. The Hamlin orange was first cultivated in 1879 by a grower named A.G. Hamlin in Glenwood, a small community in Volusia County. A cold-tolerant “early” orange, it became popular among growers after the great freezes of 1894-’95. Now it’s the world’s top early maturing sweet orange, and the most widely grown early maturing sweet orange in Florida. That’s because it can be harvested from October through December, typically before the onset of the state’s winter freezes. It’s not the biggest or the prettiest orange — it’s smallish with thin, smooth skin and the color is a little bland — but it thrives in humid, subtropical climates and produces delicious juice.