Lake County BCC
NEIGHBORHOODS
While there are some county names—say, Okeechobee—that leave you wondering what their origin could possibly be, others are more obvious. Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County, for example, encompasses more than 1,400 lakes in its 953 square miles.
Established in 1887, this once sleepy outpost dotted with citrus groves and quaint small towns has become Central Florida’s newest growth frontier, with a population of more than 280,000 and new subdivisions galore.
Not that Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County’s rustic appeal has vanished. Officials have recently opened "blueways," or water trails, allowing outdoor enthusiasts to navigate through Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County’s most popular and beautiful lakes such as Lake Harris, Little Lake Harris and Lake Griffin, just to name a few.
Indeed, the county’s natural beauty continues to be a draw for new residents, from its southern reaches in towns such as Clermont—named after Clermont, France—to the northern Golden Triangle cities of Eustis, Mount Dora and Tavares.
But in addition to recreational opportunities and pretty scenery, Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County is also attracting homebuyers because of its affordability. The Greater Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County Association of Realtors reports that the average price of an existing home there is around $220,900, roughly $30,000 lower than in Orange and Seminole counties.
Jim Bible, president of the Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County Home Builder’s Association, says the county remains very land-rich. That means buildable tracts aren’t yet commanding the kind of premium prices that increasingly scarce close-in property does.
"Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County has a lot of natural resources," Bible says. "And development has been pretty steady."
The most populous city in the county is Leesburg, followed by Eustis, Lady Lake, Tavares and Clermont. However, more than half of the county’s population is in the vast unincorporated areas.
While most new homes in south Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County are being built in Clermont, known as "The Gem of the Hills," the surrounding areas are also growing. The small cities of Mascotte (population 2,700), Groveland (population 4,000), Minneola (population 9,000) and the town of Montverde, meaning "green hill" (population 1,200) all have new communities under way.
Still, Clermont (population 20,000) remains Ground Zero for south Lake’s housing boom. The city is truly at the crossroads of Florida, located at the intersections of S.R. 50, which runs east and west, and U.S. 27, which runs north and south.
Clermont’s growth was sparked in part by completion of the turnpike system’s Western Beltway, which cut the length of an Orlando commute to about a half-hour.
Bordered by Lake Minnehaha on the south and Lake Minneola on the north, Clermont has some of the most pristine, picturesque bodies of water found in Florida. The Clermont Chain of Lakes, which originates in the Green Swamp and flows north to the St. Johns River, offers fishing, boating, swimming, water skiing, wakeboarding and, of course, magnificent sunrise and sunset views from the surrounding hilly terrain.
The city is also home to the USA Triathalon National Training Center, located at South Lake Hospital, and the Lakeridge Winery & Vineyards, one of only three wineries in Florida.
One of Clermont’s most popular new projects is Palisades by Regal Park Homes, a master-planned golf-course community with homesites situated in such a way as to maximize the visual impact of the tract’s rolling hills.
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Palisades, Regal Park is offering one- and two-story single-family homes ranging in price from $310,000 to $531,900 and ranging in size from 2,052 to 3,742 square feet."We’re the only community that has chain-of-lake access and a golf course," says Deena Gregory, director of sales and marketing for Regal Park Homes, exclusive builder in Palisades. "We’re also not a tract builder, so we can customize homes in any way the buyer wants."
The area features lakefront access to Lake Minneola, complete with boat ramps and docks, a playground, swimming pool, tennis courts, and a dry storage facility. The 18-hole golf course includes a club house and restaurant.
Meanwhile, Lennar Homes has just debuted two models in Reserve at Lost Lake and Nottingham at the amenity-rich Legends Golf & Country Club, one of Lake’s most popular and well-established golf communities.
The models include finished basements—a feature that the unusually hilly homesites makes possible—with prices ranging from $390,990 to $460,990. At buildout, Legends will encompass about 850 homes.
Also near Clermont, Meritage Homes is building in The Overlook at Lake Louisa, where homes are priced from $249,990 and ranging in size from 1,883 to 3,587 square feet. Standard features include Silestone kitchen countertops, 42-inch kitchen cabinets, knockdown ceilings, rounded corners and tile in the foyer and the wet areas.
But south Lake is also testing the market’s reaches at posh Bella Collina, a Ginn Company community in Montverde. The upscale project, where Mediterranean-style custom homes are priced well into seven figures, is located on the shores of Lake Apopka and Lake Siena.
The community’s 18-hole Nick Faldo Championship Golf Course is now open and the much-anticipated clubhouse will be complete in a couple of months. The 50,000-square-foot facility will feature formal and casual dining, a spa, a wine cellar, a walk-in humidor, a pro shop and women’s and men’s locker rooms.
In Minneola, the LandMar Group is set to begin Sugarloaf Mountain, a master-planned golf-course community that will eventually encompass 2,250 homes in the community as well as commercial and retail properties.
Sugarloaf offers resort-style amenities in two distinct villages. The first village, The Overlook—not to be confused with The Overlook at Lake Louisa—will feature Charleston-style architecture and prices starting in the $500s. The second village, The Hilltop, is slated to debut in 2009.
"The architecture at Sugarloaf Mountain is an important component of this private club community," says Scott Bullock, project manager. "The styles and floorplans that we are seeing from the architects’ drawing tables will make Sugarloaf Mountain a beautiful place for decades to come."
The community’s private golf course is set to open in February and its clubhouse will feature panoramic views of Lake Apopka and even the downtown Orlando skyline from an elevation of 250 feet.
Groveland and Mascotte
In Groveland, America’s First Home is continuing in The Estates at Cherry Lake, where amenities include nature trails, a community center, a swimming pool, a fitness center, tennis and basketball courts, a 20-acre public park and a town center.
The Estates sits atop one of the highest points in Florida, and offers stunning views of the community’s four surrounding lakes. Home prices range from the $200s to the $400s.
America’s First is also busy at Eagle Pointe Estates, which features waterfront homes priced from the $200s to the $700s. Community amenities include a nature preserve, a community pool and a cabana.
At Lake Jackson Ridge in Mascotte Orleans Homebuilders has opened its Porto model. The home, priced starting at $268,950, is approximately 2,800 square feet with four bedrooms and three bathrooms.
Groveland, where the slogan is "The City With a Future—Watch Us Grow" is doing just that. Its current population of 6,500 is expected to nearly triple in the next three years. And Mascotte, "The Friendly City," currently has about 4,600 residents—a number that will likely double during the same time frame.
Mount Dora
In northern Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County, Historic Mount Dora (population 10,968) offers an enchanting backdrop for the Mount Dora Arts Festival, which is known as one of the top 20 outdoor festivals in the southeastern United States.
The aptly named "New England of the South," which hugs the shores of 3,600-acre Lake Dora, contains dozens of historic buildings, housing galleries, boutiques and restaurants. Tree-shaded Donnelly Park occupies a block in the center of town.
The city has long attracted weekend visitors who enjoy soaking up the small-town ambience. But these days more of the visitors are staying put—and builders are making sure they have a variety of home styles from which to choose.
KB Home, for example, recently opened its newest community in Mount Dora, Lancaster at Loch Leven, which offers nine different one- and two-story floorplans, ranging in size from 1,320 to 3,280 square feet. Prices range from the mid-$100s to the mid-$200s.
Sullivan Ranch by Centex Homes is just minutes from downtown Mount Dora and features 300 acres of rolling hills, oak hammocks and split-rail fences.
The community also boasts a 5,000-square-foot clubhouse with an outdoor fireplace, a junior Olympic pool, a large children’s park and even a dog park. Home prices range from the $140s to the $300s.
Located only five minutes south of Mount Dora, Baybrook Homes is offering two luxurious, fully furnished custom homes on Horseshoe Lake. "Both of these homes are like individual gated mini-estates," says Baybrook owner Braxton Green.
The homes come complete with lushly landscaped private entrances, sparkling pools and heated spas. They’re priced at $1.29 million and $1.39 million, respectively.
Lennar Homes
has two projects at master-planned Stoneybrook Hills in Mount Dora. Crestview at Stoneybrook Hills has homes priced from $241,990 to $281,990 while Oakridge at Stoneybrook Hills has homes priced from $301,990 to $351,990.Both neighborhoods offer access to a two-story hillside clubhouse where activities such as aerobics, dance lessons and parties may be held. There’s also a state-of-the-art fitness center and bicycling and jogging paths traverse both properties.
Another new community, Avington Park, is still in the planning stages. But it’s creating some buzz since it will be one of the first certified green communities in Central Florida.
According to Alex Kane, vice president of development for Heritage Green, Avington Park is being developed as a low-density community, with three- to five-acre homesites. All homes will be required to conform to federal Energy Star standards.
Kane says the community will embrace reusable resources such as fly ash concrete and recycled asphalt for road bases. Narrow streets are also planned.
"We want to create a habitat for humans, not a habitat for vehicles," Kane adds. "The idea is to preserve our ecosystem in its optimum capacity."
Construction at Avington Park is slated to begin in the spring.
Also in Mount Dora, Park Square Homes is offering surprisingly affordable townhomes and single-family homes in SummerBrooke, which will feature an on-site clubhouse with a swimming pool, a sport court and a fitness center.
Townhomes are priced from the $180s while single-family homes are priced from the low $200s.
Sorrento
Just east of Mount Dora, the small town of Sorrento is beginning to grow in popularity, especially with Engle Homes, which has created a resort-type setting in Sorrento Springs, located within the master-planned Eagle Dunes Golf and Country Club.
"Sorrento Springs is a one-of-a-kind community," says Jeff Kaizer, vice president of sales for Engle Homes Orlando. "It’s your country home just 15 minutes from the city."
Kaizer says Engle hired a California-based firm to help create new plans based on extensive buyer research. Among the findings: buyers want bigger laundry rooms, his-and-hers studies and kitchens designed using the "working triangle" concept to accommodate more than one cook.
"These homes are designed for today’s working families," Kaizer continues, adding that all of these new ideas have been incorporated into home designs at Sorrento Springs, where prices range from the $250s to the $480s.
Leesburg and
Howey-in-the-Hills
Outside of Leesburg in whimsically-named Howey-in-the Hills, Las Colinas at the Mission Inn Resort & Club is entering its third phase after five years of success in this historic location.
Single-family homes and villas priced from the $400s to $1.4 million are offered in a resort setting developed by the same family that owns Mission Inn, a relaxing getaway that dates back generations.
Residents have access to Marina del Rey, with 53 slips on Lake Harris, and two golf courses, one of which, the El Campeon, was built in 1917. Amenities also include a fitness center, a trap- and skeet-shooting range, a children’s playground, a heated swimming pool and volleyball and basketball courts.
In Brentwood, M/I Homes has eight new models priced from $221,990 to $304,990 and ranging in size from 1,632 to 3,380 square feet.
Leesburg, "The Lakefront City," has a picturesque downtown and is working hard to preserve its heritage in spite of growth pressures. The city hosts an array of festivals throughout the year, including Oktoberfest, Mardi Gras, crafts and holiday events and many more.
With 256,893 residents as of 2004, Leesburg is already a good-sized city. But it’s projected to add at least 50,000 new residents between now and 2009.
Tavares and Eustis
In Tavares, the
Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County seat, Lake Elsie Reserve by Orleans Homebuilders sits on the shores of Lake Elsie and is near the Dora and Harris lake chains. A variety of one- and two-story floorplans are offered priced from the $200s.At
Centex Homes’ Martin’s Grove, also in Tavares, amenities include a fitness path and outdoor grill and picnic areas. A popular model is the spacious Nautilus, with six bedrooms and four bathrooms in 3,514 square feet. The price: $238,490.Nearby in Eustis, Cambridge Homes is offering new models at Spring Ridge Estates. The Laurel, priced at $318,490, includes four bedrooms and three bathrooms in 2,503 square feet. The Chelsea, a 1,974- square-foot, four-bedroom, two-bathroom home, is available as a model leaseback, which gives buyers the opportunity to own a professionally decorated home for just $373,885.
Like most Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County cities, Tavares (population 10,596) boasts a lovely downtown area with a combination of specialty shops, mom-and-pop restaurants and government offices in a peaceful, lakeside setting.
Eustis (population 16,305) is large enough to offer most big city amenities yet small enough to retain its small-town charm. The historic downtown, nestled along the shore of 7,000-acre Lake Eustis, is charming and boasts updated parks and recreation areas and several new restaurants.