Lennar, one of the largest developers in the United States, recently acquired around 70 acres of land - for approximately $26.25 million - near I-Drive, one of Orlando's main tourist corridors. According to an article published in GrowthSpotter, the developer is planning a resort with a water park in the center.
The area is south of where South Florida-based Dezer Development is reusing the former Artegon Marketplace in Dezerland, a mixed-use entertainment project that will consist of a 500-car museum and luxury apartments.
Lennar has been pursuing the opportunity to develop one of its short-term rental communities in the country for some time. In August, GrowthSpotter reported that Lennar had filed plans in Orlando seeking to build up to 62 single-family homes, 200 vacation townhomes and 240 resort condos.
The yet-to-be-named project will be the first product of its kind developed by Lennar in the city of Orlando, said the president of Lennar's local division, Brock Nicholas. Plans for the development mimic its Storey Lake community in Osceola County, where its vacation homes surround an amenity center with a water park.
According to the project narrative, the International Drive resort community will consist of units ranging in size from 1,000 to 5,000 square feet.
As part of the deal, Lennar is also working with selling party I-Drive Investors LLC, which is partnering with Coral Gables-based Southern Hill Real Estate, to develop land retained by the seller in the northwest corner of the property. The 8-acre site is permitted to include 300 hotel rooms, 45,000 square feet of restaurant space and 60,000 square feet of retail. More detailed plans will likely be released by the second quarter of 2020.
The acquisition of land on I-Drive adds to a series of purchases by Lennar for similar projects. Last year, Lennar bought more than 320 acres next to its Story Lake project so it could build a sister resort community consisting of 570 homes called Shingle Creek.
Earlier this year, Lennar also expanded the ChampionsGate Country Club and resort properties by 156 acres. With this acquisition completed, the developer has more than 1,400 other properties underway at ChampionsGate.