{"id":391437,"date":"2026-09-05T15:16:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T15:16:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/391437\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T15:16:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T15:16:16","slug":"lake-commissioners-approve-rezoning-for-massive-wellness-way-community-orlando-sentinel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/391437\/","title":{"rendered":"Lake Commissioners approve rezoning for massive Wellness Way community \u2013 Orlando Sentinel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lake County Commissioners cleared the way last week for the Panther Run master-planned community to move forward in southern Lake, which could bring thousands of new homes to the Four Corners area.<\/p>\n

Doug Bruk, the COO of developer GT USA, told GrowthSpotter<\/a> the plan is to break ground in 2027 with site development work kicking off in the spring, followed by residential development next summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re extremely proud of Panther Run and what it will mean to the surrounding communities,\u201d Bruk said. \u201cWe have received a lot of interest from residents and businesses as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The re-zoning allows 2,600 homes to be built across a dozen conservation neighborhoods in the Wellness Way area and in the community\u2019s mixed-use center. In addition, 1 million square feet of employment and retail space\u00a0will be available by late 2028.<\/p>\n

The 3-1 vote followed more than an hour of often-contentious debate, sparked by Commissioner Anthony Sabatini\u2019s effort to thwart the rezoning of what he called irreplaceable agricultural land.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not a good idea, and it goes completely against what the (comprehensive) plan says, which is that agricultural use was always supposed to be a contemplated use within Wellness Way \u2014 always \u2014 and it still is,\u201d he argued.<\/p>\n

\"WellnessWellness Way is home to several master-planned communities, including Panther Run, Wellness Ridge, Lakehaven Estates, Parkside Trails, and Esplanade at McKinnon Grove. (Courtesy of GT USA)<\/p>\n

Denying the rezoning would have capped the number of homes allowed on the property at 210.<\/p>\n

Commissioners Sean Parks and Leslie Campione called his arguments nonsensical, pointing out that the land in question abuts S.R. 516, a new toll road expressway linking Wellness Way to S.R. 429 and the Disney theme parks.<\/p>\n

Campione said the Wellness Way land isn\u2019t designated as \u201crural\u201d or \u201crural protection\u201d in the county\u2019s comprehensive plan. It\u2019s part of an overlay that was adopted 10 years ago to direct both residential and commercial growth to this specific portion of the county.<\/p>\n

Attorney Tara Tedrow<\/a>, representing the developer, argued that while the property has an agricultural tax exemption, it hasn\u2019t been a \u201cworking farm\u201d for many years. She said GT USA paid the record-breaking $165 million<\/a> for the land because it was entitled for exactly the type of development they are proposing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no beautiful butterfly gardens. There\u2019s no bees. There\u2019s cows \u2014 they\u2019ve been there for decades. The land is cleared,\u201d Tedrow said. \u201cWhere we are developing is cleared uplands on the property. It is fertilized, it is mowed. This is not a native habitat of beautiful sanctuaries. All of the beautiful sanctuaries and native habitat are within the preservation and protection areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

The development plan preserves over 70% of the acreage as open space, conservation lands and wildlife corridors. Neighborhoods within Panther Run will include 11 miles of trails and 20 community parks.<\/p>\n

\"Plans<\/p>\n

Plans for the Panther Run master-planned community in Wellness Way indicate the development will have 20 community parks. (Courtesy of GT USA)\n<\/p>\n

\"All<\/p>\n

All residences in Panther Run will be within a half-mile of a neighborhood park. (Courtesy of GT USA)\n<\/p>\n

\"Panther<\/p>\n

Panther Run, a master-planned community set to rise within Wellness Way in Lake County, will include 11 miles of trails and large green spaces like this proposed trailhead location. (Courtesy of GT USA)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The conceptual plan calls for multiple trailheads to serve the community\u2019s 11 miles of trails. (Courtesy of GT USA)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Panther Run master-planned community is set to include 11 miles of trails of 20 community parks, with 72.5% of the community remaining undeveloped and continuing to serve as lakes, wetlands, conservation areas, and more. (Courtesy of GT USA)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The main east-west road will be built with culverts to serve as wildlife crossings. (Courtesy of GT USA)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 6<\/p>\n

Plans for the Panther Run master-planned community in Wellness Way indicate the development will have 20 community parks. (Courtesy of GT USA)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

Bruk said the initial stages of development, which includes clearing, grading and road construction, will take about 16 months. The first homeowners could move in as early as the summer of 2028.<\/p>\n

The section east of the future CR 455 extensionis set to become a \u201cReverie<\/a>\u201d branded 55+ community.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The multi-use district will have a 50-acre high school site and a mix of office and medical uses, a large retail center and apartments. Pulte is under contract for a future resort community. (Courtesy of GT USA)\n<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A look at the proposed multi-use center within the Panther Run master-planned community, set to include a high school site along with multiple high-density employment sites and a mixed-use center for retail and entertainment. (Courtesy of GT USA)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 2<\/p>\n

The multi-use district will have a 50-acre high school site and a mix of office and medical uses, a large retail center and apartments. Pulte is under contract for a future resort community. (Courtesy of GT USA)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

Tuesday\u2019s vote underscored the County\u2019s commitment to smart growth,\u201d Tedrow said. \u201cOver 3,000 jobs will be produced in strategic corridors where the developer is required to build nearly five miles of roadways that the County has needed for years.\u201d<\/p>\n

GT USA has also agreed to sell 50 acres in the city center to the Lake County School Board for a new $214 million high school to serve the fast-growing Wellness Way area. Another 8 acres are being set aside for a public safety complex that will have a fire station and sheriff\u2019s substation. Both of those sites will be completed in 2030.<\/p>\n

Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at\u00a0lkinsler@GrowthSpotter.com<\/a> or (407) 420-6261. Follow GrowthSpotter on\u00a0Facebook<\/a> and\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lake County Commissioners cleared the way last week for the Panther Run master-planned community to move forward in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":391438,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[558,28,2174,114,139,141,140,480],"class_list":["post-391437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-business","tag-florida","tag-lake-county","tag-latest-headlines","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-real-estate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=391437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/391438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=391437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=391437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=391437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}