A new public safety facility and a high school are being highlighted as “critical needs” for Wellness Way as more people move into the area.
Wellness Way is an emerging economic corridor and master-planned community growing in south Lake County near the Orange County line.
The fast-growing area has seen some of the largest land sales in Lake County history over the past two years and its comprehensive plan currently provides for up to 19,000 residential units across over 15,500 acres southeast of Clermont.
Homebuilders, developers, utilities managers, county school district officials and more convened Monday at Clermont City Hall to speak about growth in Wellness Way and update each other on progress with their respective aspects of the development, according to a report in GrowthSpotter.
Lake County Public Safety Director David Kilbury said about 10 to 15 acres — enough for two helicopters to land safely near the property — will be needed for the public safety facility to adequately serve the residents of Wellness Way.
Given the number of homes expected to rise in Wellness Way over the coming years and current capacity of the three other high schools in the southern portion of the county, Lake County Schools’ Executive Director of Facilities Kelly Randall said a new high school is essential for the rapidly developing community.
“Based on our student generation rate, we calculate 20,000 units basically produces a standard high school population,” she said. “Wellness Way in itself is enough residential units to justify a high school.”
Pulte Homes paid $90 million for the Schofield Road property in Wellness Way in what may be highest land sale ever recorded in Lake County. (Courtesy of GT USA)
Assuming they stay on track, Randall said, the school district expects to have the high school fully funded by their 2028-2029 fiscal year and to begin construction in early 2029.
With about 60 to 80 acres needed for the high school, according to Lake County School Board Chairman Tyler Brandenburg, school district staff are working closely with Clermont and Lake County to pin down a development site.
Randall noted that most of the space won’t be taken up by the buildings.
“Obviously there’s an impact from the building, but the biggest land uses on a high school site are retention, the sports fields, parking, and the parent pick up and drop off lines,” she said. “Those tend to be a larger proportion of the land than the actual buildings.”
The county has already purchased 15 acres for a future elementary school next to Lennar’s Wellness Ridge community in 2024. The homebuilder received $2.3 million in school impact fee credits as a part of the deal with the school district and the seller, Jim Karr. The district was also in discussions with Karr to buy a high school site across the street, but that site was 27 acres — which is less than half of the desired acreage.
Lennar will get $2.3 million in school impact fee credits for the 15-acre elementary school site next to Wellness Ridge. (Site plan by VHB)
Randall said the school district has $214 million budgeted for the high school and just under another $47 million budgeted for an elementary school “mostly programmed” for the 2029-2030 fiscal year, though the elementary school has not yet been fully funded.
“I would hope we’d be able to build an elementary school for that,” she said of the proposed $47 million price tag. “There are escalation costs, so it may be more realistic in [2030-2031], but it’s coming very quickly after.”
With development moving quickly in Wellness Way and money set aside for each of the school projects, Randall said the clock is ticking on finding the right property for a new high school.
“We’re just kind of beating the bushes, exploring every opportunity and every option we have to try and acquire a site within our timeline,” she said.
A booming corridor of planned developments and land deals amidst the most desirable acreage in Central Florida, Wellness Way is set to contain several distinct residential projects.
Earlier this year, Pennsylvania-based luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers announced it would be working with developer GT USA on homes on Panther Run, the biggest project in Wellness Way.
GT USA is creating a large resort district on the former Roper property and a smaller commercial center on U.S. 27. The residential development will be split between a neighborhood district and a conservation subdivision. (Site plan by VHB)
Panther Run is set to be developed on 2,321 acres stretching from U.S. Highway 27 to the Orange County line. Other homebuilders confirmed for the project include Ashton Woods, Dream Finders Homes, D.R. Horton and Lennar.
GT USA — the American division of Canadian homebuilder GT Homes — bought the swath of land, which includes the 1,769-acre Arnold Groves & Ranch and adjacent 552-acre Roper property, for $165 million last fall.
Developers spent over $440 million last year on land in the Wellness Way area, with several deals involving two of the largest homebuilders in the nation: Lennar and Pulte.
Lennar has over 2,500 homes in active development in Wellness Ridge, and Pulte has three projects underway in the area, including Parkside Trails, which opened for sales late last year.
Pulte also paid $90 million last year for 518 residential acres of the Schofield master-planned community nearby.
Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at twilkins@orlandosentinel.com or 407-754-4980. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.
