Wellness Way Update: Lake County’s High-Growth Corridor (with some sizable land deals to note)
Dan Wilson | March, 2025
Remember when south Lake County was just rolling hills and orange groves? Those days are fading fast. Lake County’s Wellness Way plan is turning 15,000+ acres southeast of Clermont into a hotspot for growth – think high-tech jobs, thousands of new homes, and a few historic land deals that have raised eyebrows for … Clermont (checks location twice). Let’s unpack what Wellness Way is and why everyone’s talking about the big land rush happening there.
Street signs in Lake County are now pointing to “Wellness Way,” a sign (literally) of big changes ahead.
Refresher – What is the Wellness Way Plan?
Wellness Way is a long-term development blueprint for about 15,000 acres in south Lake County, just west of Orange County’s Horizon West area (see our previous blog Wellness Way – Clermont, FL – FCPG). It’s been in the works for over a decade and is more than another suburban subdivision. The plan aims to create a hub for high-tech, high-wage jobs (like biotech, sports science, healthcare) while emphasizing health and wellness in the community (see www.olympusorlando.com ). In plain English: it’s designed to be a place where you might work for a tech or medical company, catch a sports event, take in a meal or hit a state-of-the-art fitness center or scenic trail after hours.
Local officials see Wellness Way as a big deal for steering Central Florida’s growth. Lake County expects to add around 75,000 new residents by 2030, with Wellness Way a major catalyst for that boom (‘We’ll get used to it:’ Lake County farm owner embracing future Wellness Way development). The area is entitled for roughly 15,000–16,000 homes and over 11 million sq. ft. of commercial space under the master plan (Strategic Corridors). By master-planning this region, the county hopes to diversify its economy and create well-balanced development – all while preserving about 30% of the land for open space and green buffers (so it’s not just wall-to-wall buildings) (June 04, 2024 Housing Market News: New Master-Planned Community Announces Builders, Bridgeland’s Rise, Lazy River Amenities, MSN Updates, And Richland’s Investment).
If this sounds a bit like Orange County’s Horizon West (the massive master-planned community next door) or Boyd Development’s Hamlin area, you’re not wrong. In other words, Wellness Way is Central Florida’s new frontier – Orlando’s growth is leaping westward across county lines, bridging the area between Highway 27 and SR 429, as well as Horizon West and Hamlin.
A Massive Land Rush in Wellness Way
With the vision in place, developers have been racing to grab a piece of Wellness Way – and writing some hefty checks in the process. In 2024 alone, several record-breaking land transactions closed in this area, as longtime landowners (farming families who held acreage for generations) sold to developers eager to build the next big thing. Here are a few of the headline deals (each with source links for my fellow real estate nerds):
- GT USA’s $166.5M Mega-Deal (Sept 2024): GT USA – a development partnership backed by Canadian homebuilders – closed on over 2,400 acres in Wellness Way for a cool $166.5 million (Massive $166.5 million land deal closes in Lake County’s Wellness Way region – WFTV). The plan? An enormous mixed-use community dubbed “Panther Run” with 3,000+ homes and around 1 million sq. ft. of commercial space to create a true live-work-play environment. This purchase isn’t just big; it’s historic – reportedly the priciest land sale in Lake County’s history and basically like buying an entire small town’s worth of land in one fell swoop.
- Pulte Homes’ (Then) Record Purchase (July 2024): National homebuilder Pulte Homes set a county record at $90 million for about 549 acres in the Wellness Way corridor (Massive $90M land deal closes in Lake County’s Wellness Way region – WFTV). This deal (interestingly, with GT USA as the seller) paves the way for nearly 1,500 new homes in a master-planned community near Schofield Road. It includes an age-restricted Del Webb section, catering to 55+ residents, alongside all-ages neighborhoods – a trend of mixing generational housing that we’re seeing more of in this area. That $90M record didn’t last long (GT’s deal above blew it out of the water a few months later), but it shows how hot the market has become.
- Richland Communities’ Land Deal (May 2024): Starting the large deal trend in 2024, Richland Communities – one of Lake County’s busiest land developers – paid $60 million for 406 acres known as the Hickory Groves property (June 04, 2024 Housing Market News: New Master-Planned Community Announces Builders, Bridgeland’s Rise, Lazy River Amenities, MSN Updates, And Richland’s Investment). This site, north of Schofield Road by the future Valencia College campus, is slated for roughly 1,200 homes plus retail/office space. The appeal? “High and dry” land with great road access, right next to fast-growing Horizon West. In developer-speak, that’s like hitting the location jackpot. Richland’s purchase adds to a portfolio of projects that will keep bulldozers busy and new neighborhoods rising in Wellness Way.
These are just a few of the major transactions fueling the explosive growth in the area. In less than a year, Wellness Way went from concept plans to concrete deals, and the momentum is carrying into 2025. Groundwork is underway on new roads (like the planned S.R. 516 connector expressway – follow here for info and updates…not so sure about the ‘charge while you drive’ aspect yet) to support all this, and more land sales and development announcements are likely on the horizon (pun intended).
Embracing the Future
For Lake County, Wellness Way represents a bold leap into the future – a chance to attract high-paying industries, new residents, and investment that traditionally gravitated to Orlando or Orange County. For longtime locals, it also means big changes. The rural character of south Lake is giving way to something more urban and bustling. As one local farmer put it when asked about the coming growth, “You lose the farm ambiance, but we’ll get used to it… It’s progress. It’s not just coming, it’s here” (We’ll get used to it:’ Lake County farm owner embracing future Wellness Way development).
For businesses and professionals eyeing the Orlando region, keep an eye on Lake County’s Wellness Way. It’s where new growth is happening at warp speed, with a master plan to guide it. Whether you’re looking for expansion opportunities or just trying to understand Central Florida’s growth patterns, Wellness Way a case study in how a county can turn orange groves into an innovation corridor (Strategic Corridors).