In an expansion of its Encore brand of active adult communities, David Weekley Homes is advancing plans to develop Landbridge, a 724-home neighborhood in Lake County.
The homebuilder and property owner are seeking a comprehensive plan amendment and Planned Unit Development zoning for 447 acres just south of Groveland, right along County Road 561 on the western side of Lake Minnehaha. Landbridge will contain a mix of 416 detached homes, 188 twin villas and 115 bungalows. Lot sizes range from 55-foot lots for single-family homes and 45-foot lots for bungalow homes, each with front-facing garages, to 35-foot lots for the twin villas.
Along the eastern edge of the site, adjacent C.R. 561, a 100-foot greenway buffer with canopy trees, understory trees and shrubs will separate Landbridge from the road.
Within the buffer, a minimum 6-foot wide activity trail will be connected to the subdivision and wrap around the development, with planted beds and tree groupings following the trail’s path.
The proposed Landbridge community, previously known as Hillside Groves Village, would be on 447 acres across from Lake Minnehaha in Lake County. (Maser Consultants)
The trail will snake around Landbridge, touching the outside edge of multiple ponds situated between the living unit lots and the neighborhood’s outer boundaries.
Engineer Claire Clements submitted the comprehensive plan amendment for Landbridge on behalf of property owner Southern Citrus Grove. She had previously filed a pre-application submittal with the county in 2022 for the project, then known as Hillside Groves Village.
In the amendment plan, Clements wrote the trail tracks along the water’s edge around the development so residents can relax and enjoy activities like fishing.
“On the west side, I added a main park between the two main rows of homes,” Clements wrote in the plan. “I interconnected the trails and the parks with green strips between the homes for easy access to the parks.”
Interior site plans call for a water tower, several parks, a community center, an amenity center square and a commercial center for businesses like ice cream shops and hair dressers to serve Landbridge residents. The square will include a pool, clubhouse and pickleball area among other amenities.
Clements wrote that the amenities center, park square and twin villas will be located near each other to create a “little village feel”.
“This space can be great for community gatherings and I located it at the top of the hill to enhance the views coming off of the park square,” she wrote in the plan. “All great areas have a Park Square like Winter Park. It is the center of the community, so to speak.”
The northwest edge of the Landbridge property also runs along Richland Communities’ 673-acre Cypress Reserve PUD and encroaches upon a portion of the Green Swamp Area of Critical State Concern. The site plan reserves 40 percent of the project’s 219 developable acres, approximately 88 acres, for an aquifer recharge area where water is able to seep into the ground, naturally replenishing the water supply.
Clements wrote that the development will have recharge areas to provide a buffer between the neighborhood and surrounding waters, low impact recreational uses and appropriate density to preserve the current state of the Green Swamp.
“We have, with great detail, designed our project with design parameters in mind that will not harm the Green Swamp, but instead improve certain aspects of being in the Green Swamp,” she wrote in the plan.
David Weekley Homes launched the Encore brand in Tampa at FishHawk Ranch and has Encore communities in development across Arizona, Georgia, Texas and the Carolinas.
Lake County stands out among Central Florida counties for its popularity with retirees. The Villages, the nation’s fastest-growing master-planned community, now spills over into Lake County and the cities of Fruitland Park and Leesburg. Production builders Kolter Homes, Del Webb, and Lennar are also building age-restricted communities in Lake County. And luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers will be the exclusive builder at Lake Hills, a 55-plus community on Lake Harris.
Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at jwilkins@orlandosentinel.com or 407-754-4980. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.
