Phenomenal Growth in Horizon West

Decades-Old Vision Is Becoming a Reality

by Debra Wood


More than 20 years ago, a number of people in west Orange County had a vision for a planned development called Horizon West. Today, about 24 percent of the 23,000 acres are built out, and more than 20,000 people live in the community, with more growth under way.

“Horizon West is a unique community in Central Florida,” said County Commissioner Scott Boyd during a recent media tour of the project. “There are a lot of great opportunities. We want to make sure it’s a great community.”

West Orange Chamber of Commerce organized the event, which was sponsored by Duke Energy and attended by the Orlando Economic Development Commission. The tour was conducted by Boyd and was another effort by WOCC to help businesses in the area, as well as spread the word about what is happening in Horizon West.

Fifty-four percent of the county-issued building permits are for this area, according to Boyd. Nearly 9,700 single-family homes have been built in Horizon West and five apartment complexes. In addition, more than 20,000 people reside there, with most employed in the leisure and hospitality sector, and approximately 4,600 vacant residential lots are in the developmental process.

“This area has the second-fastest growth in the state, next to The Villages, and it’s the third fastest master-planned community in the country,” said Kevin Merideth of Boyd Development Corp., to which the commissioner is not related.

Horizon West’s average new home prices are $460,000, and the average income of its residents is $110,000. Despite all of the construction activity and traffic, some portions of Horizon West remain rural, with cows and other animals grazing on pastureland.

“We are on the front end of creating out here,” Boyd said. “It will be exciting to see what comes out of the ground.”

Horizon West History

A visionary group of property owners, whose groves had died, knew the future was in real estate not growing citrus and met in a restaurant in Winter Garden to create a new future. They organized Horizon West in 1993. They met with experts from the public and private sectors and developed a master plan. The two-year process led to a comprehensive plan with five villages and a town center.

Original plans for Horizon West called for up to nine villages on 38,000 acres. But throughout the years, Reedy Creek Improvement District annexed some of the land, and, in 2004, residents around Lake Avalon and Johns Lake opted out of Horizon West, deciding to designate their 4,500-acre community as a rural settlement, which would limit the lot size and maintain the country flavor of the area.

Lakeside Village was the first to break ground, and The Lakes of Windermere was the first neighborhood in the village. Boyd Development built a Publix Super Market-anchored shopping center in Lakeside Village, which Merideth reported was doing very well. Residents are using a trail system to access restaurants and retail. The Walt Disney Co. built apartments for temporary workers in Lakeside Village.


090116growinggainsKevin Merideth of Boyd Development Corp. talks about the merits of Horizon West during a media tour organized by the West Orange Chamber of Commerce.


The Board of County Commissioners approved the Village at Bridgewater in 1999. By 2002, 34 homes had been sold in Lakeside Village and 60 in Bridgewater. Four years later, 1,400 new homes had been sold.

Orange County Public Schools opened Bay Lake Elementary School in Lakeside Village this year. The 94,000-square-foot school can accommodate 837 students. It includes a media center, computer lab, and art and music labs.

The Horizon West Town Center began in 2012, with the creation of the 640-acre Hamlin mixed-use community along the shores of Lake Hancock. Boyd Development purchased the site with Stratford Land of Dallas and is developing the property, a commercial and residential mixed-use development to the east of State Road 429 at the New Independence Parkway interchange. A 193,000-square-foot Walmart will open there in November.

Whats Ahead

A 54,000-square-foot Publix Super Market will start construction this month in Hamlin, and a 10-screen movie theater will break ground around the first of the year. Lakefront restaurants are also planned for that immediate area.

“Our idea is to create a walkable, active place, with unique restaurants and a boardwalk,” Merideth said.

Construction will begin this fall on a 80,000-square-foot, 16-bed Orlando Health freestanding emergency department, with outpatient diagnostic and laboratory services. The campus, in Hamlin, also will include physician offices and a wellness center. Patients will be able to “see” specialists at other Orlando Health facilities through telemedicine technology. Orlando Health representatives expect the facility to open by the end of 2018.

Valencia College owns 100 acres in Horizon West, but officials have not announced any plans to construct a campus. Orange County Public Schools owns property on Seidel Road for a high school. It requires no zoning or land use changes.

Orange County still plans to build the 200-acre Horizon West Sports Complex. People can ride horses on the land now, but the county plans more activities for the property.

Unicorp National Developments Inc. is building Westside Shoppes, a 70,700-square-foot shopping plaza, with a medical office building and multifamily housing.

“We continue to work with commercial groups for an efficient way to go through the county planning process,” Boyd said. “We bring a team together with major decision-makers and work to move the project forward. The county supports development and the new things that are happening.”

Additionally, Lake County is adding an urban service area to the immediate west of Horizon West, with 17,000 homes. A new Wellness Way toll road will connect State Road 429 to U.S. Highway 27.💓