Hanover Land Company has received approval from Leesburg City Commission to modify its Banning Ranch project, priming the property for development as a Del Webb active adult community.
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Spread out over 727 acres between CR 33 and County Road 48, south of Florida’s Turnpike, Banning Ranch is currently allowed up to 1,102 single-family homes across five planned development phases, but that will change slightly, according to a report in GrowthSpotter.
The proposed project’s first two phases, second two phases and fifth phase are zoned under three separate Planned Unit Developments, or PUDs.
Under contract with Pulte for future purchase of the property, Hanover requested to amend the three PUDs and turn Banning Ranch into an active adult community for individuals aged 55 and older, according to Leesburg Planning Director Dan Miller. Pulte is actively selling in Del Webb communities in Hills of Minneola, Lakehaven in Clermont, Twin Lakes and Sunbridge, and the builder recently filed plans for a second active adult community in the Orlando section of Sunbridge.
Among amendments requested for Banning Ranch, Hanover sought to revise lot sizes from 70 feet to 64 feet, reduce standard lots from 125 feet to 120 feet and add 55-by-80-foot cottage lots. Hanover also requested removal of proposed internal buffers between the three PUDs to create one unified neighborhood and, according to Miller, Del Webb will have the option to make the community gated.
Though the requested maximum of 300 units in Phase 5 will increase by six dwelling units, the approved changes will decrease the total number of units across all five phases by 38 — from 1,102 to 1,064 total units.
“There is a small decrease in the number of lots, but there’s a significant reduction in the amount of traffic on the roadways because this will be a 55-plus community,” Miller said. “There would be a significant reduction in the school system impact fees and the impact on the school system. If the roads end up being private, that would be a significant reduction to the future financial expenditures with the City of Leesburg.”
While the PUDs and modified ordinances stated that the community “may or may not” be gated, commissioners pushed for an addition that will require Del Webb to make the community gated and absolve the city of responsibility for private roads within the development.
All three ordinances passed by 4-1 vote, with commissioner Jay Connell serving as the sole ‘no’ vote for each.
The property for Banning Ranch was previously owned by Frank and Carol Banning. Last May, Hanover purchased 265 acres of land — the first of two takedowns for Phases 3 and 4 of Banning Ranch — for $3.86 million.
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Amenities planned for Banning Ranch include a resort-style pool, multiple clubhouses, dog parks, preservation areas, passive parks and green space.
Earlier this year, Hanover received approval from the Leesburg City Commission to broaden County Road 33 Community Development District, or CDD, boundaries to allow the final three phases of Banning Ranch and an adjacent Hanover community dubbed Tierra Vista.
The previous boundary of the CR 33 CDD only encompassed Preservation Place — another Hanover community south of Tierra Vista — and Phases 1 and 2 of Banning Ranch. Adding the rest of Banning Ranch and Tierra Vista increased the district’s size by 702 acres, bringing the total CDD to 1,143 acres.
The CDD expansion brought all of Banning Ranch, Tierra Vista and Preservation Place under a single district rather than having Hanover split its projects across multiple CDDs.
Preservation Place is planned as a 561-lot subdivision to be developed over three phases right along the west side of Florida’s Turnpike. Abutting Preservation Place to the south and the turnpike to the west, plans for Tierra Vista will see it rise as a 371-home community on 153 acres.
Nearby, a half-mile south of the proposed location for Phase 1 of Banning Ranch, Hanover recently purchased 121 acres to begin development of a single-family community in Leesburg.
Straddling County Road 33, the Lake Bright-Brighurst PUD is planned to contain 502 homes spread across 202 acres north of Bridges Road and just over a mile and a half south of Florida’s Turnpike.
Set for development over four phases, the PUD will contain detached single-family homes on 50- and 60-foot lots. Hanover purchased 121 acres for the Lake Bright portion of the project — on the west side of CR 33 — from Crittenden Fruit Company Inc. for $4.9 million last month.
Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at [email protected] or 407-754-4980. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.
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