Another new Osceola County interchange on Florida’s Turnpike could open by the end of 2028 after the developers behind the Waterlin master-planned community on Lake Tohopekaliga reached a deal with the county to expedite construction of the $60+ million highway project.
Read more With the world’s leaders waiting, Trump meets with Mamdani
County commissioners voted Monday to approve agreements with the Florida Turnpike Enterprise and the development team, a joint venture between Gentry Land Company and Wheelock Communities, to fast-track the project and start construction in late 2027, according to a report in GrowthSpotter.
Commissioners and St. Cloud’s City Council had already approved a $230 million agreement in 2024 to split the cost with the developer for 22 miles of roads in the 6,000-acre community, including the Cross Prairie Parkway extension and Waterlin Boulevard overpass. Monday’s vote will accelerate plans to convert the overpass into a half-interchange beginning with the northbound entrance and exit ramps in Phase 1. Gentry President Reed Berlinsky called the agreement “an example of how thoughtful growth and infrastructure investment can work hand in hand.”
Deputy County Manager Dave Tomek said Waterlin is paying just over half the cost of building the overpass. “That’s a $40 or $50 million overpass. So if we had had to do that with the ramps, we may not have been able to afford the upfront cost for this,” he said. “Waterlin’s putting in a nice chunk of money to help make this happen.”
Waterlin will donate the right-of-way for a full diamond interchange and will pay an estimated $1.6 million for the engineering, design, and permitting for the ramps. The county will reimburse the developer for those expenses and front the $17.8 million construction cost.
The Waterlin Boulevard overpass and northbound entrance and exit ramps would be completed in late 2028. (Osceola County)
The southbound ramps will be added at a later date, making Waterlin Boulevard a full diamond interchange. (Osceola County)
“The agreement says that Waterlin will actually provide us with the right-of-way for the northbound on- and off-ramps and the southbound, even though the southbound ramps are not getting built right now,” Tomek said. “And then we get a lump sum payment from the Turnpike Enterprise once we’re done with the project and there’s final approval.”
Waterlin Boulevard will be built as a premium transit corridor linking Canoe Creek Road to Cross Prairie Parkway. And the overpass will open the former Green Island Ranch property west of the Turnpike for development.
“As we build Waterlin, we recognize that creating a successful community means looking beyond the boundaries of the development itself,” Berlinsky said. “It means helping invest in the infrastructure that serves the larger community.”
Read more Republican who oversees South Dakota’s elections endorses a Democrat in the race to succeed her
Construction on the first four phases of Waterlin, known as Founders Corner, commenced in 2025 between the Turnpike and Canoe Creek Road. Those neighborhoods are entitled for 2,321 single-family homes, 622 multifamily homes, a K-8 school and 106,000 square feet of commercial space. Berlinsky told GrowthSpotter the neighborhood park and welcome center in Founders Corner will open in early 2027. “There’s about 40 homes under construction around there now,” he said. “And we’ll be announcing more builders as we release additional lots.”
Waterlin is working with LandDesign to master plan the west side of the community and will file a Concept Plan before the end of the year. The entire community, which includes 2.5 miles of shoreline along Lake Tohopekaliga, is entitled for 17,000 homes and a future marina. The master-planned community is also approved for 5.3 million square feet of office and commercial, 700,000 square feet of industrial, and 400,000 square feet of civic use.
Waterlin Boulevard will be the second of three new Turnpike interchanges serving new development in the county’s East of Lake Toho and South Lake Toho mixed-use districts. FTE is currently constructing a new diverging-diamond interchange five miles north at Nolte Road, within the Crossprairie master-planned community in St. Cloud. It will open in late 2027 alongside the first phase of Heritage, the 75-acre urban center from WMG Development.
Meanwhile, the FTE is widening the Turnpike from four to eight lanes from U.S. 192 to Clay Whaley Road, and the county has developer agreements to complete the Cross Prairie Parkway. The county also committed $157 million to widen Canoe Creek Road from U.S. 192 to the Southport Connector Expressway.
“So between Cross Prairie being another parallel framework road to Canoe Creek, and then this interchange further south, I think it’s going to relieve a lot of that traffic further north,” Tomek said.
South of Waterlin, a third interchange is planned at the Turnpike and future Southport Connector Expressway on the former Bronson ranchlands. Last week, Osceola’s Development Review Committee approved the Concept Plan submitted by developer Richland Communities, which purchased the 3,229-acre ranch for $110 million. According to the CP, Richland will be required to develop a minimum of 7,349 homes (5,831 detached and 1,518 multifamily units) and 3.5 million square feet of commercial, office, and industrial space.
Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at [email protected] or (407) 420-6261. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.
Read more Judge won’t block Trump administration from giving SpaceX acres of wildlife refuge in land swap