November 25, 2025
Developer Buys 345 Acres Near New Fairground Location — With No Plan and No Rush
By Frank Stanfield
Developer Buys 345 Acres Near New Fairground Location — With No Plan and No Rush
It is not often when a developer pays $5 million for 345 acres and still considers it a blank slate, with no timeline in mind. Especially in Florida and in booming Lake County, but that is exactly what Maury Carter & Associates has done by buying land adjacent to the proposed new Lake County fairgrounds.
The group’s investors purchased two agricultural parcels from Loma Linda Corp. earlier this month, which is divided by Frankies Road and Loma Linda Road. The former citrus grove is listed in property appraiser records as a hay farm with wetlands. The proposed site for a new 60-acre county fairgrounds is on County Road 448 where the Renaissance Fair was recently held.
There are some single-family homes to the west along State Road 19. To the north is CR 448. Also nearby is the county animal shelter, the Lake Tech Public Safety gun range, and large swaths of undeveloped land.
But perhaps the most attractive draw is its access to Little Lake Harris and “great bass fishing,” says Daryl Carter.
Space near the fairgrounds could include some light industrial usage, but it could also include hotels with space for people to park their boats, he says.
“We look for complementary uses,” Daryl says. “We like to meet with local government to see what kinds of things are needed. We want to be good neighbors.”
That excites Tavares Council Vice Mayor Bob Grenier. “I’ve said why can’t we get some resort hotels on these beautiful lakes?”
So often instead, the city is stuck with “very ugly housing projects,” Grenier notes.
The Carter property is within the Tavares city limits.
Carter said his group recently reviewed figures showing big money returns on sports complexes, like the Boombah Sports Complex in Sanford, with nine artificial turf fields, nine natural surface fields and space for special events.
Tournaments bring in tourists with a need for hotels, restaurants and other amenities.
The site is also near the Lake County Soccer Club, and Hickory Point park.
In an interview with Growthspotter Carter said: “We paid cash for it, so we have the ability to be patient and try to do something that’s good for everybody, including the community.”
“And we want to make some money, too,” he told Style magazine.
Frank Stanfield has been a journalist for more than 40 years, including as an editor and reporter for the Daily Commercial, Orlando Sentinel and Ocala Star-Banner. He has written three books, “Unbroken: The Dorothy Lewis Story,” “Vampires, Gators and Wackos, A Florida Newspaperman’s Story,” and “Cold Blooded, A True Crime Story of a Murderous Teenage Cult.” He has appeared on numerous national and international broadcasts, including Discovery ID, Oxygen and Court TV. He maintains a blog at frankestanfield.com. Stanfield graduated with a political science degree from the University of North Florida and a master’s in journalism at the University of Georgia.
