August 26, 2026
Thousands of New Homes in the Pipeline as Leesburg Growth Continues
By Frank Stanfield
Thousands of New Homes in the Pipeline as Leesburg Growth Continues
Across Lake and Sumter counties, developers continue lining up for zoning and annexation requests, replacing treetops with thousands of rooftops.
The new developments include:
- A 100-home home neighborhood called Leesburg Palmetto Drive development next to the Plantation retirement community. It was tentatively approved Monday Aug. 10 and sent by the city to the state for its approval before coming back for second reading in September.
- A 655-home development on Merritt Ranch south of County Road 48 near the Sumter County line.
Other developments are swapping hands and some contractors are moving dirt as the state continues to boom.
Florida grew by 196,700 between 2024 and 2025, thanks to migration from other states, according to USAFacts. It is the second highest growth rate in the country.
It’s hard to say how long it will continue.
“Anecdotally it seems to have slowed down a little,” said Dan Miller, the city’s planning and zoning director.
Factors like inflation, interest rates, and affordability all play a role.
In the meantime, there are still plenty of requests coming in, including the Merritt Ranch petition by developer Richland Communities. It involves two parcels: 118 and 445 acres. The property is owned by Jerl and Sarah Merritt, Richard D. Merritt Estate, and Caldwell Citrus Grove Management.
Normally, a property that size could result in a density with 1,112 lots, but because of a large percentage of wetlands, “it actually resulted in cutting back by half,” says City Manager Al Minner.
The project description got its first commission reading on July 27. It comes back for second reading on Sept. 14.
- The 700-acre Grace Groves site, formerly known as Bar-Key Groves, is south of Dewey Robbins Road, has just been purchased by Kolter Land Acquisitions. Plans call for up to 1,700 homes, and contractors are busy moving dirt.
- Kolter Land Partners purchased the property in 2025 for $28 million, according to Lake County records. The city approved Bar-Key, planned to be built in stages, in 2022.
- The former 1,400-acre Whispering Hills development gets a new life after bankruptcy and sale at an auction.
Sitting on the west side of U.S. Highway 27 approved for about 1,000 homes and commercial space.
The developers went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy, then sale through auction, and now seems to be headed back on track under Sun Terra ownership, according to the Orlando Sentinel’s Growth Spotter.
As is typical, not everyone is happy about the new developments.
Some Plantation residents were certainly not pleased with the 65-acre Palmetto Drive project. One person wrote to the city calling it “severe incompatibility with the existing neighborhood.”
The city, however, insisted on a bigger buffer, with bigger lots next to Plantation, single-story homes only and other changes, according to Miller.
Big projects often spark opposition, with residents concerned about such things as traffic, especially on U.S. 27, and school crowding. In 2025, commissioners voted 4-1 against imposing a moratorium on new projects.
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.
