Brookfield Kolter Land Partners closed the $27.8 million acquisition of nearly 700 acres near U.S. Highway 27 in Leesburg last week to develop Grace Groves, a master-planned community approved for 1,700 homes.
Brookfield Residential — which acquired an ownership position with Kolter Land in 2024 to form Brookfield Kolter Land Partners — bought the 684-acre assemblage from Bar-Key Groves Inc., which provided seller financing in the amount of $17.2 million.
Brookfield Kolter took out a construction loan for $35 million with Phoenix-based Western Alliance Bank to fund their purchase, likely signaling the project is ready to break ground. The developer also executed three lot purchase agreements with Ryan Homes for a total of $5.68 million.
In 2022, the City of Leesburg approved plans for Bar-Key Groves, renamed Grace Groves, to include up to 1,700 single-family homes and 137,000 square feet of commercial space on 717 acres east of U.S. Highway 27 and south of Dewey Robbins Road.
A total of 691 acres within the Grace Groves PUD was established as a Community Development District, or CDD, in July 2024 and expanded to 730 acres with the approved addition of an adjacent 39-acre parcel last June.
Known as ‘Bar Key II’, the 39-acre expansion parcel will contain 156 of the planned 1,700 homes within the development and will not increase the project density, according to developers.
Bar Key II was not initially included in the approvals for Grace Groves because the purchase of the property was still under negotiation. It is connected to the rest of Grace Groves on the northeast side of the property and will be integrated into the rest of the project during Phase 2 development.
The added Bar Key II parcel sits directly west of the 133-acre former Anthony property, which is being developed by Hanover Capital Partners/Trinity Family Builders. The site plan for that development calls for 391 single-family homes.
Previously approved plans for Grace Groves call for the project to be built in three phases, the first phase set for development of an entrance road to the community and a five-acre amenity center with a clubhouse and pool.
Of the 1,700 dwelling units planned for Grace Groves, development plans indicate 660 single-family units will be built on 50-foot lots and another 558 single-family units will be built on 45-foot lots. The other 482 units will be villa lots, which include townhomes.
Just over 26 acres of Grace Groves, on the west side of the project site, is set aside for commercial use and the main entrance to the development along U.S. 27.
The main entrance road leads to a loop road that will circle around a lake within the center of the community. A five-acre amenity center is planned for the west side of the community lake.
North of the Grace Groves property purchased by Brookfield Kolter, Oviedo-based developer Sun Terra Communities received approval from a bankruptcy court earlier this year to purchase the proposed site of the 1,088-acre Whispering Hills community for $62 million.
Whispering Hills was initially planned for development by Orlando-based Marsan Real Estate Group before developer Jean Marsan filed the project for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October.
Early plans for Whispering Hills indicated developer Jean Marsan planned the community as a mixed-use development on the site of the former Journey M Circle Ranch in Leesburg, just east of U.S. 27 and north of Dewey Robbins Road. The property has zoning approvals for a golf and equestrian community with nearly 3,000 residential units and up to 451,000 square feet of commercial hotel, medical and office uses.
SunTerra has a long track record in Central Florida of developing larger, master-planned communities, including Hills of Minneola, Harmony and Horizon West.
Adjacent to the Whispering Hills property, only feet away from the land recently bought by Brookfield Kolter, Risewell Homes is currently selling within the 147-acre Hodges Reserve development.
Planned for 449 single-family residential units near the north side of Dewey Robbins and east of U.S. 27, Hodges Reserve is actively in development.
Homes within Hodges Reserve will range from three to six bedrooms, two and a half to three and a half bathrooms, and 1,773 to 2,560 square feet, according to Risewell.
Just north of Whispering Hills — near No. 2 Road and Busby Road, east of the Windsong neighborhood — Richland Communities is planning development of its 337-acre Silver Springs community.
Concerns from nearby residents about traffic generated by the proposed 825 detached single-family homes on No. 2 Road early last year prompted Richland to move the proposed neighborhood’s access point off that road to an access point through Whispering Hills.
Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at jwilkins@orlandosentinel.com or 407-754-4980. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.
