Just over three years after Lennar paid $77.2 million to secure land for its Lookout Ridge development in June 2023, the national homebuilder has recently filed plans detailing construction of its second subdivision within the master-planned community in Minneola.
Located at the southwest intersection of Sugarloaf Mountain Road and Mountain View, abutting Del Webb Minneola to the west, Lookout Ridge is planned as a portion of the larger Sugarloaf Mountain PUD from Tampa-based Richland Communities.
Construction plans filed with the St. Johns River Water Management District earlier this month indicate Lookout Ridge will comprise 316 single-family lots on 169.4 acres. Lot sizes for the community include 195 45-foot lots, 95 55-foot lots and 26 65-foot lots.
Lennar is actively selling homes in Sugarloaf Ridge, a 487-home community on the opposite side of Del Webb Minneola. The builder currently offers eight floorplans across two product lines, with prices starting at $460,000. The community will have an amenity package that includes a neighborhood pool and cabana, a playground, basketball and pickleball courts and a playground.
Lookout Ridge is set for construction in three phases, with Phase 1 development planned for 127 homes starting at Mountain View to the north of the property and continuing with subsequent phases moving south. Approximately 106.9 acres, mostly to the west of the home lots, will be reserved as open space.
The plans also call for development of Sundown Ridge Road, a proposed road that would stretch a quarter-mile east from the northeast corner of Lookout Ridge to connect with Sugarloaf Mountain Road and the rest of the Sugarloaf Mountain PUD.
According to Brian Cipollone, Vice President of Land Acquisitions for Lennar, Lookout Ridge is currently in the design phase and is working through the permitting process.
Richland acquired land for the 1,420-acre Sugarloaf Mountain project back in 2015 and won approval for a Planned Unit Development, or PUD, that would divide the community into three phases.
With construction working its way from south to north, the three-phase development program ultimately allows for up to 2,434 homes and 120,000 square feet of commercial space.
Richland is also required to reserve at least 15 acres for a future school site, provide land for a future fire station, or build a fire station in exchange for impact fee credits.
Richland sold the first two residential pods within Sugarloaf Mountain — including the land for Lookout Ridge —to Lennar in 2023 and followed up in 2024 with two more deals, combining for nearly $50 million in land sales.
In August 2024, the developer sold a 205-lot subdivision, Whispering Winds at Sugarloaf Mountain, to Stanley Martin Homes for $26 million.
At $127,000 per lot before engineering, the deal was more than Lennar paid for its 800+ lots, which set the record for Lake County at $95,000 per entitled lot.
A few months later, in November 2024, Richland sold Pine Ridge at Sugarloaf Mountain — a subdivision approved for 178 homes — to Tri Pointe Homes for $23.97 million.
With over three different lot sizes available for development, the deal for Pine Ridge broke down to an average price of over $134,000 per entitled lot.
Last month, Richland filed construction plans of their own that detail expansion of an existing subdivision located within the Sugarloaf Mountain PUD boundaries.
Submitting construction plans to the SJRWMD last month, Richland is proposing an additional 53 lots on just over 23 acres for the gated neighborhood off Mountain Club Drive south of County Road 455.
The overall site plan for the Sugarloaf Mountain PUD highlighting 53 lots planned for Unit 3B — the proposed expansion of an existing 165-lot subdivision set within a gated neighborhood off Mountain Club Drive — and 169 acres for the 316-lot Lookout Ridge community in the southwest corner of the PUD. (Courtesy of Pape-Dawson)
Identified as Unit 3B within the larger Sugarloaf Mountain PUD, the 75-foot-wide expansion lots will add to an existing 165 estate lots within the current phase of development, bringing the total to 218 lots. All other communities in Sugarloaf will feature a mix of 45-foot, 55-foot, and 65-foot lots.
According to Richland VP Matt Young, the company plans to begin grading efforts for Unit 3B later this summer.
This portion of the development process is the second of two sections planned within the second phase of Sugarloaf Mountain.
The first section, known as Sunny Ridge, was sold to California-based homebuilder New Home Co. for approximately $55 million last October.
Slated for 369 lots on 145 acres within Sugarloaf Mountain, lot sizes within Sunny Ridge will range from 45 feet to 60 feet in width and the community will include a 13.3-acre amenity tract with scenic views from Sugarloaf Mountain, sitting over 300 feet above sea level at the highest elevation in Central Florida.
The deal breaks down to about $150,000 per homesite. New Home Co., which merged with Landsea Homes last year, acquired the property through a land-banking deal with Magnolia Land Capital. The transaction closed on Oct. 20.
Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at jwilkins@orlandosentinel.com or 407-754-4980. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.
