A developer that made its mark bringing vitality to Orlando’s urban neighborhoods has partnered with one of the region’s most aggressive land developers to expand its new homebuilding venture, Moxie Homes.
The company was founded by Elise Sabatino and Giovanni Fernandez, owners of Orlando’s National Real Estate and developers of several infill commercial and residential projects in the Milk District and the Hourglass District.
Earlier this year, Dix Developments bought a 50% stake in Moxie, which is actively selling its first residential subdivision in Lady Lake, just outside of The Villages. The deal gives Moxie access to thousands of homesites in the development pipeline across Lake, Osceola and Brevard counties.
“The whole goal is just to put as many lots as they need in front of them to build a business, and that’s what we’re going to be able to do,” Dix Developments CEO James Dicks said. “We’re taking the business to another level. We’re working on a hundred-plus-million-dollar (credit line) right now to start developing all of our lots.”
Moxie is currently building and selling homes at Boulevard Oaks in Lady Lake, and is preparing to begin additional construction activity in surrounding counties, including Hernando and Sumter. The first homes on DIX-developed lots are expected to break ground in August. By the end of 2026, Moxie anticipates being active in more than five communities, representing approximately 800 residential lots either under construction or in development.
Fernandez said their development roots are in residential. When he and Sabatini moved to Orlando, they quickly assembled a portfolio of 1,000 distressed homes in Deltona, Ocala and Pine Hills, which they renovated and managed as rental properties. As their commercial business grew in Orlando’s urban neighborhoods, they continued building single-family homes, about 120 per year, on scattered sites throughout the region.
They launched Moxie to expand the homebuilding operation and to take on bigger projects, bringing their unique style to more buyers. Their designs are an homage to Mid-Century Modern architecture, with a focus on indoor-outdoor living and elevated finishes rarely found at the price point. Homes in Boulevard Oaks start in the mid $300s to low $400s.
“We said to ourselves, let’s really go out and disrupt the market,” Fernandez said. “Why don’t we offer the community and people who are moving here something unique from an architectural perspective and something unique from an option perspective that they can really make their own.”
Their first project in Lady Lake is the antithesis of a cookie-cutter subdivision. For starters, Moxie doesn’t build homes with stucco exteriors. Instead, they use ribbed block, 4-inch vertical stacked block, and shingle siding to create visual interest. Most of their floor plans come with either a gable roof or a flat roof. They expand the living space with front patios and interior courtyards.
“Our recipe for success historically has been to look at things from a different angle, and we think that the courtyard is a cool way to give somebody ‘more square footage’ by living indoors and outdoors where your house wraps around it, without having to charge you for the square footage.”
The interiors utilize designer lighting and modern, seamless appliances from Fisher & Paykel. They also designed niches in the home, like the front entry or a hallway to the primary suite, where buyers can select built-in cabinetry for extra storage.
“Back in the day, people used to do nice woodwork and trim work, and you’d do these nice built-ins in your homes. And today that doesn’t exist in production housing,” Fernandez said. “And so that’s definitely something that we want to be known for.”
Dicks said the Moxie signature style is what drew him to invest in the company. The team is already designing new product lines for the Dix communities in Hernando County and for Huntington Oaks, a Dix project in Leesburg, where Moxie will be one of three homebuilders in the community.
“It was definitely a little different for me to look at that footprint, but once you walk inside, it’s just amazing,” Dicks said. “You’ve got stuff that more normally is in a higher-end house.”
By the end of 2026, Moxie anticipates being active in more than five communities, representing approximately 800 residential lots either under construction or in development. The company will have a significant presence in other Dix master-planned communities, such as Roan Bridge in St. Cloud and Ashton Park on the Space Coast.
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