A massive mixed-use development at Leesburg is moving forward three years after the controversial approval of the 1,088-acre plot known as Whispering Hills.
Orlando-based Marsan Real Estate Group recently applied for a permit to the St. John’s River Water Management District during the first phase of the project, Growthspotter reported.
This is because Leedsburg leaders are working on the rapid growth of their cities, leading the city council to reject much smaller annexation requests for housing projects earlier this week.
Located at the original Journey M Circle Ranch in Leesburg, it whispered from the Leesburg City Council east of US 27 and north of Dewey Robbins Road in 2022 after intense disputes from community members and concerns over the proposed size of the project.
The council unanimously approved a measure that would allow the whispering hill developers and adjacent Hodges Reserve to proceed with the project.
Hodges Reserve is a 147-acre, 449-unit residential development located north of the Dewey Robbins and near the north of the Eastern US 27. The project is actively under development and sales are expected later this year.
Developer Jean Marsan has applied for a Phase 1A mass rating permit for Whispering Hill from the Water Management District. A total of 774 detached houses and 223 townhomes were included in nine villages listed in the application.
After making some concessions to appease the concerns of local residents, the current plans for the Whisper Hill allow up to 2,942 residential units, while Leesburg planning director Dan Miller expects nearly 2,300 or 2,400 units will be built.
“It depends on the design,” he said. “They’ve been approved more than that, but once they actually start engineering and laying out the site, we expect that kind of thing to be around 2,300 or 2,400.”
According to Whispering Hills’ current plans, the 44-acre town centre is expected to have up to 451,000 square feet of commercial hotels, medical and office use.
The development includes 50 and 70-foot lots with the smallest home sizes 1,700 square feet except for the garage. According to Miller, most homes include three bedrooms and two bathrooms, four bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Other whispering hill amenities include walking trails, dog parks, barbecue pavilions, clubhouses with swimming pools, and small petting zoos that may include goats, pigs and ponies in other animals.
There are also plans for an equestrian centre and a “asterisk” golf course, Miller said the size of the golf course is a point of conflict amongst the project’s opponents.
“A lot of these things rely on when funding is done and when it’s ready, planning review times and being able to line up engineers with contractors,” he said. “The bigger the project, the more complex the adjustments are. Some projects take 10 or 15 years to build, and some of them can be completed in a year and a half. They are very variable when it comes to individual projects.”
With road infrastructure still being built in the area as future Whisper Hills tenants are likely to drive for most trips, Colliers Director of Land Services Junior said he hopes developers will be able to successfully seduce people from their cars and succeed in the businesses and amenities that development has to offer.
“For every 100 families, we bring in at least 150 cars,” he said. “That’s our lifestyle and we want to drive wherever we go. This is a suburban project, so we recommend capturing travel within the project.”
Adjacent to the Whisper Hill, the Richland Community is planning the development of 825 detached single-family homes near Road 2 and Busby Road east of the Windson area.
Concerns about No. 2 Road traffic from nearby residents have urged the developers of the 337-acre project to move the proposed nearby access point off the road to the access point through the whispering hill.
Given the scale of the project, even if the hurdles are cleared and allowed them to do, Miller said he is still optimistic about the whispering hills and what he can offer to Leesburg once finished.
“There’s a fair amount of recreation and a fair amount of commercials,” he said. “It’s really about to play some really nice live shows, work, community in the area. I think it’s going to work.”
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