Of all the central Florida communities that are ripe for development, the greater Pine Hills area appears poised to surge into a new era. As described by the sponsors last year of ‘The biggest and best political hob nob of the season,” this community is truly a ‘sleeping giant.’
Consider a handful of recent initiatives that will begin to transform the greater Pine Hills area. The Lynx bus transfer station is slated for completion in about a year; the Hawthorne senior residence at the Silver Pines Center is scheduled for a 2021 opening; the Preserve senior residence at Emerald Villas opened recently; Orange County is in the preliminary stages of purchasing the TRS Automotive site at Powers and Silver Star for construction of the Mosquito Control Division headquarters; WAWA announced a new site at the intersection of Clarcona-Ocoee and Apopka-Vineland; Orange County purchased the former Goodings store for the Orange County Cultural Arts Center; Amazon purchased the former Winn-Dixie warehouse on Coast Line Road; and Westside Capital Group plans to invest $1Billion in development of the former country club property in Rosemont.
The core zip code, 32808, is among the hottest housing markets. No surprise there, given the affordability of family friendly properties. The Silver Star Industrial submarket is especially desirable and enjoys a 97.6 percent occupancy rate, better than Orlando’s average of 94.8 percent, Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK) reported. The submarket’s overall average rent was $6.94 per square foot, which was higher than Orlando’s average of $5.76 per square foot.
The Census Designated Place alone within the greater Pine Hills area represents more than 70,000 households. If it were incorporated, it would be the second largest city in the Orlando metro area.
Our time has come.