Lake County is 30 miles northwest of Downtown Orlando. Sumter County, adjoining Lake, is 45 miles away. The projects fall among seven of Lake County's 14 municipal governments.

An estimated two million sf of commercial and retail will complement 27,896 acres of planned projects totaling 58,216 residences, according to projects previously announced. The bulk of the ventures will be built within a 10-year timeframe, local planners project. Some undertakings are 20-year-buildouts.

"The key element in all this growth is going to be the degree of cooperation among the various cities involved," Dean Fritchen, senior associate, Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT, Winter Park, FL, tells GlobeSt.com. "Many of those cities have a track record of less than full cooperation with each other because each local government wants to custom-tailor commercial growth to best fit its needs and residents."