Meanwhile, in neighboring Clermont, FL, the multimillion-dollar mixed use Galleria project, planned by locally based Highland Real Estate and Investments Inc., is stalled as the city worries about Downtown blight from the anticipated venture.

In the Groveland area, 25 miles west of Downtown Orlando, two new subdivisions already are on the drawing boards, city council members confirm. One community, just north of Cherry Lake, could have 2,000 residential units. Another project, at the north end of the state-protected Green Swamp, would be developed on a 160-acre tract.

Area industrial real estate brokers tell GlobeSt.com Groveland officials are confident their annexation plans will pay off in an enlarged property tax base and a permanent population of 20,000 by 2020, up from 3,000 today.