For example, one outparcel at East Towne Center in Clermont, a bustling Orlando bedroom community, sold for $1.3 million--after the owner only asked $1 million for the property, broker Trevor W. Hall Jr. of Colliers Arnold, who handled the deal, tells GlobeSt.com.

"With 816,000 sf of retail space and more than 200,000 sf of new construction under way, this area is poised to see several new retailers emerge in the area," says Colliers Arnold research analyst Bobby Palta. "Town centers are becoming a dominant force in new retail development" in Central Florida.

Town centers under way or nearing ground-breaking are Clermont Town Center, Baldwin Park, Village Center, Altamonte Town Center, Horizons West Village and Veranda Park. The town-center blitz is being spurred by the success of similar ventures at Waterford Lakes, Winter Park Village and Plaza Venezia.