DR Horton Homes of Arlington, TX is the main bidder for the 1,124 acres along the Florida Turnpike between Kissimmee and St. Cloud, Osceola County, about 15 miles from Disney's 30,000-acre enclave, Orlando brokers in a position to know tell GlobeSt.com.
Horton, one of the largest homebuilders in Florida, owns 600 acres on the east side of the Turnpike and is asking St. Cloud to annex the property which is tentatively planned for a new residential subdivision, St. Cloud officials confirm.
The tribe purchased the acreage from the Osceola County-based Partin Family Ranch Group in 2001 for $28.7 million, or $25,534 per acre, according to Osceola County real estate records. Area brokers tell GlobeSt.com the land will probably be marked up by at least 20% and sold for a minimum $30,640 per acre, or a total $34.4 million.
The Seminoles own and operate five casinos in Florida, including the $300-million hotel and casino in Hollywood and a comparable $100-million venture in Tampa. Orlando-based Hard Rock Café International is the tribe's partner in both projects which are nearing completion, as GlobeSt.com previously reported. The other Seminole gaming operations in South Florida are in Okeechobee, Immokalee, and Coconut Creek.
The tribe's decision to cancel plans for a casino venture near Disney comes as the Central Florida hospitality industry gears up plans again to fight all gambling-related enterprises, area brokers following the controversial project for the past three years tell GlobeSt.com. "Central Florida politicians, hoteliers and media owners will fight casino operations here until the day they die," one hotel owner who doesn't share his colleague's stand on the issue, tells GlobeSt.com on condition of anonymity. "They are convinced the salvation to the area's economic growth is a squeaky-clean, family-oriented image.
Continue Reading for Free
Register and gain access to:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
