Various deadlines have come and gone in the last decade and the 1,434-acre project still hasn't seen a turned shovel. Now the project is up against the metaphorical wall.

Environmentalists and anti-development forces are readying a pitch they will make Jan. 22 to Lake County commissioners at their regular monthly session in the county seat of Tavares, FL. The anti-development forces want the county to buy the tract from Orlando developers Karick Price and former banker Willoughby T. Cox for a low-ball price of $11.5 million or $8,025 per acre (18 cents per sf).

Environmentalists envision a recreational heaven, overlooking Lake Apopka, above the 350-foot high pile of dirt, 25 miles west of Downtown Orlando. Sugarloaf Mountain is the highest tract in Central Florida and one of the highest in the state.

Limited high-end shelter development would be allowed instead of the 2,434 single-family and multifamily units, 175 condominiums and 18-hole golf course initially approved by the state for Sugarloaf Mountain.

The two sticking points with the environmentalists' purchase fantasy, knowledgeable land brokers and political insiders tell GlobeSt.com, is that one, the county has no budgeted funds for this specific purpose.

And two, the landowners already are under contract to sell the dirt to Tampa, FL investor John Reaves and his local syndicate for at least $20,000 per acre (46 cents per sf) or about $29 million, land brokers and real estate lawyers following the controversy tell GlobeSt.com on condition of anonymity.

The landowners' contract with Reaves expires Jan. 31 and could be extended, insiders tell GlobeSt.com. But the longer the potential deal goes, the more valuable the land becomes and the more difficult it will be for Lake County's elected officials to even consider borrowing funds to buy Sugarloaf, brokers who have worked the south Lake County territory tell GlobeSt.com.

"As the south Lake County area continues to be built up, residentially, commercially, industrially and retail-like, the more valuable any land in that sector becomes, especially large contiguous blocks such as Sugarloaf Mountain," a local land broker who has consulted in the past with the deal's principals tells GlobeSt.com on condition of anonymity.

The broker estimates the Sugarloaf tract could be worth at least $35,000 per acre or 80 cents per sf five years from now. That could turn out to be a conservative estimate, other brokers equally knowledgeable on the area tell GlobeSt.com.

The reason: Miami-based Lennar Corp. is considering a similar mixed-use enterprise on 1,850 adjoining acres it has purchased from an unidentified seller for an undisclosed sum.

Lennar officials tell GlobeSt.com their plans are far from even the conceptual stage. But they have discussed the proposed venture with elected officials of nearby city of Minneola, FL where the Lennar dirt is located, as GlobeSt.com reported Jan. 7.

Lennar officials plan to meet Jan. 31 to lay out tentative plans for a 4,000-home community of single-family and multifamily units and a golf course. How much of a backlash their plans will encounter from environmentalists and other anti-development foes is the unknown factor.

The lawyer for Price and Cox, Cecelia Bonifay of Orlando-based Akerman, Senterfitt Eidsen, has indicated her clients are willing to listen to what the environmentalists and the county might offer for the 500 acres they own on Sugarloaf. Another Orlando lawyer, Philip Tatich, represents owners of the remaining 934 acres.

Sugarloaf Mountain lies between Country Roads 561 and 455, near Clermont and Montverde, FL.

Instant Insights /

GlobeSt.com UPDATE: Buy-Sugarloaf Backers Readying Pitch for Jan. 22

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