Just outside The Villages, a developer is lining up a new retail-and-medical campus that aims to turn a busy Fruitland Park corridor into a mini hub for drive-thru meals and outpatient visits. The concept pulls together several freestanding restaurant pads and a multi-tenant medical and retail building, all positioned to catch the wave of growth rolling out from The Villages. Brokers say leasing is already underway as the site is pitched to quick-service chains and medical providers looking to plant a flag nearby.
Developer files plans, starts working the phones
Developer James Ekbatani is leading the proposal for land between U.S. 27/441 and Shadow Hill Drive in Fruitland Park, according to Orlando Business Journal. The outlet reports that the project would feature drive-thru dining and medical offices, with the medical and retail building topping 14,000 square feet and individual spaces ranging from roughly 1,900 to 4,500 square feet. Ekbatani and his leasing team are marketing the site to both restaurant brands and outpatient operators as the surrounding area continues to fill in.
Flyer spells out pads, square footage and traffic
Broker materials for the Shadow Hill site show a roughly 5.42-acre development broken into three main pieces: a 4,546-square-foot drive-thru restaurant pad, a 3,800-square-foot freestanding restaurant, and an 11,200-square-foot multi-tenant retail and medical building with bays of about 1,400 square feet each. The flyer also plays up frontage along U.S. 27/441 with an average daily traffic count of about 30,000 vehicles, a key talking point for both restaurant operators and urgent-care style tenants. Those details are laid out in the broker listing for the property, according to Palkiper.
Why everyone is zeroing in on this corridor
Growth around The Villages, along with a recent decision by AdventHealth to anchor the large Legacy Place development with an 80-bed hospital, has turned nearby Fruitland Park into a hot zone for retail and outpatient projects. AdventHealth cast the Legacy Place hospital as a response to the Villages area’s rapid population gains and a spark for more retail and medical investment. That helps explain why comparatively small restaurant pads and outpatient buildings are suddenly getting serious attention from investors and tenants.
For context, AdventHealth outlined the Legacy Place hospital plan in a May press release, highlighting its potential to expand services for residents of The Villages and surrounding communities.
What happens next on Shadow Hill Drive
Brokers say leasing talks are already in motion, but the project still has to clear key hurdles such as entitlements, access approvals, and stormwater design before any dirt is turned. Planning records from the City of Fruitland Park show a steady stream of small-scale comprehensive plan changes and rezonings as the city gears up for more infill commercial development. Permit applications and tenant announcements are likely to follow in the coming months as the developer works on preleases and the city reviews traffic and drainage impacts, according to City of Fruitland Park.
