A sprawling 105-acre development planned for northwest Ocala could bring up to 535 homes, a 500-room hotel and 450,000 square feet of retail, office and restaurant space to a stretch of land just across Interstate 75 from a future Buc-ee's. The Marion County Growth Services Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the land-use change, sending it on to county commissioners for a final decision.
According to WKMG, the mixed-use project sits directly across the interstate from where the travel-center giant plans to build, and the land-use change would allow the site to support everything from housing and hotel rooms to commercial space. The Marion County Commission is scheduled to take up the measure on Oct. 20 at 2 p.m., the station reports, in what would be the project's final local approval hurdle.
Details on the development's scope come from 352Today, which reports the plan includes a land-use change on 31.44 acres from Low Residential to Employment Center as part of the broader planned unit development. That shift in designation is significant because, per WKMG, the underlying land-use change would let the site accommodate a wide range of uses — everything from a truck stop to an amusement park — depending on how the property is ultimately developed.
Residents Push Back Over Community Character
The proposal has not gone over quietly with nearby residents. Neighbors pushed back against the development, telling the planning board the project would permanently alter the character of their community, according to WKMG's reporting.
The same 352Today report notes the Marion County Sheriff's Office weighed in with its own projections, estimating the development could bring 1,284 new residents to the area and require the agency to hire one additional deputy. The sheriff's office put the first-year cost of that new position at $230,802, the outlet reports.
A traffic impact study tied to the project identified existing deficiencies on County Road 225A and nearby intersections, but the analysis found no new traffic deficiencies were created directly by the project's internal traffic, according to Ocala-News.com.
New Interchange Is Central to the Area's Growth
Much of the momentum behind development in this corner of northwest Ocala traces back to a new diamond interchange planned off I-75, which WKMG reports will funnel traffic into the area. The Florida Department of Transportation describes the project at I-75 and Northwest 49th Street as a Diverging Diamond Interchange designed to accommodate future traffic growth and provide access to the planned Buc-ee's, according to CFLRoads.com. That same project page notes the interchange will include pedestrian and bicyclist accommodations along with new lighting.
The interchange work is part of a larger effort: FDOT is enhancing I-75 in Marion County between State Road 200 and State Road 326, adding auxiliary lanes and making operational improvements at several interchanges, per a separate CFLRoads.com project listing. Construction on that northern stretch began Nov. 3, 2025. Marion County itself is contributing a lump sum of $8,419,860 toward the interchange construction costs, according to 352Today's reporting on the county's agreement with FDOT.
The Buc-ee's travel center anchoring the other side of the interchange has been in the works for several years. The Marion County Commission unanimously approved rezoning 32.83 acres from agricultural use to planned unit development for that project back in February 2023, according to the Ocala Star-Banner. That store is planned for the southeast corner of the coming interchange and will include an 80,000-square-foot travel center with three fuel canopies totaling 120 fueling stations, the paper reported at the time. The interchange is expected to be completed in 2028, according to WCJB; the Buc-ee's store is now targeted for a late 2029 opening.
With the planning board's unanimous recommendation now behind it, the 535-home proposal heads to Marion County commissioners this month for what residents and developers alike are treating as the decisive vote on how this gateway corner of northwest Ocala will look for decades to come.
