Villa City

The Villa City Development of Regional Impact (DRI) site is vacant, rolling land in Lake County, Florida. The 2,467-acre area contains an abundance of natural features including wetlands and protected species habitat. S&ME provided master planning, transportation, and engineering support for the preparation of the development program. The vision for Villa City is a sustainable, self-sufficient community that embraces the natural beauty of Lake County. The master plan includes buildout of approximately 5,500 residential units. It also includes over 500,000 square feet of office and retail space.

The master plan provides a balanced development program in a thoughtful contextually-sensitive arrangement. The design incorporates existing transportation infrastructure while embracing the natural geography of the land. Design strategies included stormwater distribution and transmission systems. S&ME also designed mitigation plans for floodplain and wetland impacts.  Finally, the transportation team analyzed traffic flows from Leesburg to Clermont along US-27, and made recommendations for necessary improvements.

 Highlights

• The stormwater system will be modified to include stormwater reuse and Florida Water Star techniques in line with the Central Florida Water Initiative
• The DRI process requires coordination with multiple agencies such as the City of Groveland, Lake County, Lake-Sumter MPO, FDOT, and the St. Johns River Water Management District.=