Drive south from Florida's Turnpike on County Road 33 and you pass land that the Crittenden Fruit Company held for decades. Earl M. "Duke" Crittenden founded it as a family-owned citrus packing company in 1959. In September 2026, Hanover Land Company paid $4.9 million for 121 acres of that ground on the west side of CR 33. It is the Lake Bright half of a planned 502-home community. Nearby, 727 acres between CR 33 and County Road 48 are now approved for a future Del Webb community for buyers 55 and older.
The Leesburg City Commission has approved several projects like these this year, and the votes have drawn steady objections. In its Sept. 16 coverage, the Leesburg Daily Commercial described "a familiar pattern" of 4-1 votes, with Commissioner Jay Connell casting the lone dissent. Several of these approvals lowered the number of homes the land was already allowed to hold. They also moved some road costs off the city and onto developers or the communities themselves.
The ledger behind the headlines
Here are the five projects shaping southern Leesburg, with each one's status as of this fall.
| Project | Developer | Homes planned | What changed in 2026 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merritt Ranch | Richland Communities | 523 single-family on 445 acres | Approved Sept. 14; previous rights allowed up to 1,125 units | Developer deadlines are part of the approval |
| Banning Ranch | Hanover Land Company, under contract with Pulte | 1,064 on 727 acres, 55+ | Approved Oct. 13; down from 1,102 | Set up for a future Del Webb community |
| Lake Bright-Brighurst | Hanover Land Company | 502 on about 202 acres | Approved in April after a 2024 denial; land purchased in September | No timetable while engineering continues |
| Landings at Lake Lucille | KB Home | 184 homesites on 71 acres | Land closed for $5.52 million | Grand opening projected by April 2027 |
| Palmetto Drive | JCQ Services | Up to 56 detached homes, 40 townhomes, up to 35 condos | Approved Sept. 14 | Includes 38,000 square feet of retail |
Added up, that comes to more than 2,000 detached homes south and southeast of downtown. The more useful number is how much smaller several of these plans are than what the land was already cleared for.
Merritt Ranch shrank by more than half
Merritt Ranch covers 445 acres just south of The Villages of West Lake boundary, east of County Road 48 and next to the Lake-Sumter county line. Before this fall, the property's existing county and city land-use designations allowed Richland Communities up to 1,125 dwelling units. The approved plan calls for 523 single-family homes, which is 602 fewer than allowed.
The city also took on 118 acres that had been under Lake County jurisdiction and changed the land use to City of Leesburg Estate Residential. According to GrowthSpotter's account of the vote, Commissioner Alan Reisman explained his support this way:
"What we have in front of us actually brings an additional 118 acres while reducing the number of homes and lowering the overall density from what was previously approved. To me, that is a better outcome. It also gives us the opportunity to better manage the development moving forward with more oversight, more accountability and development timelines that the developer has to meet."
The trade is clear. Over 1,100 homes were possible on paper. The city approved fewer than half that number, along with the oversight and developer timelines Reisman described.
Banning Ranch changed the buyer, the roads and the bill
Banning Ranch shows the same pattern, with a cost a buyer will eventually see. Hanover asked to amend the three planned unit developments covering the 727 acres so the community would be restricted to residents 55 and older, ahead of a planned sale to Pulte for a Del Webb community. The amendments reduced the total from 1,102 homes to 1,064. They also revised lot sizes from 70 feet to 64 feet, reduced standard lots from 125 feet to 120 feet, and added 55-by-80-foot cottage lots.
Planning Director Dan Miller told GrowthSpotter that the age restriction means "a significant reduction in the amount of traffic on the roadways." He added that "if the roads end up being private, that would be a significant reduction to the future financial expenditures with the City of Leesburg."
Commissioners settled that question. The draft ordinances said the community "may or may not" be gated. The commission added a requirement that Del Webb make it gated and that the city carry no responsibility for its private internal roads. Earlier in 2026, the commission also expanded the County Road 33 Community Development District to include the final three phases of Banning Ranch and Hanover's neighboring Tierra Vista.
For a buyer comparing this future community with an established Leesburg street, the practical point is that the City of Leesburg will not maintain the roads inside Banning Ranch. Planned amenities include a resort-style pool, multiple clubhouses, dog parks and preserved green space. How the roads, amenities and district will be funded is set out in the community's own HOA and district documents, so the asking price may be only part of what a home there costs to own. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice, and it is worth reviewing those documents with the right professional before you sign.
Lake Bright-Brighurst came back smaller, with an intersection attached
Lake Bright-Brighurst took two tries. In November 2024, the commission voted 4-1 to deny it after concerns about the lack of a traffic study and changes to the area's rural character. In January 2026, the Leesburg Planning Commission split 3-3, which sent a recommendation of denial to the commission.
The revised plan had 16 fewer homesites, and the lot mix changed. The 2024 version called for 405 lots at 50 feet and 113 at 60 feet. The approved version has 299 at 50 feet and 203 at 60 feet, with the wider lots around the perimeter.
Hanover is also partnering with the city to provide $2.3 million for the intersection of CR 470, CR 48 and CR 33 near Okahumpka. That project had been designed but had no construction funding. The work includes turn lanes, signals, widening, safety shoulders, crosswalks and drainage. In return, Hanover receives transportation impact fee credits. Construction on the intersection has already begun.
As a result, the road improvement is arriving before the homes. Hanover's Ben Snyder told GrowthSpotter there is no timetable for building the community itself while engineering continues.
"Approved" and "for sale" are years apart
The schedules behind these approvals are spread out:
- Landings at Lake Lucille has the clearest date. KB Home projects a grand opening by April 2027 on Dewey Robbins Road, east of U.S. 27.
- Banning Ranch is under contract with Pulte, but the builder has not yet closed on the property. The first two phases cover 258 lots on just over 160 acres.
- Merritt Ranch now has developer deadlines written into its approval.
- Lake Bright-Brighurst is still in engineering, with no development timetable.
So a buyer looking at southern Leesburg in the coming months will mostly be choosing among existing homes. The new communities will appear over several selling seasons, starting with one 184-home neighborhood in spring 2027.
Where the first new homes will land in the price range
The first opening matters because of where it will price. KB Home expects Landings at Lake Lucille to start in the mid-$300,000s. Plans include a 40-foot series of one- and two-story homes from 1,707 to 3,016 square feet on 55-foot lots, and a single-story 50-foot series from 1,865 to 2,609 square feet on 100-foot lots.
That is just under the middle of the Lake County market. In September 2026, according to Stellar MLS's county report, Lake County recorded 626 residential sales at a $385,000 median sale price and a $453,650 average, with homes averaging 70 days on market. The county's third-quarter 2026 median was also $385,000. The Lake & Sumter combined report for September 2026 showed 2,650 homes in inventory, or 4.19 months of supply across the two counties. These are county-level figures, not Leesburg-only figures.
Taken together, the first new Leesburg neighborhood with a published price will compete directly with resale homes in the $300,000s, and it will arrive in a market where homes already take more than two months to sell. If you buy a resale home near U.S. 27 now and might sell within a few years, KB Home's opening could set the comparison buyers make. If you're waiting for new construction, Merritt Ranch and Lake Bright-Brighurst cannot narrow that wait, because neither has a published timeline.
Quick answers
Is Banning Ranch a Villages community? No. It is a Hanover project being prepared for Pulte's Del Webb brand, located between CR 33 and CR 48 south of the Turnpike. Merritt Ranch borders The Villages of West Lake but is planned by Richland Communities as a separate single-family neighborhood.
Does the Palmetto Drive project add shopping? Yes. JCQ Services' 65-acre plan along U.S. 27 includes 38,000 square feet of retail alongside detached homes, townhomes and condos.
What will Lake Bright-Brighurst include? Plans include two zero-entry pools, two shaded playgrounds, sports fields, neighborhood parks and a trail around Lake Bright.
If you're deciding between an existing Leesburg home now and a new community opening in 2027 or later, Lili Whittington can help you compare the two. That includes pricing a resale home against KB Home's mid-$300,000s starting range and going through Banning Ranch's road and district documents with you. Schedule a call, in English or Spanish, and we'll go through it together.
