Florida town sees orange groves turned into big box stores
Clermont is now home to just over 50,000 residents according to latest census statistics from July 2024. This has shot up from just over 43,000 residents in April 2020 and from just under 29,000 in April 2010. As development has accelerated, locals have grown concerned over whether the city has the infrastructure to handle such robust change.
Residents believe that the biggest issue is over-building. 'It used to be a nice town, now it's wall to wall houses,' local Eva Dole told News 6. 'It used to be you could look up where the Publix is on U.S. 27 and it was all orange groves,' she explained. 'Now it's just a whole bunch of stores.' She said locals initially advocated for stores but she wasn't expecting chains to move in practically overnight.
The once rolling groves that Florida and Clermont especially was known for now sit at an all time low - production in the state's orange groves has tanked 92 percent since 2003–2004 season, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Citrus Tower, built in 1956 to allow visitors to observe the miles of surrounding orange groves, sits in the middle of the city and serves as a reminder about the once flourishing industry with new homes and businesses having sprung up around it.
Realtor Bent Danholm who has been working in the area since 2016 has found that families are flocking to Clermont to take advantage of spacious homes at lower prices than the surrounding areas. 'It's cheaper than Winter Garden and Horizon West area but it's still close to jobs in the Orlando area and the price range is a little bit lower,' he told Daily Mail.
He said that families are also taking advantage of the influx of jobs in the area, and despite their complaints, locals don't seem to be moving out. 'What I gather from what people tell me there's still quite a good sense of community,' he said. 'I've seen more people wanting to buy there than wanting to move away.' Danholm said - on average - families come in looking to spend around $400,000 on their new home. He added that thanks to the ever-developing landscape there are lots of places to choose from.
He said that on-the-market homes in the area have increased from 579 in January to 739 in June. He told Daily Mail: 'Overall, the Clermont market is very well-balanced, slightly favoring the sellers.' Many of his Clermont listings contain four or more bedrooms, backyard pools, and spacious yards.
The average listing currently costs just under $600,000 and contains 3.5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms within 2,000 square feet, per Danholm's website. Another local realtor Matt Wheatley said that families aren't the only ones coming in swarms to Clermont. 'A lot of pro wakeboarders and now wake surfers choose the Clermont chain of lakes due to its depth and ease of use for training daily,' he told Daily Mail. Their preferred listings include high-end lake front living.
However the rush for real estate has also brought with it other issues like traffic. Dole said: 'When you're driving and all you see are buildings and it's bumper-to-bumper traffic, it's very difficult to feel like you're in a small town.' Local Eddy Judson commented on a social media post about the town's development saying: 'We're basically Orlando now.' At the forefront of the changes going forward is Wellness Way, which is using tens of thousands of acres of land to build 15,000 homes, office buildings and shops.
The plan, which has been in the works for over a decade, aims to bring high-tech, high-paying jobs to the city. It's also intended to incorporate fitness centers, sports facilities and health and wellness spaces into the community. It's aimed at 'creating a community devoted to health and wellness,' according to First Capitol Group. Lake County Commissioner Sean Parks said: 'I think the growth has brought some good things, but definitely there's a lot of concern right now. 'I tell people, "Look, I live here too. I'm a Central Florida native." I'm shocked at what I see. I get it.' Parks is advocating for growth management, rather than the end of it altogether, which seems to be what many locals want.
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