If you’ve lived in south Lake County for a while, you remember the old Showcase of Citrus on US 27, near the entrance to Lake Louisa State Park. Panther Run is the land behind that old spot. The attraction moved about a quarter mile north to Frank Jarrell Road in 2022. It’s still open there today.
Panther Run covers about 2,241 acres in Wellness Way. It runs from US 27 east to the Orange County line, just south of the new State Road 516. On September 1, 2026, Lake County commissioners voted 3 to 1 to rezone it for about 2,600 homes, shops, offices, parks, and trails.
Where Panther Run Is
Panther Run sits in unincorporated Lake County, south of where SR 516 is going in. Sawgrass Bay is to the south. Old YMCA Road runs along the east side near the county line. Frank Jarrell Road leads in from US 27.
It’s part of Wellness Way. Lake County set up the Wellness Way plan in 2016. The idea was to bring homes, jobs, and conservation land to this corner between Clermont and Horizon West. We’ve covered other Wellness Way communities, including the new community on Hancock Road and the 948 homes planned along Wellness Way.
How the Land Got Here
For decades this was grove and ranch land. The Arnold family owns the Showcase of Citrus. Their groves and cattle ranch were here for more than 60 years. The Roper family owned the land next door for almost 100 years.
In November 2023, about 1,750 acres of the Arnold groves and ranch went on the market. The Showcase of Citrus wasn’t part of the sale. The family kept about 130 acres north of Frank Jarrell Road.
In September 2024, the Arnold and Roper land sold together for $165 million. That’s the biggest land sale in Lake County history.
Today it’s mostly cleared cattle pasture. From above you see open pasture, stands of trees, and a lot of water. The site holds more than 1,248 acres of wetlands and lakes.
The Roads
Out here, location comes down to roads. Several big ones are coming.
SR 516, the Lake/Orange Expressway. The Central Florida Expressway Authority is building a 4.4-mile toll road from US 27 to SR 429. Panther Run sits just south of it. The first section, from SR 429 to CR 455, is set to open in spring 2027. The full road to US 27 is set for early 2029. CR 455 gets a full interchange on the toll road.
The CR 455 extension. CR 455 will run south from SR 516 to Sawgrass Bay Boulevard, right through Panther Run. It’s planned as a four-lane divided road. It gets bike lanes, sidewalks, and a trail. There’s a traffic signal at Sawgrass Bay Boulevard.
The neighborhood connector. A new east-west road will run from US 27 to CR 455. It gets built in the first phase. Both ends get traffic signals. Together with CR 455, that’s about four miles of new road the developer has to build.
Frank Jarrell Road and Old YMCA Road. Frank Jarrell Road gets improved from US 27 to the community entrance. Old YMCA Road gets improved from CR 455 to the Orange County line. The plan shows no road links to Mangrove Road or Point Rock Drive in Sawgrass Bay.
New Independence Parkway. A few miles north, Orange County is building about a mile of new four-lane road from Avalon Road to the Lake County line. Orange County expects to finish it by early 2027. It ties into Wellness Way Boulevard, which gives this whole corner a much shorter path to Hamlin and Horizon West.
A Day Out Here
Southern Hill Farms is on Schofield Road. It’s a 120-acre family farm with u-pick blueberries, strawberries, and peaches, plus sunflower fields. This year’s fall festival runs September 26 through November 22, 2026, on select Thursdays and every Friday through Sunday. We love it there. You can see our family in the peach trees in our Southern Hill Farms post. Our tip: go early, and bring sunscreen and a wide-brim hat.
Hamlin Town Center sits on Lake Hancock in Horizon West. You’ll find a Publix, restaurants, and a Cinepolis movie theater.
Lake Louisa State Park is just west on US 27. It has 20 miles of unpaved trails, paddling on three big lakes, a campground, and cabins on Dixie Lake. The first Panther Run plans called for a wildlife corridor running the length of the property toward the park.
Downtown Clermont sits on the shore of Lake Minneola. Waterfront Park runs along the water, with trails and festivals through the year.
Homes
The zoning allows about 2,600 homes. They’re spread across about a dozen conservation neighborhoods and the mixed-use center. Homes take up only about 16% of the land.
The zoning allows several home types:
- Single-family homes
- Townhomes
- Apartments
- An age-targeted area
The 55+ section. An active adult section is planned east of the future CR 455 extension.
The vacation-home area. About 150 acres is set aside for vacation homes meant for short-term rentals. That’s down from about 200 acres in the older plan.
Open Space, Parks, and Trails
About 72.5% of Panther Run stays undeveloped. That’s lakes, wetlands, conservation land, and a wildlife corridor. About 94% of the wetlands won’t be touched.
The plan calls for:
- About 11 miles of trails, with several trailheads
- 20 neighborhood parks, with every home within a half mile of one
- A wildlife corridor kept in its natural state for good, with a two-mile nature trail
- 14-foot trails along the neighborhood connector and CR 455
- Culverts under the main east-west road that double as wildlife crossings
Street lights have to follow Dark Sky rules at 3000K or warmer. That’s softer light, better for wildlife and for seeing the stars. Three species on Florida’s endangered and threatened list were found on the site.
The Town Center and Jobs
About 1 million square feet is set aside for jobs and shops, on nearly 200 acres. The mixed-use center is planned for:
- A large retail center
- Office and medical space
- Apartments
- An employment center
The developer projects more than 3,000 jobs. The target fields are medicine, finance, technology, advanced manufacturing, and tourism.
The High School and Public Safety Site
A new high school is planned on about 50 acres. The cost is estimated at $214 million. Wellness Way will have enough homes to need its own high school. The district has the school funded toward the end of its five-year plan. Today, high schoolers in this part of south Lake County ride up to East Ridge High School near SR 50 in Clermont.
About 8 acres go to the county for a fire station and a sheriff’s substation. Both the school and the public safety site are targeted for 2030.
For now, check any address with the Lake County Schools locator.
What Happened to the Resort
The 2025 version of Panther Run had a resort district. It called for two 600-room hotels, a conference center, up to 700 apartments, and up to 1,000 vacation homes. In July 2026, the hotels came out. The high school and public safety site took their place. The vacation-home area shrank to about 150 acres.
The Timeline
- Spring 2027: Site work starts. The first section of SR 516 opens, from SR 429 to CR 455.
- Summer 2027: Home site work starts. Clearing, grading, and roads take about 16 months.
- Third quarter 2028: The first owners could move in.
- Fourth quarter 2028: Sites for about 1 million square feet of shops and offices are ready.
- Early 2029: SR 516 opens all the way to US 27.
- 2030: The high school and public safety site are targeted to open.
What This Means for You
If you want to live at Panther Run, the earliest move-ins are about two years out.
Several new-home communities are close by:
- Lakehaven Estates, near Schofield Road and US 27, built around a 132-acre recreational lake.
- Parkside Trails, right in the Wellness Way corridor.
- Esplanade at McKinnon Groves. Read our Esplanade at McKinnon Groves post.
- Olympus. See our post on the 318 homes planned at Olympus.
- Reflections at Olympus. Read our Reflections at Olympus post.
- More along Hartwood Marsh Road, in our Hartwood Landing post and our Hartwood post.
- On the Hamlin side, our Hickory Nut Estates post covers another new neighborhood.
If you already own nearby, expect more construction traffic for a while.
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