After a mostly quiet year of permitting and dealmaking, a massive master-planned development in metropolitan Orlando is ramping up to bring in thousands of new homes.
Sunbridge, which spans 27,000 acres across Orange and Osceola counties, plans to add new communities, including its first houses in the Orlando part of the project, from builders such as Taylor Morrison, Toll Brothers, Pulte Homes and more in 2026.
“We’re excited about 2026,” Rob Adams, senior vice president of residential development for Tavistock Development Company, told Homes.com. “It’s going to give a broader picture of what homebuying can be.”
Begun in 2016, Sunbridge is permitted to eventually have up to 30,000 residential units. The development will be next to Lake Nona, the tech-and-health-centric mini-city Tavistock built in southeast Orlando with a population of 23,000 and climbing, according to the company.
Tavistock is taking a different approach to Sunbridge, aiming to be environmentally sensitive to the former ranch land that it is developing.
“It’s some of the most amazing old Florida land that exists,” said Clint Beatty, Tavistock’s senior vice president of operations
Taylor Morrison leads Orlando expansion
Two communities in Sunbridge are already open and selling, both in the Osceola County portion: Del Webb Sunbridge, a neighborhood for ages 55 and up, and Weslyn Park, which is on the north side of the development’s man-made lake.
Opened in 2022, Weslyn Park has added roughly 1,000 homes with an average closing price in the $620,000 range, according to Adams. Builders in the neighborhood include Ashton Woods Homes, Craft Homes and David Weekley Homes.
Tavistock is planning a large amenity center on the lakefront, which would include a pool and event center and up to 40,000 square feet of commercial space.
“Now, people won’t have to go somewhere else for their daily needs,” Beatty said. “You’ve got to have a sense of place.”
Del Webb, which opened in 2020, has approximately 1,400 homes that sell in the $530,000s on average, Adams said. Neighborhood amenities include tennis and pickleball courts, an outdoor amphitheater, a tavern and grill and a 27,000-square-foot clubhouse.
The northern part of Sunbridge, which extends into Orange County, plans the opening of its first two communities next year. The city of Orlando annexed the 6,200 acres of Sunbridge in Orange in 2024.
Taylor Morrison has broken ground on its 530-home neighborhood, which aims to include a mix of single-family homes and bungalows on 30-foot-, 50-foot- and 60-foot-wide lots. Toll Brothers is working with Pulte Homes on another neighborhood of 430 homes, including townhouses, according to Adams.
Tavistock has made deals with other builders that can’t be announced yet, Adams said, adding that the variety is expected to produce not only different designs but different price points.
“We’re really broadening our builder lineup,” Adams said. “When you get that density of different product types, that’s when it starts to take off. People really like those options there.”
Taking an environmental approach
Calling itself a “naturehood,” Sunbridge has set aside more than 13,000 acres as preserve. Part of the goal is to connect the residents to nature, according to Beatty.
“People are seeking a way to disconnect from phones,” Beatty said. “If you leave your house, and within 10 minutes, I can put you in real nature, and you’re 15 minutes from the airport, then we have something special.”
But beyond beauty and respite, Beatty said the development is focused on protecting the resources of the land, such as the waterways that connect to two of Florida’s major water sources: the St. Johns River and the headwaters for the Everglades.
“If you know and understand Florida, you understand the importance of the connections of water throughout the state,” Beatty said.
Sunbridge has partnered with the Florida Headwaters Foundation, a nonprofit company that educates on and invests in innovations in water preservation.
One way Sunbridge is preserving water is by requiring builders to use a compost mix in their fill dirt that holds six times its weight in water, Beatty said. The water retention supports plant life and reduces runoff.
Native plants, which require only the natural water availability of the state, make up 75% of the landscape, with the rest being “Florida friendly,” or not requiring extra water or fertilizers.
In addition to saving water, the landscaping attracts and houses native wildlife and pollinators. “You’re putting in all the blocks in your ecological pyramid,” Beatty said.
Beatty said it was necessary to dictate a plant palette because many residents don’t know the negative impacts non-native ornamental planting can have.
“They’re moving from out of state and they don’t understand the Florida ecosystem,” he said.
Getting around
While the company is making ambitious efforts at preservation, it is worth noting that one of the first times the public heard of Sunbridge was when the two counties voted to allow development of a crucial road for the project through Split Oak Forest, which had previously been protected “permanently” against development.
In the northern section, Sunbridge is minutes from the Orlando International Airport and has access to State Road 528, a major artery into Orlando. The Sunbridge Parkway will connect the two county sections.
An extension connecting the southern part to the Osceola Parkway is slated to begin construction in 2027. Adams said new roads would help residents reach local destinations such as theme parks.
“Stuff that might seem a little farther out now will start to feel really close,” he said.
Beatty hopes to attract people who care about Sunbridge’s environmental stewardship. Though he believes the development can be an “economic engine,” he just wants people to think of it as home.
“In the evolution of a master-planned community, the elected officials always want to talk about jobs, jobs, jobs,” he said. “We’re focused on homes, homes, homes.”