Homes, homes on the range [Central Florida]
In this sprawling county of nearly 1 million acres, recent sales of ranches and groves show up as specks on a map. But combined, they represent Central Florida’s next hot spot for growth.
The more than 50,000 acres sold in Osceola County for potential development since 2000 are enough to support more than 150,000 homes and 400,000 people. If that were to happen, the county’s population would almost triple.
“We just went from Mayberry to metropolitan,” said Todd Hoover, residential supervisor in the county Property Appraiser’s Office. “The last five years have been really, really fast.”