Horizon West could see new lakefront community

HORIZON WEST  If all goes to plan, Horizon West will have a new residential community along Hickory Nut Lake in the near future.

Orange County staff held a brief community meeting March 17 at Keene’s Crossing Elementary School to discuss the new planned development with residents. The project, called Hickory Cove, would lie in Village H along Avalon Road, just west of State Road 429 and south of Seidel Road. It would consist of 48 single-family, detached homes on 25.78 net developable acres.

Currently, the area is designated as an A-1 zone, or a citrus rural district. However, along with the planned development, it is also up for a proposed rezoning to a land-use designation of estate district. The total land included in the parcel is about 67 gross acres.

Applicant Ben Snyder, vice president of land acquisition and development for Hanover Capital Partners LLC, said the community would consist of both lakefront and interior lots. Residents and guests would enter the community on a public road with faux, non-operable gates and would be greeted by fountains on each side of the entrance. The community will feature brick accents on the incoming driveway and masonry walls as a border between the community and Avalon Road. Also proposed is a boat ramp and dock with possible boardwalk.

District 1 Commissioner S. Scott Boyd said normally Horizon West doesn’t allow gated communities because of internal connectivity, but this proposal and a few in the past gained approval because there is only one way in and out.

The development will go to the Development Review Committee and the Planning and Zoning Commission for recommendations. Then, the project will go before the Board of County Commissioners for a public hearing and final decision. 

Contact Danielle Hendrix at [email protected].