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In Lake County Growth Explosion, Umatilla Still A Firecracker

    The increase in residential housing construction has been a major story in Lake County, with data indicating the county remains among the fastest-growing in the state.  The construction hasn’t been evenly distributed, however.  While large housing developments have been the norm elsewhere, Umatilla’s own record-breaking construction trend has been limited to a single large development underway. 
    Mostly, Umatilla has seen houses built on infill lots long since platted but sitting idle for decades. 
    There are currently four developments of size ‘on the books’ in Umatilla, but just one is underway.  The large, Magnolia Pointe development on CR 450 SE has begun, but all 500 of those homes are not on the slate immediately.  Rather the development’s first phase is just a fraction of the potential eventual total.  Another, roughly 130-home development has long since been approved along Pine Street.  Additionally, a development at the intersection of Keene Road and SR 19 was approved before the housing crash of 2008.  That development was for roughly 80 homes.  Finally, in recent months, an 85-home development was approved for property north of the Save-A-Lot Plaza in Umatilla.
    Those developments constitute the bulk of large-scale developments approved in Umatilla.  And while their eventual development numbers would dwarf current home construction inventory, Umatilla’s infill construction currently leads the way.
    City of Umatilla building records indicate 19 homes were permitted for construction during 2023 through December 21.  Multi-home projects were undertaken on Kentucky Avenue, South Kentucky Avenue, and Palm Court, with the rest of the projects serving as single-home projects. In addition, there have been homes built on acreage outside of the Umatilla city limits, but no large projects have been undertaken.
    That’s a far cry from the cascade of construction being seen in Eustis and other communities to the south, where large-scale developments being underway are the norm. 
    Additionally, the City of Umatilla has voiced a preference for lighter-density development going forward, with recent approvals in the area of Charles Osborne Road coming into the city with multi-acre per-home densities.