MAS Development eyes mixed-use site near Kissimmee

South Florida-based MAS Development is under contract for the final phase of Ham Brown Reserve and plans a mixed-use project with apartments and retail.

Ashton Woods and Starlight Homes are currently developing the first phase of the project, which is entitled for 565 single-family homes and townhomes. The homebuilder rebranded the community “Hawks Run” and currently offers more than a dozen floor plans with a range of pricing options starting at about $330,000 for a townhome and topping out in the mid-to-high $500s. Ashton Woods also owns a separate multifamily lot in the community with entitlements for up to 298 units.

The project straddles Ham Brown Road, and the east side of the community was zoned Community Center Perimeter. MAS is eyeing the 20 acres west of Ham Brown Road with Community Center Core zoning.

“The good news is you can have a whole lot of density on that property,” Development Services Director Ray Stangle said, noting that the CCC zoning requires a minimum of 18 dwelling units per acre, plus 4,000 square feet of non-residential uses per acre, and has no height limits for mixed-use.

“We’re still validating the deal,” Acquisitions Director Nico Chami told GrowthSpotter. “We’re looking at doing mixed-use garden-style apartments with ground-floor retail, if we can make it work.”

The development team held a pre-application meeting on Tuesday with Osceola County to discuss the possibility of downzoning the property. Such a change would require a comprehensive plan amendment.

“If we wanted to try to downsize it, if we can’t fit the units, is that a process that’s doable? Or you see that as don’t even try doing that in this area?” Chami asked.

Planning Director Cori Carpenter advised the developer that they would have to submit a study to show the commercial uses were not needed on the Ham Brown Road corridor before applying for the amendment. She said the developer would have more flexibility in the design if they had residential over commercial, but they’re not required to do so.

“You can mix it any way you want as long as it meets the minimum criteria,” Carpenter said. “So if you want to do two- or three-story commercial and then do just stand-alone residential, you can do it that way. That’s up to you.”

Stangle said the county is currently negotiating a development agreement for mobility fee credits with Ashton Woods for Phase 2 of Hawks Run.

The property is currently owned by a four-way partnership, led by Butters Construction CEO Malcolm Butters, which purchased it in 2006 for $14 million with a plan to develop an industrial park there. The county changed the future land use to community center when it updated the comprehensive plan in 2019.

While MAS has focused mostly on townhomes and Build-to-Rent projects in the Orlando market, the company has a pair of multifamily projects underway now in Palm Bay and Jacksonville, Chami said.

The company, based in Aventura, has also filed plans for an apartment complex on 11.6 acres along the south side of E. Lake Mary Boulevard, east of Skyway Drive and across from Boombah Sports Complex in Seminole County.

In Central Florida, MAS has completed several projects, including Solamar-branded BTR communities in Kissimmee and Wildwood. The developer sold its Solamar Davenport townhouse project for $6.5 million to Fores Properties in late 2024 after repositioning from a build-to-rent project to a fee-simple community.