Equinox agrees to buy the 74-acre Minneola Marketplace site, plans one big-box store and a hotel

A new developer has agreed to buy the Minneola Marketplace site on Florida's Turnpike, GrowthSpotter reports. It says "Maitland-based Equinox Development has agreed to purchase the 74-acre property and develop a mixed-use community of its own at the site".

What changed

• The buyer and seller. GrowthSpotter names Equinox President Ryan Stahl and SunTerra Principal Richard Jerman as the two who "came together on an agreement for Equinox to purchase the site."
• The early plan. GrowthSpotter says "An early master plan from Equinox, drawn up by project engineer" Pape-Dawson "indicates the property will remain a mixed-use development with only one big-box store, over 21 acres for two multi-family lots, two acres for a park, and up to 12 outparcel lots."
• The outparcels. "Tenant users for the outparcel lots include a mix of restaurants, banks, gas stations with convenience stores, a daycare, and a nearly 4-acre hotel," per GrowthSpotter.
• No retailer named. Stahl told GrowthSpotter: "We have letters of intent that we’re trading right now with some retailers". The report names no retailer for the big-box store.
• What came before. In June, GrowthSpotter reported that "Sun Terra Communities has pulled its application for a Walmart within its proposed Minneola Marketplace development." The South Lake Tablet reported the same withdrawal on June 22, 2026.
• Neither June report said the Sam's Club was dropped. GrowthSpotter wrote "there is no indication that plans for the Sam’s Club store have been scrapped"; the Tablet called its future "uncertain".
• Equinox's plan has one big-box store.

When

• Announced Oct. 2, 2026, in GrowthSpotter's report.
• Agreed, not closed. GrowthSpotter says Equinox "has agreed to purchase" the site; it gives no closing date or price.
• The timeline Stahl gives: "We probably foresee this as a three-year development," he said. "By the time we go through getting our permitting over the next 12 months"
• Approvals still ahead. GrowthSpotter: "Equinox will need a conditional use permit for the big-box store, as it is set to exceed the city’s 18,000-square-foot limit." Stahl said the permit would go through the Planning & Zoning Board and the city council. No hearing date was published in what was read.

Where

• The site: "Located northeast of the North Hancock Road and Citrus Grove Road intersection, southwest of Minneola’s Turnpike interchange," in GrowthSpotter's words.

What it means if you live here

• Nothing changes on the ground yet. The plan is an early master plan, and the purchase is agreed, not reported as closed.
• The public step to watch is the conditional use permit for the big-box store, at the Planning & Zoning Board and the city council.
• Who says so: the purchase rests on GrowthSpotter's report alone. The city's website could not be read (it returned a security challenge), and no release from Equinox or Sun Terra was found.