An enormous master-planned community in Kissimmee is moving closer to construction after years of effort, driven by Puerto Rico’s largest mall developer in its entry to the Florida market.

The company, Empresas Fonalledas, has spent $70 million through its affiliate, Plaza Lakes LLC, over the last two decades assembling the nearly 900 acres along Simpson Road for the community known as Hilliard Isle. Pulte has been involved as the homebuilding partner for the project since 2022 and has secured zoning entitlements for the mixed-use development with a marina on East Lake Toho.

Craig Holland, the city’s development director, called Hilliard Isle the Kissimmee’s “last hurrah,” according to a report in GrowthSpotter.

“It’s our last big undeveloped piece of property,” he told Osceola Realtors last month. “We’re looking at 3,000 dwelling units, approximately. That includes single-family, townhouses, and multifamily, and about 125,000 square feet of commercial with a town center vibe. And this is located between BVL and East Lake Toho. This is the easternmost portion of the city. It has good access to pretty much everything.”

Holland said the city has been working with Empresas Fonalledas and Pulte “to make sure this isn’t a cookie-cutter subdivision with cookie-cutter development.”

The residential portion of the community will be developed over eight phases in compliance with the city’s NeoTraditional standards. Pulte has already won approval for the preliminary plats for phases 1-4, which total 988 detached homes and townhomes, plus the lakefront amenity center.

Max Perlman, Pulte’s VP of land acquisition, told GrowthSpotter the homebuilder is completing the engineered construction plans for Phase 1, which will have 245 units on multiple lot sizes. It includes 58 townhomes, 62 bungalow homes on 32-foot lots. The plan also has front-facing detached homes on 40-foot lots (51); 50-foot lots (42) and 60-foot lots (32).

Perlman said the homebuilder expects to break ground on Phase 1 in early 2026.

Empresas Fonalledas will retain the 67-acre town center site, which has a Mixed-Use future land use and entitlements for 620 multifamily units and 190,000 square feet of commercial use. The preliminary plat shows the larger 61-acre parcel divided into three phases with a mix of retail uses and two apartment complexes. A separate 6-acre commercial tract is located on Simpson Road, south of the main entrance to the community.

A representative of Empresas Fonalledas could not be reached for comment on the Kissimmee project.

The company is based in San Juan and is known for building the Plaza las Americas — the largest shopping mall in the Caribbean — with more than 50 restaurants, a movie theater, a Dave & Buster’s, and three anchor department stores: Macy’s, JCPenney and Sears. The center also has an office tower and retailers.

Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at lkinsler@GrowthSpotter.com or (407) 420-6261. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.