Life Time at Hamlin Wins Final Approval: An 84,076 SF Athletic Club Is Coming to Horizon West
Orange County commissioners have unanimously approved the development plan for Life Time at Hamlin, clearing the way for an 84,076-square-foot athletic club with pools, a water slide and eight sport courts on 11 acres in the long-quiet Hamlin West. It is the first commercial project to break ground on that parcel, and a signal of just how fast Horizon West is filling in.
A conceptual look at Life Time’s athletic club, newly approved for Hamlin West in Horizon West. Rendering for concept only; final designs may change.
Image: Jared Jones Team concept
What to Know
Life Time at Hamlin in brief
A flagship-style athletic club just cleared its most significant approval, bringing a resort-caliber fitness campus to the heart of Horizon West.
84,076 sq ft, unanimously approved. The Orange County Board of County Commissioners approved the development plan 7-0, subject to 19 conditions, for a two-story club up to 50 feet tall on about 11 acres.
Resort-style amenities. Plans include a leisure pool with a water slide, a separate lap pool and eight outdoor sport courts, alongside the indoor athletic club.
A first for Hamlin West. It is the first commercial development on a parcel that has sat largely empty for years, planned as a major extension of Hamlin Town Center.
One of Horizon West’s most-watched projects just cleared a major hurdle. According to HorizonWestInfo.com, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved the Life Time at Hamlin development plan, allowing an 84,076-square-foot athletic club to move forward within the Hamlin West Planned Development.
Minnesota-based Life Time is bringing its athletic country-club concept to the area, and the approval is a meaningful marker for a parcel that has stayed largely undeveloped even as the rest of Hamlin boomed around it.
Where it is: on Juneberry Way, not on the parkway
Here is the detail worth getting right. The club is not fronting New Independence Parkway. The site sits on the east side of Juneberry Way, between Juneberry Way on the west and State Road 429 on the east, set back to the south of New Independence Parkway near the 429 interchange. The main entrance comes off Juneberry Way, which is exactly why a future traffic signal is tied to that road rather than the parkway itself.
For orientation, it lands practically across SR 429 from the existing Hamlin Town Center, minutes from downtown Winter Garden and a straight 429 shot toward Disney and I-4 to the south or the Turnpike to the north.
What’s in the plan
The approved development covers roughly 11.19 gross acres within the larger Hamlin West property, with a building that can reach a maximum height of 50 feet and two stories. Early project documents described a facility built to offer far more than a traditional gym: a leisure pool intended for recreational use, a water slide, and a separate lap pool for dedicated swimming and exercise, plus eight sport courts creating a significant court-based recreation area alongside the indoor fitness space. County filings for the site show hundreds of parking spaces and dedicated bicycle parking to serve it.
Life Time at Hamlin by the numbers
The figures matter because they signal the caliber of what is landing in Hamlin West, and how much activity it will draw to this corner of Horizon West.
The conditions: traffic and connectivity
The approval came with 19 conditions, and two are worth understanding. First, a traffic signal warrant analysis determined that a signal is warranted at the intersection of New Independence Parkway and Juneberry Way. Importantly, this signal is not built or funded yet. Under the conditions, the developer must coordinate with Orange County on its share of the mitigation cost and pay it before a certificate of occupancy is issued, and Orange County will ultimately decide whether the signal is installed. In other words, it is a requirement tied to opening, not a signal that exists today.
Second, commissioners approved a waiver allowing a link-to-node ratio of 1.14 instead of the 1.35 normally required by county code, a measure of roadway and pedestrian connectivity within a development. The applicant’s justification noted that the site’s location near SR 429 limits opportunities for additional roadway connections, with future connections planned elsewhere in Hamlin West as surrounding portions build out.
Why this matters for Horizon West
The approval is another major step for Hamlin West, an area planned as a major extension of Hamlin Town Center that has remained largely undeveloped for years. A flagship-caliber athletic club as the first commercial anchor tends to set the tone for what follows, and it deepens Hamlin’s reputation as one of Central Florida’s fastest-growing master-planned communities.
A light real estate read on Life Time at Hamlin
For homeowners across Horizon West, a Life Time is the kind of amenity that quietly supports values. Resort-style clubs anchor daily routines and become a selling point in listings for miles around, and the nearby Parkview at Hamlin, Hamlin Reserve and Waterleigh communities sit close enough to treat this as a neighborhood-scale upgrade rather than a distant one.
The nuance is timing. Approval of the development plan does not set a construction start or an opening date, and under the county’s conditions the approval can even expire if required construction plans are not submitted and approved within two years, though extensions are possible. Read Life Time at Hamlin as a strong signal of where Hamlin West is heading, not an amenity you will be swimming in next summer.
The Takeaway
Life Time at Hamlin is a marquee approval for Horizon West: an 84,076-square-foot athletic club with pools, a water slide and eight sport courts, unanimously cleared as the first commercial project on a long-quiet parcel of Hamlin West. The usual caveats apply, timelines and details can shift, but the direction is unmistakable.
The things to watch next: construction plan submittals within the two-year window, the Juneberry Way signal decision, and any opening-date announcement from Life Time.
FAQ
Where exactly is Life Time at Hamlin located?
On the east side of Juneberry Way, between Juneberry Way and State Road 429, set back south of New Independence Parkway near the 429 interchange, within the Hamlin West Planned Development in Horizon West (Winter Garden). The main entrance is off Juneberry Way.
What amenities will it have?
An 84,076-square-foot, two-story athletic club plus resort-style outdoor amenities: a leisure pool with a water slide, a separate lap pool and eight outdoor sport courts.
Has the new traffic signal been installed?
No. A traffic study determined a signal is warranted at New Independence Parkway and Juneberry Way, but it is a condition tied to the project, not an existing signal. The developer must coordinate its cost share with Orange County and pay before a certificate of occupancy is issued, and the county will decide whether the signal is ultimately installed. (Separate, already-operational signals exist at New Independence Parkway and SR 429.)
When will it open?
No opening or construction start date has been set. Approval of the development plan does not establish a timeline, and the approval can expire if construction plans are not submitted and approved within two years, though extensions may be granted.
Why does it matter for Horizon West?
It is the first commercial development on a Hamlin West parcel that has sat largely empty for years, planned as an extension of Hamlin Town Center. A flagship athletic club as the anchor is a strong signal for the area’s continued growth.
External Links & Related Reading
For readers who want the source documents and the reporting behind this story, these are the key references.
- HorizonWestInfo.com — Horizon West news and development coverage
- Orange County Board of County Commissioners — Life Time at Hamlin Development Plan approval
- Life Time — Official Website
Thinking about a move to Horizon West?
Amenities like Life Time reshape what daily life and home values look like across Hamlin and Horizon West. When a move is on your radar, local context matters.