HAINES CITY, Fla. — Haines City leaders celebrated a groundbreaking for a major commercial development on Wednesday.

What You Need To Know

  • Haines City broke ground on Crossroads Village Center, a 120-acre commercial project that will include a Target

  • The project has been in development since 2018, facing challenges with agencies like the Florida Department of Transportation and SWFWMD

  • Local business owner Ryan Mobley expects even more foot traffic and economic activity once the development opens

Crossroads Village Center is expected to transform the city’s landscape, providing dining options, hotels, residential living and retailers such as Target.

The commercial development is located on US-17 and spans 120 acres, with more than 50 acres dedicated to retail.

Ryan Mobley’s mechanic shop, Haines City Car Care, sits directly in front of the future Crossroads Village. When he first started as an employee 21 years ago, he said US-17 didn’t see much foot traffic.

“We used to have a snowbird season,” he said. “So, we would be busy during the winter and then slow during the summer, and now we’re just pretty much busy all the time. There’s not much of a slow season for us.”

He said that’s mostly thanks to the area’s rapid growth. According to Fortune magazine, Haines City is one of the fastest-growing cities in America. Mobley expects the number of people looking to visit or live in the city will increase even more once the commercial development is open.

“It’s good for the city. We don’t have hotels. We need more restaurants. We need those things, so growth is a good thing. Change is a good thing. So, we’re excited about it,” he said.

Vice Mayor Morris West said Crossroads Village has been in the works since 2018. However, he said city leaders and the development company, Black Mountain Group, faced many bumps in the road along the way.

“The first issue we came across was with DOT (Department of Transportation). DOT told us about 10 times ‘no,’ but we did not take that for an answer. So, we continued to go in front of DOT and that 11th time, we got that yes that we were after,” he said.

West said they experienced a similar situation with the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) but eventually got its approval. Now, officials are looking ahead to phase one of the development project. They expect the first half, covering 130,000 square feet, to be completed by Fall 2026. 

As for Mobley, he says he’ll be in his shop, on the lookout for one thing only.

“More cars. That’s what we do,” he said.