The extension of New Independence Parkway will soon connect South Lake County and the growing Wellness Way corridor directly to Hamlin, bringing to life a connection that for years existed largely only on plans.
Orange County is finishing the one-mile extension of New Independence Parkway, creating a new four-lane connection between Hamlin and Lake County’s Wellness Way Boulevard. The $12.2 million project is expected to open by the end of 2026, ahead of the county’s previous early-2027 timeline.
The road may be only a mile long, but the connection it creates is much bigger.
Immediately west of Hamlin, the emerging Wellness Way corridor is entitled for up to 16,000 homes. New Independence Parkway will connect south Lake County and this growing corridor directly to Hamlin, creating a much more convenient east-west route between two of Central Florida’s fastest-growing areas.
And importantly for Hamlin, this connection doesn’t simply lead near the community. New Independence Parkway runs directly through the heart of Hamlin.
For the restaurants, retailers, entertainment venues, and service businesses that call Hamlin home, that means easier access for a rapidly growing population just across the Orange-Lake county line.
“For our retailers, restaurants, entertainment venues and service providers, improved connectivity means easier customer access, greater visibility and exposure to a rapidly growing population that has historically lacked a convenient east-west route into Horizon West.”
Speaking with the Orlando Business Journal, Boyd described the infrastructure as a key long-term catalyst for Hamlin as surrounding communities continue to grow.
Horizon West has already experienced remarkable growth, increasing from approximately 14,000 residents in 2010 to 58,101 in 2020. Today, Hamlin serves as a thriving town center for the community, with more than 100 businesses across dining, shopping, entertainment, fitness, medical, residential, and other services, as another major growth corridor begins to take shape just to the west.
And New Independence Parkway isn’t the only new connection underway.
The Central Florida Expressway Authority is also constructing the $550 million State Road 516, or Lake/Orange Expressway, which will connect U.S. 27 in Lake County with State Road 429 in Orange County. A partial opening is expected in 2027, with full completion anticipated in 2029.
Together, these infrastructure projects are opening new connections between western Orange County and south Lake County and positioning Hamlin at the center of that connectivity.
For Hamlin, it is the realization of a connection years in the making and the beginning of an entirely new chapter of growth to the west.
Orlando Business Journal
One-mile road project to link Horizon West with south Lake County by year’s end
Sep 8, 2026, by Ryan Lynch
