John Young Parkway at Pleasant Hill Road: What Kissimmee Property Owners Are Owed

The Florida Department of Transportation is rebuilding the intersection of John Young Parkway (U.S. 17-92) and Pleasant Hill Road in Kissimmee, and it has not bought the land yet. FDOT’s project page states the agency “will be starting the process for right of way acquisition in late 2026.” If you own, operate, or lease near that intersection, you are reading this in the window when your own documentation is cheapest to build: before the first written offer arrives.

Has FDOT Started Buying Land at John Young Parkway and Pleasant Hill Road?

Not yet. FDOT lists the project in design and states the agency “will be starting the process for right of way acquisition in late 2026” (FDOT Project 418403-7). The adopted FY2027-2031 Five-Year Work Program programs right of way purchase money for item 418403-7 at $36.1 million in fiscal year 2027, $31.0 million in 2028, and $12.9 million in 2029, plus separate relocation dollars in the same years. Every one of those lines is still carried as remaining, with nothing authorized and nothing committed.

That is roughly $80 million of programmed land purchases at one Kissimmee intersection, and none of it has been spent. Your leverage sits in the months before the first offer, because the 30-day response window, the document production right, and the 180-day business damage deadline all operate before a petition exists. See reading an eminent domain notice in Polk and Osceola counties.

What Is FDOT Actually Building at This Intersection?

FDOT’s design concept “includes elevating a portion of U.S. 17-92 for northbound through traffic and building a new road to allow traffic from northbound Pleasant Hill Road to access northbound U.S. 17-92 without going through the main intersection.” The work splits into two contracts:

• Phase 1, FPID 418403-8: “Phase 1 proposes to construct a bypass road through the southeast quadrant,” FDOT “will also construct improvements on U.S. 17-92 within the existing right of way,” and “right of way acquisition is needed for the bypass road.” Construction contract programmed at $94.9 million in fiscal year 2028, letting April 26, 2028.
• Phase 2, FPID 418403-9: the overpass lanes along U.S. 17-92, with a construction contract programmed at $43.5 million in fiscal year 2030.

Both construction items carry the work program status “adopted, not begun.” Track all three numbers the way we track major FDOT projects in Central Florida.

Which Kissimmee Properties Are Most Exposed?

FDOT has not published a parcel count, so no honest article can name the affected properties. It has published where the land is needed.

• The southeast quadrant is Phase 1’s target. New right of way is needed for the bypass road, while the Phase 1 work on U.S. 17-92 stays “within the existing right of way.” If you own or occupy land in that quadrant, you are in Phase 1’s path.
• Phase 2 also needs right of way for the overpass lanes, though FDOT has not published where. Frontage on U.S. 17-92, Pleasant Hill Road, and South Hoagland Boulevard is the place to watch.

Access, Parking, and Signage Are Where the Real Money Is

For a commercial parcel, the strip of dirt FDOT takes is often worth less than what the taking does to the rest. Closed driveways, lost parking stalls, a sign that no longer reads from an elevated lane, and a truck turn that no longer works are compensable consequences of a partial taking, as we cover in access, parking, and business-critical features. Construction access is separate; see temporary construction easements.

Jimerson Birr represents Florida property and business owners in condemnation matters brought by the state, counties, municipalities, and utilities, and we research corridor projects at the work program item level. Talk to our Florida eminent domain attorneys before you respond to FDOT.

What Does Florida Law Require FDOT to Pay?

Florida requires full compensation, which is broader than the market value of the dirt. In a partial taking, the jury determines the value of the property appropriated plus any damages to the remainder caused by the taking (Fla. Stat. s. 73.071).

Read the offset rule alongside it. Section 73.071(4) lets the condemning authority offset remainder damages by any enhancement the project creates in that remainder, though enhancement “shall not be offset against the value of the property appropriated.” Expect FDOT’s appraiser to press it, and get your own appraisal, because government appraisals carry recurring deficiencies here.

Two presuit rules to know now, not later (Fla. Stat. s. 73.015):

1. FDOT must make a written offer before it sues, and the owner gets at least 30 days to respond, measured from receipt of the notice or from the date it is returned as undeliverable.
2. On written request by the fee owner, FDOT has 15 business days to provide the appraisal report the offer is based on, plus, “to the extent prepared,” the right of way maps depicting the proposed taking and the construction plans.

That qualifier matters on a project still in design. Ask in writing, then ask again as design advances. The same components apply to commercial parcels; see what just compensation includes.

Business Damages: The 180-Day Deadline That Ends Claims

Florida law pays for damage to the business itself, not just the real estate. Section 73.071(3)(b) allows probable business damages where the taking is partial, the condemnor is a public body such as FDOT, the acquisition is for a right of way, and the taking may damage or destroy “an established business of more than 5 years’ standing on or after January 1, 2005, owned by the party whose lands are being so taken, located upon adjoining lands owned or held by such party.” The claim must be pleaded in the owner’s written defenses.

The deadline is what ends these claims. A qualifying business owner must submit a good faith written offer to settle business damages, with the supporting business records, within 180 days after receiving FDOT’s business damage notice, after that notice is returned as undeliverable, or by a later date FDOT and the business owner mutually agree to, and absent a showing of good faith justification the court “must strike the business owner’s claim for business damages.” FDOT then has 120 days from receipt of the offer and the accompanying records to accept, reject, or counter, and a failure to respond is “deemed to be a counteroffer of zero dollars.”

The records are not optional. Start pulling five years of tax returns, sales tax filings, and profit and loss statements now. See business damages under section 73.071, calculating and proving business damages, and resolving a business damage claim. If you lease rather than own, the production right runs to the fee owner, so start with tenant compensation in a taking and your lease’s condemnation clause.

How Are Attorney Fees Calculated in a Florida Condemnation Case?

By statute, against the condemning authority, on the benefit achieved (Fla. Stat. s. 73.092). For the real property claim, “benefits” means the difference, exclusive of interest, between the final judgment or settlement and the last written offer the condemning authority made before the defendant hired an attorney. The schedule: 33 percent of any benefit up to $250,000, 25 percent of any portion between $250,000 and $1 million, 20 percent above $1 million.

For business damages the measure is different. If ordinary-course business records were provided to substantiate the 180-day offer, benefits are measured against FDOT’s counteroffer under section 73.015(2)(d); if not, and the records are later deemed material, the baseline shifts to a later counteroffer. More detail: recovery of attorney fees and eminent domain versus condemnation.

What Should Kissimmee Owners Do Before the Letters Arrive?

In order:

1. Identify the item number that touches your parcel. 418403-7 carries the design and right of way phases, 418403-8 is Phase 1 construction, 418403-9 is Phase 2. Our county inventories of which projects are buying land and when work the same way.
2. Photograph current access, parking counts, signage sight lines, and truck circulation while the intersection still looks the way it does.
3. Request the appraisal, right of way maps, and construction plans in writing as soon as a notice arrives.
4. Pull five years of business records if you operate a business on the parcel or on adjoining land you own.
5. Retain counsel before responding to any written offer, because section 73.092(1)(a) measures the fee baseline from the last written offer made before the defendant hires an attorney. If a quick-take is filed, Chapter 74 governs title and possession.

Talk to Jimerson Birr Before FDOT’s First Offer

Jimerson Birr represents Florida property and business owners facing condemnation by the state, counties, municipalities, and utilities. Under section 73.092, a court awards the owner’s attorney fees against the condemning authority based on the benefit achieved, subject to that statute’s conditions and exceptions, so any award depends on the outcome of the case.

Our eminent domain condemnation issues team works alongside our real estate development and construction attorneys, which matters when a taking hits a leased retail center, a permitting site plan, or a project under construction. If you own or lease near John Young Parkway and Pleasant Hill Road, start with the eminent domain process for commercial owners or our Orlando-area guidance, then call us while FDOT is drawing lines.