Editor's note: This story has been updated since it was originally published to include information from a representative for the property seller.

MASCOTTTE – The Villages has purchased 900 acres here for $7 million, according to Lake County public records.

The deed, recorded with the court clerk on March 14, lists the buyer as Buffalo Hide and Cattle Co., a real estate arm of the mega retirement community, and the seller as Maury L. Carter Services Corp. The company is trustee for Carter-Lake 918 Highway 333 Land Trust.

Daryl Carter with Carter Services, who is listed on property records as the trustee, said he has been asked by the buyer not to comment on its plans, or if it was even related to The Villages.

Development pressure: Leesburg in the midst of significant growth and development

Earlier coverage: The Villages starts building thousands of homes on land it bought from Leesburg in 2018

The Villages did not respond to an email query from the Daily Commercial about the purchase, which is its typical practice.

City Manager Ann Marie Reno said the city has not been contacted by the retirement developer. Eventually, it will have to submit plans to apply for zoning on the undeveloped site.

According to its website, the City of Mascotte, in southwest Lake County, has a population of 6,600, "with much growth planned to create future commercial and industrial growth, as well as the supporting residential population."

The land The Villages purchased is west of the developed area of the city, part of a huge block of property that extends northward to near the Leesburg city limits. More unoccupied land, including wetlands, is held by other trusts.

The Villages last year started building 3,200 homes in its Villages West development on 1,200 acres it purchased from Leesburg for $7.5 million at Florida’s Turnpike and County Road 470 in 2018.

Plans on that property include a $100 million, 248-acre wellness center.

It links up across the turnpike and Sumter County border with The Villages’ massive Southern Oaks development and some of its other neighborhoods, which stretch to Wildwood and beyond.

This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: The Villages buys 900 acres in Mascotte; no plans announced