Altamonte Springs-based LeCesse Development Corp. expects to break ground by September on a 288-unit apartment complex on S. International Drive, and is still searching for a lender to help finance the estimated $44 million project budget, a lead executive for the company told GrowthSpotter.
Located on the northeast side of the I-Drive-Westwood Boulevard intersection, Ancora Apartments will feature one-, two- and three-bedroom units of roughly 1,000 square feet each. Cambridge Management will manage the property after completion.
LeCesse Development will now pursue building permits after getting project approval from Orange County’s Development Review Committee earlier this month, with ground expected to break on the project by September, said John Flynn, director of acquisitions.
“We like that corridor of South I-Drive and South Turkey Lake Road, and we’ve looked at a number of opportunities there,” Flynn said. “Job growth in that area is the key draw. Not everyone wants to live in downtown or north Orlando. We see the primary job growth areas as this one (I-Drive), and the UCF-Medical City areas.”
General contractor on the project will be LeCesse Construction, a firm that was at one time owned by the primary principal of LeCesse Development, but retained that founder’s name after it was sold. LeCesse Construction is serving as general contractor on two of six projects that LeCesse Development currently has active, Flynn said.
Humphreys & Partners is the project architect, and Florida Engineering Group is providing planning and engineering services.
With a project budget currently estimated at $44 million, the developer will source a traditional construction loan from a local bank, though a majority of the equity will be provided from a joint venture partnership, Flynn said.
“We are still in the search process for our lender on this project,” he added.
bmoser@growthspotter.com or (407) 420-5685
