West Palm Beach-based private equity investor Priderock Capital Partners is reviving dormant plans from 2010 to develop new Class A multifamily on Lake Betty in northwest Orange County.
Planned for 27.33 developable acres at 2695 S. Orange Blossom Trail (45.75 gross acres), the site lies between Apopka and Maitland and less than a quarter mile from an interchange with S.R. 414 (Apopka Expressway).
Priderock has scheduled apre-app meeting with county staff for March to review its formerly approved Development Plan for 408 apartments, dubbed “Polo Glen at Lake Betty.” It also filed a request to amend the dormant DP last week to add access toMaitland Boulevard.
The company had initially pursued developing the apartments in 2007 through 2010, successfully rezoning the property and earning Development Review Committee approval in September 2010 for its DP.
The project went dormant in the years since. The Bainbridge Companies was initially an investor in the affiliate entity that bought the land in 2006 for $6.5 million, but divested from the land and project in 2009, when the owner-entity’s name and management was changed to reflect just Priderock affiliate Lake Betty Development, LLLP.
The updated DP projects 18 buildings with 168 one-bedrooms, 180 two-beds and 60 three-beds. More than 3.3 acres of the property will be dedicated to park and recreation space, including a tennis court, pool facilities, playground, barbecue area, pet park and walking paths around the lake.
The developer also plans to pay for a new traffic signal at the intersection of Pemberton Drive and U.S. 441 (N. Orange Blossom Trail) with road improvements, pending FDOT approval.
Multiple construction phases are proposed, Priderock noted on its updated plans.
George Banks, managing partner of Priderock and applicant on the latest changes, declined to comment on Monday.
Priderock self-describes on its website as a private multifamily asset manager, with senior management experience in developing, acquiring and managing apartment properties, and a current portfolio of more than 10,000 units across 18 states.
Population growth is driving multifamily investment across Florida, and Metro Orlando is growing at the second fastest pace in the state, according to recent analysis by Cushman & Wakefield.
The Orlando region’s population is projected to increase by 3.2 percent this year, from 2.4 million to 2.52 million in 2017. Out of nine markets analyzed, Orlando’s pace of population growth trailed only Fort Myers in the state.
Much of that growth is attributed to strong job creation, with Orlando adding an average of 1,000 new jobs per week and an unemployment rate of 3.3 percent, the lowest in Florida, per C&W.
Priderock’s team of contributors to the project thus far include Dave Schmitt Engineering, Inc., Akron-based Cedarwood Architectural, Dale & Company as landscape architect, Accumap Surveying and Universal Engineering Sciences.
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