A local veteran attorney is pursuing retail-commercial infill for property along a busy Maitland thoroughfare, and has more land in the vicinity that may be considered for redevelopment.
Located at 500 N. Maitland Ave., the 2.64-acre parcel is about half developed now with a three-story, 27,445-square-foot office building owned by Barry Kalmanson, an attorney who specializes in construction lien law.
He has asked the city to rezone his property from residential to a Planned Development, in order to build a new 7,767-square-foot retail-commercial building next to the office. A plaza is proposed between the buildings to accommodate outdoor dining.
“Maitland Avenue has been proposed to become a retail street for 20 years or more. I want to make it happen, and have a tenant lined up for half of this building,” he told GrowthSpotter. “There are more than 1,000 new apartments within a mile of this site. I know there’s unmet demand for restaurants along the avenue, I own a lot of property here and get calls all the time from (restaurant chain representatives).”
Annual daily traffic on that stretch of Maitland Avenue averages more than 24,200 cars, according to Orange County’s Property Appraiser.
An initial hearing by Maitland’s Planning and Zoning Commission was held back in May 2017. Because Kalmanson didn’t move the project forward after that to the city’s review process, he had to begin from scratch again this month.
Tenant names on renderings Kalmanson provided the city are for display only, and don’t reflect potential restaurants in the building. The space is not currently under contract, he said.
Under the proposed PD zoning, the new building could accommodate office, retail or dining tenants, though Kalmanson believes the latter is the best and highest use.
He has not hired a commercial real estate brokerage to market the space, confident he can attract tenants himself. Approvals from the city for rezoning and a Development Plan for the project are anticipated by year’s end, Kalmanson added.
He owns five commercial properties along that stretch of Maitland Avenue, between Maitland Boulevard and Sybelia Avenue. Kalmanson said he’s discussing with city staff which may be candidates for redevelopment for a higher or more dense use.
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