Taylor Morrison Homes has redesigned the 82-acre Solstice community just north of the Poinciana SunRail station to increase the density, adding the multifamily component requested by Osceola County staff.
Taylor Morrison inherited the project through its acquisition of AV Homes in 2018. The former owner had an approved Planned Development that capped the number of residential units at 700 with a maximum of 300 single family homes and 400 multifamily homes, plus 20,000 square feet of neighborhood commercial uses. But the PD entitlements defined attached townhomes as multifamily, which contradicts the county’s Land Development Code.
AV Homes filed a Preliminary Subdivision Plan and Site Development Plan in 2017 calling for a total of 328 residential units: 116 townhomes and 211 single-family homes in separate gated communities. County planners told them to go back to the drawing board.
“They’re going to have to resubmit,” Planning Director Kerry Godwin said at the time. “We don’t need single-family homes next to SunRail stations.”
Taylor Morrison engaged a new planning firm, Waldrop Engineering, to come up with a totally different plan. It maintains the 700 vested residential units on the eastern portion of the site but eliminates minimum lot sizes to allow for a “diversity of housing product, more flexibility, and greater density.” The proposed PD amendment also changes the definition of townhomes to make it consistent with the county’s definition.
For the eastern section of the site, the PD amendment would convert the future land use to Employment Center. That would set a minimum density of 18 housing units per acre, and would allow for a mix of uses, including residential over retail. The maximum height would be 4 stories.
The development is proposed as a single-phase development with an anticipated five year build out schedule. The developer may sub-phase development through the SDP process provided that all necessary infrastructure is included or exists to accommodate the phase of development proposed.
Godwin said the changes appear to be more aligned with the county’s vision for the area, with a more compact, walkable community. Even the vested section would be developed at a minimum of 5 units per acre, which meets the county’s density requirement, he said.
“It’s hard to tell exactly what they’re planning, because all we have is a bubble plan,” Godwin said. “Staff was pleased with their submittal because is more closely achieves the centers approach we adopted.”
Brian Brunhofer, Orlando Division President for Taylor Morrison, told GrowthSpotter the project is still in its conceptual phase, and specific products haven’t been determined. “The specific plan will be developed and provided to the County for review and approval at a later date,” he said. “We have not yet discussed architectural requirements either.”
He said the PD amendment includes road and regional trail connection to Rail Street – something that was requested by the planning staff. “As we worked with the County, this was the approach we agreed upon as we pursued these discussions.”
Solstice was part of the former AV Homes portfolio in Osceola and Polk counties offered for sale earlier this year. Taylor Morrison recently sought a lien verification request from the county, a step that usually indicates there’s a contract pending.
“We have had strong interest by outside parties to be involved in the project,” Brunhofer said. “As we work thru entitlements, we will review all options as it relates to building out the project or working with another developer/builder. We will know more as we obtain our approvals.”
Taylor Morrison currently has 31 communities in development in Central Florida.
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