Jared Remington, the founder of Code Real Estate Partners, wants to build a new multifamily community in Orlando’s Mercy Drive neighborhood.
According to a recently submitted development application, Remington is drawing up plans to build up to 400 apartment units on roughly 40 acres on the southwest corner of Mercy Drive and West Princeton Street.
A conceptual site plan shows a multifamily community that consists of 10, mid-rise multifamily buildings and an amenity center/clubhouse.
Remington declined to comment on plans. The project narrative states the developer will utilize a more “urban design” for the project, and will also try to integrate and preserve natural features specifically in the southwest corner of the property.
According to a submitted traffic study conducted by Kimley-Horn and Associates, the proposed development is anticipated for buildout in 2024.
The longtime vacant land at 2100 Mercy Dr. is currently owned by Oates Creek LLC, which is led by the family members of Carl Tutera, a media and show production producer based in Ormond Beach. Records show that Texas LLC has owned the land since 2004.
Orlando planner Jim Burnett said the owner recently inquired about building a warehouse development on the site, “but that potential use was not consistent with our long-range vision for the north end of Mercy Drive,” he said in an email exchange with GrowthSpotter.
“It’s been a vacant site for as long as we can remember,” he said. A portion of the property was long-shown to be a wetland, but recent state laws amending wetland regulations made the property become available for mitigation and development purposes, he adds.
To the south of the property, there are two radio towers, and about a third of the property is considered to be a 100-year flood zone. “That portion is pretty well being left alone for compensating storage,” Burnett said.
The land use allows for higher development densities for residential development. Application material shows Remington intends to utilize a density that allows for 18.32 dwelling units per acre.
Of the total 41.5-acre site, only 21.8 acres are considered developable. The developer is also requesting a 5% parking reduction request.
The proposed multifamily community is located within the 400-acre Mercy Drive vision plan area created by Orlando and project team facilitator Canin Associates in 2017. The vision plan was meant to gather neighborhood input and guidance on how to revitalize the community that’s bisected by Mercy Drive, and bounded by Silver Star Road, West Colonial Drive, North John Young Parkway and Lake Lawne.
Nearby, Wendover Housing Partners is in the leasing phase of its 120-unit senior affordable housing community at 5386 Silver Star Road. The project, which broke ground last year, replaced a portion of the Silver Pines shopping center and will anchor a future town center underway in Orlando’s Pine Hills neighborhood.
And across the street, a development group is planning to renovate the Urban Square apartments and build over 200 new rental units on 10 acres at 1625 and 1663 Mercy Drive, about halfway between W.D. Judge Drive and Princeton Street.
To the east, Dr. Phillips Charities is overseeing the development of Orlando’s Packing District, which recently announced that chef Akhtar Nawab with Hospitality HQ will operate the planned 17,300-square-foot food hall inside the Southern Box — an adaptive reuse of the 1930s-era Great Southern Box Company building.
The Packing District project was born out of a vision by the charity to transform about 200 acres of mostly industrial land into a population center with a vibrant mix of residential, civic and commercial uses.
Within the district is a new 24,500-square-foot YMCA family center under construction at the intersection of Princeton and N. Texas Avenue. Next door, Toll Brothers is in the selling phase for its luxury townhome community called The Brix. Apartment developers like Chuck Hollis and Texas-based Embrey Partners are also pursuing projects in the area.
Code RE Partners is a Windermere-based private equity firm that owns and operates more than 50 multifamily properties representing over 8,000 units in 15 markets. According to its website, the company specializes in value-add multifamily opportunities and affordable housing projects by buying commercial real estate non-performing loans, REOs, LIHTC assets and partnership interests.
In Kissimmee, Code RE Partners is behind a new 320-unit apartment development on about 22 acres just south of Shingle Creek.
Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at arabines@GrowthSpotter.com or (407) 491-3357, or tweet me at @amanda_rabines. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
