Wood Partners to build its fifth apartment community near Darden headquarters

Five is a significant number for the next apartment project Wood Partners plans to build along John Young Parkway in Orlando.

The residential dwelling building will rise five stories. It will be the Atlanta-based developer’s fifth multifamily product in the tourism district within one mile of the headquarters for restaurant giant Darden Corporation.

Wood Partners decided to put the Roman numeral for five in the name of the community. Slated for 7.8 acres of property at the southwest intersection of Taft Vineland Road and John Young Parkway, it will be called V by Alta. Construction on the 219-unit apartment complex is expected to start this summer.

“The name ‘V by Alta’ is a reference to this being our fifth community in the immediate submarket,” Bryan Borland, the managing director of Wood Partners, said in a statement to GrowthSpotter.

The company has already developed three communities totaling 948 units near Darden headquarters along Central Florida Parkway and has another 297 units under construction.

Grandewood Pointe was completed in 2006 with 306 units and Lantower Grande Flats was completed in 2018 with 314 units.

The developer built the 328-unit Luma Headwaters, formerly Alta Headwaters, in 2020 on land formerly owned by Darden. The community was sold in August of 2021 to New York-based investment firm iStar for $95.5 million.

A short drive to the east, the 297-unit Alta Deco is under construction by Wood Partners on property across the street from Freedom High School, on the north side of Taft Vineland Road. An entity affiliated with Wood Partners bought the 10-acre stretch for $5.3 million in November of 2021.

V by Alta is poised to go on property just north of where Luma Headwaters sits. It would be the second apartment community on land originally owned by Darden.

Wood Partners bought the V by Alta site in January of 2019 from Darden for $4.3 million. The Darden-owned land to the south was acquired by the developer around that same time for $8.2 million.

Asked why the company continues to return again and again to this area, Borland touted its proximity to theme parks and large employers.

“This submarket benefits from its proximity to the Tourism Corridor as well as numerous other major employers, office and industrial parks,” he said. “Notably, V by Alta is situated directly across the street from the corporate headquarters of Darden Restaurants and a short drive from Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control (MFC) campus.”

Borland notes that Grande Lakes Orlando — a multi-hotel resort featuring more than 1,500 rooms, 12 dining venues on-property, a championship golf course, spa, and waterpark — is located just to the south.

He said that the location near Orlando’s major thoroughfares – State Road 528, State Road 417 (Central Florida GreeneWay), Florida’s Turnpike and Interstate 4 – provides residents easy access throughout Greater Orlando and all of the attractions it has to offer.

“V by Alta is convenient to some of Orlando’s largest office and industrial parks, including Tavistock’s Infinity Park, Southridge Commerce Park, and SouthPark Center,” Borland said. “Lastly, V by Alta is a short drive to SeaWorld and Universal’s Epic Universe, slated to open in Summer 2025.”

Site plans drafted by engineering firm Kelly, Collins & Gentry show a single midrise residential building surrounded by parking lots. A courtyard in the middle of the building will include a saltwater pool, cabanas, outdoor grill station and fire pit.

The design is being led by Maitland-based architecture firm Charlan Brock Associates.

“The five-story, urban design will be complemented by the convenience of surface parking, as opposed to a structured parking garage, characteristic of traditional, lower-density garden-style communities,” Borland said. “V by Alta will offer luxurious studio, one, two- and three-Bedroom apartment homes with detached garages available.”

The site will also include a fitness center, walking trails, a dog park, game lounge and an observation deck.

The observation deck will allow residents and guests to view nightly fireworks from nearby theme parks, Borland said.

Wood Partners has also been active in the Orlando market beyond the John Young Parkway corridor.

The 348-unit Alta at Horizon West, located near the intersection of Avalon Road and Phil Ritson Way, is nearing completion construction with the first residential buildings expected to welcome tenants by March.

Construction began last summer on the 324-unit “Alta Davenport” off Hwy 27 in Davenport near Posner Park.

The developer recently completed construction of the 342-unit “Alta Cypress” on the site of the former Sanford Orlando Kennel Club property in Longwood. That community is nearly 90% leased after delivering first units in May of last year.

In total, Wood Partners has completed 16 multifamily communities in the Orlando area. Nationwide, the company has been involved in the acquisition and development of nearly 90,000 conventional multifamily homes with a combined capitalization of $17.3 billion. The company currently owns more than 70 properties across the United States representing over 20,000 homes.

“Orlando has been one of the best-performing apartment markets in the country this cycle,” Borland said.

Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at (407)-800-1161 or dwyatt@GrowthSpotter.com, or tweet me at @DustinWyattGS. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.