Land owner preps for retail in Seminole-Volusia growth corridor

A Seminole County property owner is laying the groundwork for a large retail development in an area of the county expected to see a surge in new residential construction during the next five years.

Representatives for Takvorian Properties LLC met this week with Seminole County planners to discuss the company's 10.76 acres located at the northeast corner of SR 46 and East Lake Mary Boulevard (SR 415).  The property is zoned for up to 170,000 square feet of commercial space.

Momtaz Barq, owner of Terra-Max Engineering, Inc., who represented Takvorian Properties, focused his discussion with planners on ingress and egress points for the property along SR 46 and East Lake Mary Boulevard.

"The property is already zoned commercial, and it will eventually be developed as a shopping center with probably a grocery store, restaurants, a bank and small shops," Barq said. "Our biggest concern at this point is making sure we have the proper access."

Takvorian has yet to file a formal development application with the county. Barq told GrowthSpotter that his client, has no immediate plans to move forward with developing the property.

"We don't even want to market the property yet, so I can't tell you what types of retail businesses might go into the center," he said.

Meeting with Seminole County planners at this point allows Barq's client to be ready when the market is prime for new retail development, he added.

Commercial development in the northeast section of Seminole County is expected to boom in the coming years for three reasons: major improvements to state roads 46 and 415, prime land opportunities near the Orlando Sanford international Airport and the $27 million Seminole County sports complex, and the construction of up to 4,000 new homes in the area.

Five new subdivisions totaling 1,247 new homes have already been approved by the city of Sanford. There potentially could be another half dozen neighborhoods built in unincorporated Seminole County.

Subdivisions already appoved include Cameron Heights Phase I (228 homes), Lake Jessup Estates (24 homes), Brisson East (243 homes), Brisson West (375 homes), and Silvestri Estates (371 homes).

Maitland-based Charles Wayne Consulting Inc. projected in a recent report that Seminole County will need 6,100 new single-family housing units over the next five years. The East Lake Mary Boulevard corridor is one of the last remaining areas suitable to accommodate much of that growth.

According to the report, the corridor has the potential to "replicate community development patterns seen along such corridors as South Alafaya Trail, Avalon Park Boulevard, Red Bug Lake Road or Lockwood Boulevard." The report concludes that the corridor could see another 2,500 new homes constructed, in addition to those already approved.

The report does not take into account the potential growth in southeast Volusia County, which could see 23,000 new homes built between Osteen and Oak Hill.

Road improvements on SR 415 include a new four-lane bridge over the St. Johns River leading into Volusia County. The bridge is about a mile north of the SR 46 and 415 intersection.

Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at gnip@me.com. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.