New office complex being pursued behind Acme Superstore in Longwood

A principal with SVN Alliance Commercial Real Estate Advisors, based in Ormond Beach, is pursuing plans to develop a new office complex in Longwood.

Principal Chris Butera is proposing to develop 17,500 square feet of office space across four buildings behind the Acme Superstore comic-book showroom at 905 E. State Road 434, near U.S. 17-92.

The development is part of a SMART Office commercial brand, coined by Butera in 2017 as an acronym that stands for Suburban, Modern, Adaptive, Responsible and Turn-Key offices.

His first SMART Office development was completed last year in Daytona Beach. Dubbed, SMART Office Clyde Park, the project consists of about 14,000 square feet across four, single-story office buildings.

Butera told GrowthSpotter the complex is about 65% leased to national credit tenants.

“We expected it to be more mom-and-pop businesses,” he said, but the pandemic changed the way office tenants think about space. National credit tenants could be adopting a more hub-and-spoke model, he said, meaning companies may rely on a network of smaller regional offices, or “spokes,” in addition to a central office located in a city hub.

The developer is also in the middle of marketing and completing another SMART office in Lake Mary. The first building will span 10,310 square feet at 131 S. Country Club Rd., and will be move-in ready later this month, Butera said.

The Longwood project would be the largest SMART Office development, in terms of square footage, thus far. The architectural style will be similar to SMART Office Clyde Park in Daytona Beach.

Butera said he hopes to obtain site plan approvals for the Longwood project later this year and start construction in early 2022. His company, Smart Office Longwood LLC, purchased the 2.65-acre site for $1.25 million last year.

A site plan for the project shows the largest building within the office complex will span 6,000 square feet. Buildings 2 and 3 span 4,500 square feet and Building 4 spans about 2,520 square feet.

Newkirk Engineering Inc. is the civil engineer.

SMART Offices feature modern designs, adaptive floorplans, LED lighting, and fully built-out office suites, according to marketing material. New offices are also being developed to feature upgraded air conditioning systems to increase air quality.

If completed, the project will be by a number of new multifamily and retail/commercial developments, under construction or recently completed in Longwood.

In March, Wood Partners opened its 263-unit Alta Longwood apartment community at 881 W. Warren Avenue. The rental complex is located behind the Orlando Health South Seminole Hospital, near Reiter Park.

Wood Partners is also redeveloping the Sanford-Orlando Kennel Club, on the east side of Ronald Reagan Boulevard, into a 342-unit apartment community that will feature a pair of dog parks and a community clubhouse.

Across from that development, on the west side of Ronald Reagan Boulevard, Elevation Development is partnering with ContraVest to build a new mixed-use community, where ContraVest plans to build an apartment complex called The Hartley.

Along S.R. 434, Longwood-based Dounia Development Inc. plans to redevelop the old Township Plaza commercial strip at 950 and 1018 W. S.R. 434 into a vibrant lakefront city center with local shops and lakeside recreational space.

EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous version of this story erroneously stated Smart Office Longwood LLC paid $539,000 for the property. The true purchase price was $1.25 million.

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