Developer set to add apartments to Fullers Cross/ Ocoee-Apopka development

The northeast corner of Fullers Cross and Ocoee Apopka roads will look a bit different in the future, after the Ocoee City Commission approved a change to the city-owned property in its meeting Tuesday, March 2.

On Aug. 4, 2020, the commission directed staff to move forward with preparations of a contract with GPK Investments for the sale of a 17.96-acre parcel of city-owned land at the northeast corner of Fullers Cross and Ocoee-Apopka roads. Two months later — in October — a price of $3,560,000 was set pending GPK securing a final site plan approval and other development approvals. 

The original agreement was approved, but now GPK has shifted gears. The original plan was to develop a commercial project on the land that would include warehouses. Now, the company is proposing the site to be developed as a townhome and apartment development that includes first-floor commercial space.

“Originally when we proposed a warehouse mixed-use — there was going to be some commercial involved — and the numbers just didn’t pencil out for a warehouse,” said Charlie Vickers, a representative from GPK. 

The planned project would include four, four-story apartment buildings with commercial businesses on the first floor, while apartments will make up floors two through four. Combined with the three, three-story townhome buildings — which will be for sale, while apartments will be rented — there would be a total of 270 to 280 units. In the outparcel, there are plans to have two, three-story mixed-use buildings that will be used for office and retail space.

Most of the questions from the commission related to infrastructure and how the area would be impacted. Those concerns were addressed by Assistant City Manager Craig Shadrix.

“They will be required as part of the site-plan study, and we will do our own analysis to determine what improvements they’re going to be required to make as part of any approval of this project,” Shadrix said. “As they move forward, we’ll be working with them, and we have our own traffic consultant that will be doing an analysis.”

After about 25 minutes of discussion on the subject, and after having their concerns quelled, the commission unanimously approved the change of plans. It was a welcome change, Mayor Rusty Johnson said.

“What I like about it is what you have underneath — the retail businesses that can be there, and it can be a community inside the community where they don’t even have to leave when they get off of work,” Johnson said. “You’ll have restaurants, shops, retail, a drug store and whatever … this is exactly what we need.”