Economic activity signals growth in Ocoee

From site plans and rezoning approvals to receiving unsolicited offers from developers looking to purchase city-owned property, recent economic activity is pointing toward growth in Ocoee.

City leaders at the Dec. 4 commission meeting approved final site plans for four separate development projects — two of which also included development agreements that commissioners approved. Commissioners also voted to authorize city staff to use no more than $3,500 from the contingency fund to obtain a fair-market appraisal of two separate properties in the city that two separate entities are interested in purchasing. Additionally, commissioners approved the development agreement and second readings of two ordinances for the Greens at Forest Lake Planned Unit Development. 

The recent economic activity had commissioners excited for the future of the city’s growth.

“It’s such a pleasure to see all that’s happening in Ocoee,” District 2 Commissioner Rosemary Wilsen said. “We had so many years of … everything jumping over us. Now we’re seeing so much action.”

“It’s nice to see that ad valorem money come in from taxes and economic growth,” Mayor Rusty Johnson added. 

THE APPROVALS

Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the preliminary/final site plans for four separate development projects in the city. 

The first site plan was for All-American Barricades, which proposed building a 28,000-square-foot, light-industrial warehouse/office development on a 2.4-acre parcel located at 901 E. Crown Point Road. The building will contain 12 separate suites, City Planner Mike Rumer said.

“This approval allows them to begin constructing the development,” Rumer said. “(It will) provide us with another flex-office/light-industrial opportunity employment center.”

The next approved preliminary/final site plan was the Inspiration Town Center PUD, a 16.87-acre property located on the west side of Maguire Road and south of Florida’s Turnpike. The plan proposes a mixed-use development with 90 townhomes, as well as four buildings that will be used for commercial or retail uses. One building will house a 13,683-square-foot preschool; the second will be a 12,600-square-foot office/retail building; the third will be a two-story; 42,350-square-foot office/retail building; and the fourth will be a 2,500-square-foot office/retail building.

The third plan approved relates to building a new facility for Top Gun Cheer on a 4.51-acre parcel at 651 Bluford Ave. on the south side of West Columbus Street. City leaders also approved a development agreement for this project. Currently, Top Gun Cheer operates out of West Oaks Mall but will move once the new facility is built. The new facility will be 36,000 square feet, and the architecture of the building will emulate the cheer facility at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World, Rumer said.

The fourth plan approved was the Vermeer-Trinity preliminary/final site plan, which proposes the construction of three buildings that total 89,350 square feet on a 8.69-acre property located on the west side of Ocoee Apopka Road and the north side of Palm Drive. This project also included a development agreement that commissioners approved along with the site plan. Included in this project will be a realignment of Palm Drive at the intersection of Ocoee Apopka Road.

Once built, the site will be the location of Vermeer’s Southeast regional headquarters. Vermeer offers equipment, parts and services for tree-care industries. The property also will house the corporate site for Trinity Tile, which will consist of a 45,416-square-foot combined showroom and warehouse. Currently, both Vermeer and Trinity Tile operate out of the City of Orlando.

INCOMING OFFERS

The city received two unsolicited offers from two separate entities interested in purchasing property within the city. As a result, commissioners unanimously voted to allow city staff to spend no more than $3,500 from the contingency fund to get the two separate pieces of city-owned property appraised.

The first offer is from Forges Realty Group for a 15,000-square-foot property at 112 S. Bluford Ave. In 2016, the city purchased that property and the adjacent property at 100 S. Bluford Ave. for $225,000. Forges Realty Group is offering $135,000 for the parcel at 112. S. Bluford Ave., Shadrix said.

The second offer is from Summit XV Holdings LLC for a 13.51-acre parcel at 2012 Ocoee Apopka Road. This property was part of a large land purchase made by the city in 2000, during which the city purchased about 318 acres from The Coca-Cola Company for a total price of $3,750,000 ($11,792.45 per acre). Summit XV Holdings LLC is offering $93,750 per net usable acre with the intent of building a townhome subdivision on the site.

The two unsolicited offers came after an unsolicited offer by Meritage Homes to purchase land in the city. During the Nov. 20 meeting, city leaders voted to authorize city staff to negotiate a sale agreement with Meritage Homes for the sale of about nine acres of a 12-acre piece of city-owned property near the intersection of AD Mims Road and Clarke Road. In 2006, the city purchased 12-acre property for $3.5 million. Meritage is offering $1.1 million to purchase nine acres of the parcel with plans to develop 64 residential lots.

Greens at Forest Lake PUD

City leaders voted unanimously to approved a development agreement and two ordinances pertaining to a 29.17-acre property located on the eastern terminus of Fountains West Boulevard, west of State Road 429 and on the east side of the West Orange Trail.

One ordinance amends the future land-use designation of the property from low-density residential to medium-density residential, while the other rezones the property to Planned Unit Development/Land-Use Plan.

The applicant, Meritage Homes, is proposing to develop a 200-townhome development with a density of 6.89 dwelling units an acre. The development will consist of three-bedroom, two-bathroom townhomes equipped with a two-car garage and minimum living area of 1,500 square feet. Lot sizes within the development will be 24 feet wide by 107 feet deep.