Maitland City Talk

Our world is changing right before our eyes from Washington, D.C. all the way to Maitland!

The landscape is certainly changing in our CRA with Maitland City Centre rising from the old Gooding's/Winn-Dixie block and Maitland Station taking shape to the north of our Maitland SunRail Station. Newly permitted is a six-story, approximately 300-unit residential/commercial mixed-use project. This project comes from a development agreement entered into in 2004 and amended by a settlement agreement in 2006. This project is expected to include approximately 40,000 square feet of commercial space on a roughly six-acre site north of Publix. Similarly, our City Council will soon be considering a new proposed Downtown Maitland Master Plan that is expected to be both bold and visionary.

I-4 Ultimate continues to progress steadily, albeit stressfully at times. The Maitland Boulevard/State Road 414 interchange is going to be spectacular with help from our Public Art Ad Hoc Committee working on the inclusion of public art within the interchange corridor.

For those of us that get hungry and thirsty often, we're pleased to note that Luke's Kitchen and Bar opened earlier this month at the old Steak and Ale location while Teak Neighborhood Grill is planning an opening in the spring of 2017 in the former Rangetsu space at the Village of Lake Lily overlooking Lake Lily Park. I've experienced Teak's other location in MetroWest and, trust me, we're excited!

The city has very recently acquired a small medical office building at the corner of Maitland and Packwood avenues. This visionary purchase was approved by our City Council in 2016 and closed last week leaving the city owning the entire west side of Maitland Avenue from Packwood south to Ventris Avenue. The future development and/or parking potential of this parcel combined with current city-owned property for downtown Maitland is intriguing. A hat tip goes to city management for engineering this long-term acquisition.

Following the theme of today's article and with the help of our ever-evolving, dynamically engaged city leadership team, we are looking forward to becoming a Maitland that our grandchildren will be proud to call their own.