Our Observation

Nine months and $50,000 later, the city of Maitland has won back the right to shape its future regarding the Town Center development agreement.

It’s been more than nine months since the Town Center developer filed an eleventh hour Ch. 11 bankruptcy case to stop the foreclosure sale of two parcels at the heart of downtown Maitland.

The city spent more than $50,000 on legal representation in the bankruptcy case, which doesn’t include the time spent by its own city attorney.

Since that March day, the project has been as frozen as the ice skating rink down the road in Winter Park. That tied Maitland city officials’ hands concerning the $400 million mixed-use development slated for blocks including Lake Lily and the city’s public buildings.

A couple weeks ago, the city’s pricey bankruptcy attorney successfully lobbied the judge to give the city what in legalese is called a “relief from stay”, freeing the agreement from its frosty cage.

It comes back on the table at Monday’s City Council meeting, when Council has the golden opportunity to begin the process of terminating the agreement. The developer gets 30 days to “cure any defaults”, which is not likely to happen. So City Council could have the agreement through the shredder before the New Year. Talk about starting fresh.

The agreement has been up for termination before, mostly at the request of Councilman Phil Bonus. But each time, there weren’t enough votes to move forward. Each time, there were members of council who said they still believed in the developer and that there wasn’t anyone else waiting in the wings to take over. But there’s no way to know if there are other suitors — It’s illegal for another developer to come forward to offer ideas as long as there is a standing development agreement.

Maitland Downtown Property Owner LLC may very well be capable of moving forward with the project, but it’s time for the city to step back and reassess its plans, terminate the agreement — which hasn’t been modified since 2007 — and open it up to a competitive market again.

A whole lot has changed since 2007. The city may have to consider building apartments instead of condominiums, a situation it already encountered with the Village at Lake Lily project, which was slated to be half condos and half apartments. Today, it’s 400 apartments, but at least it’s not a dusty lot. Compromises will have to be made.

If the agreement can be transferred to the best-suited developer with modifications, that’s great. But if the changes are too extensive, the city may be better off starting from Square One and doing it right. What you don’t want is the parcels to be broken up and sold to make way for more fast-food restaurants and strip malls.

The dream of the pedestrian-friendly Park Avenue-like town center is a worthy one. Maitland should fight for that dream, but it can’t continue to let a dated document hold it back. A unanimous vote to terminate is crucial on Monday.