Winter Garden commission OKs town-house development

Winter Garden commissioners approved Oct. 27 the rezoning of 16.66 acres located at 605 and 755 E. Plant St. and 290 E. Newell St. to build 43 town homes and 41 single-family residences.

However, before the developer M.I. Homes can break ground on the land, which was formerly used for citrus production, it will need to submit the final construction plans and have the preliminary plat approved for the planned-unit development, known as Heritage at Plant Street. 

“It brings in high-end town homes to downtown Winter Garden, which is a product we don’t have right now,” said Winter Garden Community Development Director Steve Pash about the benefits the development offers.

The Heritage at Plant Street PUD’s 43 town homes will transition into 41 single-family homes on the north side of the property. The number of town homes was reduced after the original development proposal, which included 108 town home units, sparked concerns during a community meeting held in January. Neighbors complained the development would be much denser than surrounding residential communities and might potentially affect property values, resulting in the elimination of more than half of the town homes.

Twenty-five of those 43 town homes are located directly adjacent to Plant Street and, if built as part of the original construction, will be allowed to have a granny flat of about 400 square feet on top of a detached garage.

The community’s amenities will include associated streets and vehicular alleys, pedestrian walks, entrance design features, a centrally located recreation area with a swimming pool, a golf cart access path onto Donald Drive, extra parking for guests and retention ponds with fountain features. 

M.I. Homes, which developed the Winter Garden community Stonecrest and is in the process of constructing Hickory Hammock, will make 5.84 acres of the property shared open space. It also will include a solid perimeter wall to serve as a buffer to the north and add landscape buffering along with a perimeter fence in the east and west boundaries of the property.

Pash said the minimum size for the town homes will be 1,500 square feet and 1,700 square feet for the single-family homes. However, he believes the majority of the single-family residences will likely end up being about 2,300 to 2,400 square feet.

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Contact Gabby Baquero at [email protected].