Maitland City Talk

This column first was published in the Orlando Sentinel on Nov. 25, 2014.

On Nov. 17 a combined Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and Maitland City Council meeting approved the first of three potential downtown development projects that will bring vitality, activity and commerce into the city of Maitland downtown area for all residents to enjoy. The approval of this project is an exciting and historic event for Maitland and will help to move our community forward with exciting development opportunities in the years to come.

The newly approved development, Maitland City Centre, is a $65 million mixed-use project featuring restaurants, retail shops, a unique shopping arcade, and an array of office and residential units. The planned construction promises to transform the old Winn-Dixie site between U. S. Highway 17-92 and Independence Lane into a bustling downtown area that will be the site of events, sidewalk cafés, and festivals. It will become a gathering center for shoppers and diners alike. The project will also help transition Independence Lane into a “festival street” that can be closed to traffic to facilitate art shows, street parties and other special events. Maitland City Centre will be a place for our citizens to gather as well as a destination place for visitors from throughout Central Florida.

The architectural style of Maitland City Centre will be Mediterranean, similar to the Maitland City Hall located across the street on Independence Lane. Associated Consulting International, which designed City Hall, is the architect for this new project and has created a design that introduces a variety of from one to five stories in height and an interesting array of design elements that provide the project with appealing features and characteristics. The upper floors will consist mostly of one- and two-bedroom residential units in addition to live/work units.

The Maitland City Center development team is headed by David Lamm, a respected local builder and developer who, over the years, has completed a number of projects in the Maitland area. This will be his largest project to date.

I would like to thank our city staff and advisory boards for their tireless work in helping to make this project possible. I also want to thank our CRA Board and the City Council for their dedication in negotiating the developer’s agreement and for having the courage to make this exciting downtown development a reality.

I want to thank all residents, pro and con, for their participation in the development process and for, in some cases, waiting many hours in public meetings before being able to express their views and hear voting results.

Now as Maitland City Centre moves forward it is time for all of us to come together as a community and to embrace and support this and other projects that will define our community in the future. I am looking forward to meeting many of you in our newly rejuvenated downtown and together enjoying the restaurants, retail shops and pedestrian friendly environment that it will create.