Maitland won't sell lot, developer drops out

Maitland’s dream downtown may be down to just one development, with the City Council opting not to sell off city property to make a proposed parking garage project possible.

For now, the approved project of mixed-use commercial and residential buildings on the old Winn-Dixie and New Traditions Bank Plaza properties will be all that rises from Maitland’s downtown. On Monday, Jan. 12, the City Council voted to deny proposed developer Scott Ryan the ability to purchase Maitland’s old city hall site, which Ryan said left his project dead in the water. He said owning the land — not just leasing it from the city — was the lynch pin for his development’s future success.

A third project, which was closely tied in with Ryan’s project and would have put a specialty grocery and bank on the northwest corner of Horatio Avenue and U.S. Highway 17-92, has so far failed to procure the land needed to bring the plans into plausible reality just yet, said Maitland Community Development Director Dick Wells. But a new deal on that project, he said, could come to light in the coming weeks.

The proposed mixed-use-fronted parking garage project presented by Ryan met resistance from residents wanting to preserve the old city hall site, which currently sits as a parking lot, as parkland.

Resident Terry Johnson presented the Council with a petition signed by 1,200 residents supporting the idea of declaring the old city hall site as a park.

“The center of Maitland should be a park, not a parking garage,” he said.

Other residents argued that with such a small developable area downtown, with other parks such as Lake Lily and Quinn Strong just blocks away, the old city hall site would be better utilized with parking and commercial redevelopment.

“I’m concerned if we don’t do this we might not get a downtown. You might get one project, but not a downtown,” said resident and local architect Butch Charlan.

Mayor Howard Schieferdecker also spoke out in favor of selling the old city hall land in exchange for the benefits that come from the city’s potential use of the proposed parking garage, “It’s an amazing deal,” he said. Schieferdecker placed the only “nay” vote when asked to deny selling the land.

Wells said the land is now set to stay as it is – a parking lot – until someone comes in and proposes otherwise.

“Now its off the radar until someone else decides they want to try to do something with it,” he said.

The old city hall site is not currently open for bids, Wells said, with the last open proposal period closing in April of last year. The City Council would have to vote to begin accepting bids again in order for more proposals to come in, he said.

Ryan still has the option of continuing with his proposed project, if he decides leasing – not owning – the property would work for his investors.