Luxury houses proposed for Ruby Lake PD

Developers from VHB presented a reduced plan of about 125 luxury homes.

By Zak Kerr
| 11:39 p.m. November 18, 2015

The yellow outline around Lake Ruby is the area in which developers want to build about 125 luxury homes.

Southwest Orange
News

DR. PHILLIPS Locals at the Nov. 18 meeting at Sand Lake Elementary said they were prepared to fight any problems they had with a proposal for development around Lake Ruby.

I-4 ULTIMATE UPDATE

District 1 Orange County Commissioner S. Scott Boyd told residents at the meeting that on November 17, the Board of County Commissioners approved funding for a study to evaluate an interim I-4 interchange at Daryl Carter Parkway near attractions. FDOT has agreed to initiate an analysis to assess the viability of constructing an interim interchange, proposing that the analysis be included in the ongoing I-4 Systems Access Modification Report, Boyd said. The interim flyover could be complete within seven years, he said.

This project, if constructed, will serve as a temporary interchange until the Beyond the Ultimate I-4 project is fully constructed, which could be 15 years away and cost $70 million, he said. The interim interchange would include two ramps that tie into the existing Daryl Carter Parkway overpass and access Turkey Lake Road/Palm Parkway and Daryl Carter Parkway from I-4. The Beyond the Ultimate interchange is more complex with toll lanes, full access and constructed transit corridor, Boyd said.

Expanding from I-4 to South Apopka-Vineland Road is an option county leaders are considering, he said.

But once they heard the proposal, one resident remarked that there was nothing to fight about.

VHB Inc. developers presented a plan to construct about 125 luxury homes on 17 specific acres at a 160-acre site at 7701 Palm Parkway, citing a desire to avoid adding apartments or excess traffic in the area. They are requesting a change in the future land use from Activity Center uses to Low-Medium Density Residential — 10 dwelling units per acre. This would drop their number of units from 850 to 400, and that change would have to affect the whole parcel as a legality. Developer Jim Hall said the change would be necessary to legally avoid a minimum development requirement of about 850 units.

The area would consist mainly of houses priced between $600,000 and $800,000, as well as town homes in the $400,000 to $600,000 range. The developers would forfeit their current ability to put commercial or office space in.

“There are some three-story town homes that are occurring now that would be probably 40 to 45 feet, but they’re out here next to Palm Parkway,” Hall said. “It’s next to the 14-story building. We don’t really see it being that big of a deal.”

Lake Ruby serves as a retention pond for the area.

Contact Zak Kerr at [email protected].