Winter Park debates fate of Progress Point site

The fate of one abandoned Winter Park property is still uncertain.

A proposal to place an assisted living/memory care facility at the former Progress Point site along Orange Avenue received mixed reactions last Monday from Winter Park City Commissioners as they debated whether the project made sense for the surrounding area.

The 86,985-square-foot assisted living facility proposed by ROC Seniors would include 82 assisted living apartments and 32 memory-care units, along with a new a 6,000-square-foot restaurant space.

The project would also mean new jobs, with 135 full-time employees expected to be hired between the assisted living facility and the restaurant.

But Mayor Steve Leary said the project doesn’t fit in with the immediate area — a commercial corridor that sits at one of the city’s main entryways at the six-way intersection of Orange Avenue, Denning Drive and Minnesota Avenue.

“I don’t think a senior assisted living facility in the heart of our design corridor [makes sense],” Leary said.

“A memory care unit is not going to be impacting those services…. This, to me, is so outside what this corridor is that I can’t support it.”

Other City Commissioners said they believed the opposite.

“I’m quite comfortable with it,” Commissioner Carolyn Cooper said. “I think the memory care serves a need that this community has.”

The former Progress Point site has sat abandoned since the city obtained the property in 2011. A dilapidated brick building still stands at the triangle-shaped property.

More discussion arose over the price of the land. Winter Park was offered $4.5 million for the property by ROC Seniors only to learn later that the property was appraised at $5 million.

Leary said the city needs to do a much better job of putting property on the market to receive more offers.

“I think the process is a bit broken to be honest,” Leary said, mentioning that hiring a broker to assist the city might be for the best

The proposed assisted living facility received mixed reactions from residents as well.

“I do not believe an assisted living facility is an appropriate use of this property,” said Winter Park resident and former mayor David Johnston.

“I think when someone is living in the final years of their life, they would prefer living in a beautiful setting without the noise of heavily traveled roads that surround this property and the adjacent railroad track that has frequent daily train traffic.”

Other Winter Park residents like Kim Allen said the assisted living facility would provide the economic boost the busy corridor is looking for.

“Something I continue to hear is that we need feet on the street,” Allen said.

“Assisted living is 50 and above and they’re very active. You’re going to see people activate this corridor and they’re going to have money that will come back into the community.”

Members of the city’s Economic Development Advisory Board agreed, giving the project the thumbs up at their meeting last month.

The City Commission voted to table the item to allow the city’s Planning and Zoning Board to meet with staff to discuss the best use for the property. ROC Seniors will also meet with city staff to see if the gap can be bridged between the asking price and the appraisal.