Windermere Village plans thrill residents

WINDERMERE  In a rare turn of events, residents at a March 31 Orange County community meeting at Windermere Elementary School commended and applauded a development applicant seeking a significant change request.

The applicant, Kurt Ardaman of Fishback Dominick Law, said the changes to the subject property at the northeast corner of the intersection of Winter Garden-Vineland and Ficquette roads were enough to qualify under that definition but minor.

This 9.57-acre parcel, known as Chancellor at Windermere, would border the site of the relief high school for West Orange High to the north and Oxford Moor to the east.

Within a deviation from the initial 2011 plan regarding 49,999 square feet of commercial and office space, the development team hopes to construct a shopping center called Windermere Village catty-corner to Cornerstone at Summerport shopping center in Horizon West. The most significant change would be having a 13,013-square-foot CVS and a 21,400-square-foot Fresh Market as main tenants to accompany 15,586 square feet of smaller commercial spaces – three large buildings in lieu of six smaller buildings.

"The day of mom-and-pop stores is over,” said Marc Skorman, president of Skorman Construction, the proposed builder of this project. “All of these have been overtaken by the big boxes." He also said there would be no intention of hindering Cornerstone, just a desire to provide what fits in the community via more upscale tenants.

Several residents agreed, noting The Fresh Market would be a welcome option in an area low on grocer choice. Multiple comments along this line drew generous applause.

The Fresh Market would be on the eastern side, with a retention pond between it and Oxford Moor. CVS would be on the western side, near the intersection, in a style inspired by Midwestern CVS stores not common in this area, developers said. A series of smaller commercial entities with outdoor dining capabilities would be in the middle of the southern edge of the plot, with a square park in the center of a parking lot containing about 5.5 parking spaces per 1,000 square feet. Another park would center on a second retention pond with a fountain and a pavilion east of the building that would house the myriad smaller tenants, just across one of two entry points on the southern edge with full left-turn access. The other entrance would be on the western side, near a drive-through for the CVS.

Among tenants developers are considering for the smaller spaces are a steak and martini place, a 310 Restaurant, Graffiti Junktion, pizza shops, Italian ice vendors, dry cleaners, fitness centers, Verizon Wireless, Victory Martial Arts and nail salons, Skorman Construction Vice President Kevin Skorman said. He also said the central park could be a live entertainment space or whatever the community would like for regular events, such as farmers markets.

“It will be a strong financial success with strong community support,” Kevin Skorman said, noting disdain for vacancies.

Although not definite, further county meetings on this proposal could occur in about two-and-a-half months, county staff said.

Contact Zak Kerr at [email protected].