Maitland makes way for new development

As Maitland City Council members picked apart the details of a development deal that would fell the city’s last orange grove, the old, dilapidated Winn-Dixie property that served as an eyesore for decades laid in pieces across the street from city hall. The building – along with the plaza next-door – is being demolished to make way for the city’s new downtown.

The “out with the old and in with the new” sentiment is reaching westward across the city as well.

A contentious 3-2 vote on Monday sent plans forward to replace the orange grove and a portion of wetlands that sit between lakes Hope, Faith and Charity and Maitland Boulevard with pond, a 10-acre passive park, 350 multi-family luxury residential units, 150,000 square feet of retail space, and as much as 30,000 square feet of office space. The Maitland City Council will begin its second, and final, hearing on the Maitland Concourse North project on Jan. 25.

“I’m encouraged that we’re moving in the direction of something,” said Councilman Ivan Valdes.

By then, the area surrounding Maitland’s City Hall will have a much different landscape. The Winn-Dixie property, along with the old New Traditions Plaza, which served as a home to the New Traditions Bank as well as Subway and Jeremiah’s, will be nothing but rubble. Demolition on the buildings began Jan. 7 to make room for Maitland’s first revitalized downtown development, Maitland City Centre, which will include a 220-unit apartment building, 42,000-square-feet of retail space, a 503-space parking garage, and a 41-space surface parking lot.

The current debate regarding the Maitland Concourse North project focuses on whether or not the proposed plans comply with the city’s Comprehensive Development Plan. In November, Maitland’s Planning & Zoning Commission voted 3-1 that it didn’t meet CDP requirements and recommended that the City Council deny the development plans. On Monday, Councilmembers Bev Reponen and Joy Goff-Marcil agreed, both voting against the project.

“It’s not the village concept that we were wanting for our city, especially with new development,” Goff-Marcil said.

“There are things that are good about this, but the main thing is, does it follow our rules?” Reponen asked. “…Right now I’d say it doesn’t follow the most important ones to me.”

Those rules, she said, included necessary flood-plain setbacks and wetland protections.

For months, Maitland Concourse North developers have been working to address local residents’ concerns about the development’s proposed impact on the area’s wetlands. Original plans called for filling in 3 acres of low-grade wetlands that border Lake Charity, but developers have since cut that amount by one-third. Developers insist that filling in the wetlands to create their planned retention pond will improve water quality in surrounding lakes and decrease flood risk.

Marc Walsh, a member of Maitland’s Lakes Advisory Board, said the developers have addressed his concerns about the development’s impact on the lakes and that he’s now in support of the project.

“It’s probably the best compromise I’ve seen of any projects I’ve seen in 30 years here,” Walsh said.

But Councilwoman Goff-Marcil said she is still skeptical.

“I still don’t see why we can’t move the pond over and out of the wetlands,” she said.

And other residents say additional issues have also left them unconvinced, a major one being whether the development fits in with the surrounding area’s residential scale and character.

“How can a huge strip mall … be considered residential scale and character?” asked resident Leona Owens.

“Our neighborhood, the surrounding neighborhood around this project should not be penalized; we should not be the sacrificial lambs for the big-dollar-sign developer,” she added.

Goff-Marcil said she felt like the city was being bullied to accept the project, despite it being incongruous with city code.

“What is upsetting to me is that… I feel like we’re being bullied into something that isn’t in our comp plan,” Goff-Marcil said.

Developer representative Micky Grindstaff alluded to the Council that even if they voted the project down on Monday, it likely wouldn’t be the last time they heard from the developers. No matter which way the decision went, Mayor Dale McDonald echoed the thought that the city could face lawsuits from those on the losing end.

In the end, Councilman Ivan Valdes motioned to “give [the developer] a fighting chance,” by moving the project on to a second hearing.

“Our job is not to derail this project, but to make it the best it can be,” Valdes said.

Maitland City Council members will continue discussions regarding the Maitland Concourse North project at their meeting on Jan. 25.