Winter Park board considers vacating Palmetto Avenue

Winter Park might cut a road down to size if it means making a city property easier to sell.

The Winter Park Planning and Zoning Board met with the Economic Development Advisory Board on Tuesday to discuss how to better market the Progress Point site, a property owned by the city that has long been abandoned.

Winter Park acquired the 3.73-acre property from Progress Point LLC back in 2011. The parcel sits at the southwest corner of the six-way intersection of Orange Avenue, Denning Drive and Minnesota Avenue.

Board members inquired about vacating the section of Palmetto Avenue that cuts right between the two parcels of the Progress Point property, a move that would lump the site into one parcel and potentially make it more attractive to buyers.

But local merchants farther down Palmetto Avenue have spoken against vacating the section of road in the past. The original land swap deal that resulted in the city owning the Progress Point property had the potential of doing just that back in 2011, potentially turning the road into a parking lot.

A parade of residents came to the podium speaking against that condition, claiming that it could hurt local businesses due to lack of traffic flow.

“We’d be relegated to drive through a parking lot,” said Jim Lee, owner of an office building off of Palmetto Avenue.

“I’d be OK with realigning the road, but abandoning it is not a good idea. I feel it would devalue my property.”

Former Mayor Allen Trovillion feared the road closure would hurt him as well.

“My property has been there on the railroad side – for 50-some years I’ve been there,” Trovillion said. “If this is done, I would absolutely be out of business.”

Winter Park has had trouble selling the abandoned property. So far the city has only received one offer: a proposal by ROC Seniors late last year to build an assisted living/memory care facility with a restaurant space.

The 86,985-square-foot assisted living facility would include 82 assisted living apartments and 32 memory-care units, while also creating 132 new full-time jobs.

But Planning and Zoning Board Member Peter Gottfried said that an assisted living facility isn’t the best use for a property right at a Winter Park gateway.

“I personally think we ought to get the highest and best use out of this property,” he said.

“I don’t think assisted living is appropriate here.”

The two boards agreed to continue investigating what use would fit best on the property, requesting that city staff provide more information on the parcel’s potential.