O-Town Boardwalk developer seeks project change

The Orange County Board of County Commissioners will consider an amendment regarding the O-Town Boardwalk development in its upcoming meeting Tuesday, June 23.

The request by applicant Jim Hall, of Hall Development Services Inc., is to amend the future land-use map from Planned Development — Commercial/Medium-High Density Residential/Activity Center Mixed Use to Planned Development — Commercial/Office/Medium-High Density Residential/Activity Center Mixed Use.

The applicant also requested for a waiver from Section 38-1393 of the Orange County Code to allow for a maximum height of 200 feet for non-residential development for Tract 4, in lieu of the proximity-based requirements. 

“The primary change for this proposal is the addition of office,” said county planner Alyssa Henriquez in a video presentation. “The applicant is proposing a development program of 165 hotel rooms, 314,000 square feet of office uses and 50,000 square feet of commercial uses on the 7.09-acre property.”

Changing the land use to incorporate office was triggered after a developer dropped out. The space now will become the corporate headquarters for the division of Marriott that oversees its vacation properties, said Orange County Chief Planner Greg Golgowski.

“What they had before for this particular parcel was a commercial complex that was centered around a lake with fountains — kind of an attraction/commercial center,” Golgowski said. “As I understand the developer for that bailed out last fall, so they’ve been able to find Marriott to come in as a replacement, so it’ll be office. Which is significant for the county — it’s a big employer.”

Furthermore, the applicant also asked to include a single timeshare unit, although Henriquez noted it was included as a placeholder to allow for that use to be considered on the property in the future. No timeshare unit has been proposed for development, she said.

The property itself sits adjacent to Interstate 4 — in the southwestern portion of Orange County — and on the east side of Palm Parkway at the intersection with Darryl Carter Parkway.

The O-Town Boardwalk is a part of the 86.64-acre Hannah Smith Property Planned Development that — when completed — will have 100 hotel rooms, 120 timeshare units, 1,300 multi-family residential units and 415,142 square feet of commercial uses.

Along with the changes looking to be made, the county will consider project-related impacts and concerns regarding traffic, public schools, environment and development compatibility.

“When a project causes adverse transportation impacts, an applicant may have to mitigate those impacts through a negotiated agreement with the county before any permits for construction can be issued,” Henriquez said. “In this case there are several roadway segments that are failing within the project’s impact area.

“Turkey Lake Road has multiple failing segments, which include the area from Central Florida Parkway to Sand Lake Road, Vineland Avenue from State Road 535 to Little Lake Bryan, as well as Winter Garden Vineland Road — from Interstate 4 to Buena Vista,” she said. “There will be no change to the number of p.m. peak trips generated by the change in land use.”

Regarding public schools, Henriquez said because the applicant is not seeking any additional residential units, there will be no impact on schools.