Oakland approves Turnpike Commerce Park design project

The Oakland Town Commission unanimously approved Tuesday, April 28, a project design for a mixed industrial flex space at 16360 W. Colonial Drive.

Turnpike Commerce Park will be located on 13.8 acres of land, with four 40,040-square-foot buildings, facing State Road 50 to the north and Florida’s Turnpike to the south. 

Tenants can vary, meaning there will be office spaces for administration, retail, e-commerce, as well as for building materials, packaging, home improvement, etc.

Town Planner Taylor Hague said the property owner brought a project, which was approved to become a storage facility, to the commission in 2021. 

This new proposal would override the already-approved plan from 2021. 

Developer Drew Thigpen said project highlights include the investment of $34 million to deliver this project, which will provide the town with an estimated $800,000 annually in tax revenue. 

“We’re excited about the opportunity to be here in Oakland,” Thigpen said. “I think that this type of product is something that would really fit well here and serve to fill a bit of a void here, currently.” 

He said the project also will be constructed in one phase rather than multiple. 

“We have analyzed the inherit demand at this location and are very confident in the ability for these 160,000 square feet to be absorbed in a single phase,” Thigpen said. 

He said the development also is set in terms of finances — securing all the equity and debt necessary for this project’s entire budget. 

Thigpen said they are entirely committed to creating and keeping jobs in Oakland. 

Commissioners also approved variances for the project, including an extra 8,000 square feet per building; lowering parking spaces provided; replacing the brick screening wall required due to adjacency to residential with a 15-inch landscape buffer; approving a perpendicular building orientation to the primary frontage line rather than parallel; and allowing upper-level clerestory windows. 

Commissioner Kris Keller said this proposal is a better alternative to what was approved in 2021. 

A shared concern among commissioners was about the entryway being too tight. 

Mayor Shane Taylor said the entryway should be wider and larger because of trucks and semis entering the premises. 

The design was approved, though it is subject to all necessary approvals from Orange County, Hague said.   

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

Commissioners also approved the first reading of a telecommunication tower ordinance.

Town Manager Elise Hui gave a presentation on the matter, stating there’s a lack of signal in the downtown area, which can be addressed through this ordinance by amending the current Land Development Code. 

The hope is to amend the code, which currently limits cell towers to industrial zones, and allow telecommunication towers to be placed on town-owned property zoned R-1A as a special exception. 

The new tower would be located behind the current public safety building. 

Another amendment includes increasing the height limit of towers from 100 feet to 150 feet, which would enhance coverage and reduce the number of necessary facilities. 

Hui said this ordinance also would create a minimum required distance between towers of 1.5 miles, rather than the current 2 miles. She said the proposed location and the current tower’s location are 1.8 miles apart. 

Finally, the ordinance would require monopole towers, designed to promote lower-profile, streamlined structures, reducing the visual impact in neighborhoods. 

“We wouldn’t be looking at towers that are disguised as trees,” Hui said. “We wouldn’t be looking at the aerial structures that have all the guy wires.” 

She said the telecommunication tower is a need for public safety, emergency communications and municipal operations. 

Police Chief Darron Esan agreed. 

“The school is a really tough spot for our police radios to work, and that cell tower will really, really help us,” he said. “For the safety of officers and responding to any emergencies, that would help us.”

The second and final reading is scheduled for Tuesday, May 12. 

TOWN RECEIVES $2M 

Town commissioners unanimously authorized Mayor Shane Taylor to sign a grant agreement with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection providing an additional $2 million to the Briley Avenue Septic to Sewer project. 

According to meeting documents, Oakland received $1.5 million from FDEP for this project in November 2025. 

“While this funding was instrumental in getting started, it fell short of providing enough for the entire project,” the document read. 

Staff then applied for another grant and received it. 

“This was certainly unexpected, but nonetheless we were delighted to receive it,” the document said. “Staff worked with the FDEP for several months to develop a suitable, construction-oriented work plan.” 

Now signed, the grant will provide funding for the next phase of continued elimination of septic systems within the community. 

TEACHERS RECOGNIZED

Photo by Leticia Silva

Taylor proclaimed Monday, May 4, to Friday, May 8, as Teacher Appreciation week in the town of Oakland. 

Taylor recognized the teachers at Oakland Avenue Charter School, thanking them for their hard work in shaping the future citizens of Oakland. 

Vice Mayor Michael Satterfiled, who also is the chairperson of the School Advisory Committee for OACS, said teachers have made the town proud for more than 20 years. 

“Over and over again you have shown the dedication to our children, ensuring they get the best possible education you could,” he said to teachers. “Every day, in and out, you go above and beyond to make sure of this. I know we probably don’t say it often enough but trust me, we appreciate you so much. You are truly heroes of our town and the West Orange community as a whole.”