FORECAST: Progress and construction coming to City Center West Orange

OCOEE Hints of construction can be sighted just south of downtown Ocoee.

Trees have been cleared on a swath of land between Maine Street and Lake Bennet. Dirt is being sculpted and flattened.

For years, talk of City Center West Orange has circulated in and around West Orange County. But now the construction vehicles are mobilizing.

“I’m just excited to see it happening,” said Joel Keller, chair of the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency board. “It’s been a long time coming. Now, it’s finally off the drawing boards and a reality.”

The plans for the City Center began nearly 10 years ago when the CRA began assessing how to best use its three target areas around the city.

According to the CRA’s development plan from 2010, target area 2 - the site of City Center West Orange - had “the potential to accommodate mixed-use retail, office and residential building between two and five stories within a fine-grained network of urban streets.” 

So when David Townsend, chief executive officer of Park Development Corporation, decided to take on the project of developing the city center five years ago, it spelled new excitement for the City of Ocoee.

“It just fell into our lap,” said Ocoee City Planner Mike Rumer. “A project like this we did not envision, but because of the pre-planning, it allowed this to happen. This is highest and best use (of the area).”

But before any buildings can begin to take shape, the structural bones must be set up.

“Currently, they’re going to start site construction building the roads and stormwater pond,” Rumer said. “All you’re going to see are roads going in for eight or nine months.”

Once that infrastructure is mostly in place, likely sometime in August, Townsend said they will turn their attention to constructing the building.

“The building - floors, walls and ceilings - is built off-site and then trucked to the site,” Townsend said. 

The goal, he said, is to have 50% of phase two of the project complete by the end of 2017.

“It’s a wonderful project,” Townsend said. “The city has been very supportive. We expect great things.”

TRAFFIC CONCERNS

One of the biggest concerns about the development of City Center West Orange is the increased traffic to that area.

"Everyone wants to know how we’re going to take care of the traffic," said Ocoee Mayor Rusty Johnson. “We’re presetting the system’s infrastructure to get ready for all this. If you come plop (City Center West Orange) in and not have the roads, we’re in trouble.”

To resolve traffic issues before they even begin, the city decided to create a block system for City Center.

“A block can move more vehicles than one four-lane road,” said Rumer.

And to keep the traffic moving, Maine Street, which will move traffic east and west through the city center, will end at Blackwood Avenue on its eastern end and South Bluford Avenue on its western end. 

Maine Street will also be extended in the coming months to connect between South Bluford Avenue and Maguire Road.

“That will allow people to not only outlet onto Bluford, but they can also get to Maguire,” Rumer said. “It’ll create a nice east-west bypass of (State Road) 50, so you can get to downtown Winter Garden without being on 50.”

There is also talks of creating a southern outlet from City Center West Orange at some point that will flow traffic directly to West Colonial Drive.

With all these coming updates in road infrastructures, both Rumer and Johnson are confident that traffic won’t be an issue once the city center opens for business.

LONG-TERM OUTLOOK

By the time City Center West Orange is complete, it will include 1,720 condominium and apartment homes, 400,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space and another 200,000 square feet of office space.

“I think it’s finally the take-off of that CRA area,” Keller said. “It shows the economy is coming back. I think you’re going to see a lot of positive growth, and you’re going to see more people attracted to the area.”

Although buildout is still years away, one of the largest impacts the city hopes to see in the next several years is a boost in the local economy.

During construction, the project will create an estimated 5,000 jobs, Townsend said.

After buildout, the city center itself is expected to create up to 4,000 jobs. 

But it’s not just the new jobs that has Johnson excited. The tax revenue from both new residents and commercial properties will help stimulate the city’s finances.

“It will be an economic fund for the city,” Johnson said. “That’s one of the things we’re trying to catch up on - economic development with our commercial areas to help subsidize the city. Winter Garden has had a beautiful commercial area for years, so there’s a lot more funding coming in (for them). Now, we’re trying to work towards getting that back.”

And with the goal of revitalizing Ocoee without raising taxes, having an increased revenue will help with future projects, Johnson said. 

“To have this project, it will pay,” he said. “If people living there are paying taxes, we’ll get a portion of it back. So that also builds back up. It helps us set our basic budget up.”

BOLSTERING OCOEE

City Center West Orange is constantly referred to as a future “destination location” that will not only feature a variety of stores and restaurants but also a walkway along Lake Bennet.

 “You’ve got your shops, your food,” Johnson said. “There’s going to be a grocery store; there will be drug stores; there will be recreation facilities. Everything will be at that place.”

As a result, Ocoee residents may not have to drive as far to find quality dining or entertainment. 

In 2009, the City of Ocoee conducted a study to find out how far their residents travel to get a meal or find entertainment. The study found that, on average, most Ocoee residents drive between five and 14 miles for dinner or a movie, mostly due to the lack of options within their own city limits.

“Sometimes you want to eat without driving to Winter Garden or Fowler Groves,” Johnson said. “They want to go somewhere local, and that’s what we’re working to get.”

In addition to boosting the dining and entertainment scene in town, Johnson said he hopes the city center will attract more young families to the area.

“I’ve been told that millennials like more of this type of living,” he said about City Center of West Orange’s more urban vibe.

But even for retirees who don’t want the maintenance of a house and lawn any more, living in a condo within walking distance to amenities might be more appealing, said Johnson, who suggested that he found the idea appealing himself. 

And with the ongoing expansions at Health Central Hospital drawing more employees to the area, more families can live, work and play in Ocoee.

But ultimately, City Center West Orange is all about maintaining that small-town charm while helping Ocoee grow.

“It gives citizens a pride in their own (town),” Johnson said. “I just think it’s a win,win for the city, and it’ll be a win, win for the citizens.”

Contact Brittany Gaines at [email protected].