More Development in Dr. Phillips
by Debra Wood
Developers are planning to transform the former Yogi Bear Campground into Eden Springs Resort, a high-density apartment complex with commercial space, and have already obtained a land-use change to the county’s Comprehensive Plan.
Neighbors in Bay Vista Estates, Sand Lake Cove and other subdivisions have expressed concern on social media regarding the addition of a high-density project on the lakefront site, including where the children living in the apartments would attend school and the traffic the project would generate.
Roy Messinger, co-founder of the Southern Dr. Phillips Homeowners Coalition, said if the developer wants to be compatible with the neighborhood, it should construct a residential apartment that is consistent with those that have been approved in the past four years, which is 17.59 units per acre. Eden Springs would have about 28 units per acre, if the entire 9.98 parcel is considered in calculation.
Eden Springs
DCS Real Estate Capital Investments in West Palm Beach owns the property at 9200 Turkey Lake Road, north of Sandlake Commons and Dr. P. Phillips Hospital and south of Walmart. RG Development and Investments in Montverde is the developer. According to Randall Greene’s LinkedIn page, he is CEO of RG Development and a managing partner of Bella Collina in Lake County. The site indicates Greene has worked with DCS Real Estate on other developments, including Bella Collina.
Developers want to build high-density apartments at the former Yogi Bear Campground.
Miranda Fitzgerald of the law firm Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed in Orlando serves as the applicant for the Eden Springs project.
The six-story apartment building will house 286 one-, two- and three-bedroom units, with a restriction that stays must be 180 days or longer. The building would sit back 50 feet from Big Sand Lake, with no setback on Boo Boo Lake, sometimes referred to as Mirror Lake on maps, which is almost entirely on the property. The developer estimates 74 students will live in the apartments. Also planned for the 64-acre property are hotels and big-box retail stores.
The 9.98-acre parcel set to become apartments was zoned commercial for a 329-unit timeshare, with the same six-story height, and a spa and recreational area.
The Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved a Comprehensive Plan amendment for the parcel to high-density residential June 28. The Development Review Committee discussed the rezoning July 27, and it was recommended for approval, subject to a revised plan being submitted. It is considered a substantial change and will be scheduled for a public hearing in front of the Board of County Commissioners at a yet-to-be-determined date.
Rialto 2
Further north on Turkey Lake Road, just north of Sand Lake Road, Wood Partners, developer of The Rialto on Sand Lake Road, continues its quest to convert a commercial parcel on Turkey Lake Road at Spring Lake to multifamily to build 325 residential units in a six-story complex called Rialto 2, opposed by nearby homeowners. The site, in the Majorca Planned Development, just south of Toscana, reaches into Spring Lake and was sold to Wpff Majorca Land Investor, at the address of Wood Partners of Atlanta, in July 2015.
More than 1,000 Dr. Phillips residents sent emails or signed petitions opposing the county changing the land use for the 10.87 usable acres. Wood Partners pulled the application, due to the lack of citizen support for the land-use change needed.
Now the city is considering an involuntary annexation. By being an involuntary annexation, initiated by the municipality, the city bypasses the need to obtain approval from the Board of County Commissioners and the voting residents of the Dr. Phillips Urban Preservation District.
A parcel report depicts where the future Rialto 2 would be located (photo courtesy Rick Singh, CFA, Orange County Property Appraiser).
The city unanimously approved the annexation July 11. Ed Chittenden of Toscana, Charles Norman of St. Ives, and Messinger of Emerald Forest testified at the hearing as being opposed to it. A second reading is necessary for passage.
On July 25, County Commissioner Scott Boyd asked the city to defer the hearing for 30 days to give the city and county staff members and developer time to work out some issues relating to the annexation. That motion passed, and the second reading was scheduled for Aug. 29. It was then deferred until Oct. 24.
A public hearing will be held Sept. 15 at the Orange County Local Planning Agency, before the Board of County Commissioners meet Oct. 4.
Messinger expressed concern that if the city annexes this property, what might it try to annex in the Dr. Phillips area next?
Toscana residents also are concerned about Universal Orlando Resort’s Volcano Bay. The water park is being built near Turkey Lake Road. In fact, one of the water slide tubes is so close, drivers think it is hanging over the street. The land was already part of Universal’s master plan, with amusement park uses allowed.💓