Developer proposes eight towers for Mount Dora
With a proposal to build 1.7 million square feet of commercial and office space and 1,375 residential units across eight buildings on State Road 46, a local developer is planning to bring Lake County its tallest mixed-use project ever.
But Mount Dora elected officials are questioning whether high-rise towers stretching 12 to 21 stories — taller than the Statue of Liberty, and many of the structures found in downtown Orlando — belong in this city.
Leaders with Apopka-based Amco Development say they have no choice but to build up on a topographically challenging 33-acre site they purchased in November that has a 70-foot elevation change from north to south.
Going vertical is the only way, they say, to work all of these components into a “live, work, play” concept that promises to create thousands of new jobs while kickstarting development activity in the city’s longawaited Wolf Branch Innovation District, located a short drive east of downtown Mount Dora.
Amco anticipates investing $980 million into the effort, including a payout of $32 million in impact fees to the city and county.
The plan calls for a 100,000-squarefoot convention center, 325 hotel rooms, a 60,000-square-foot medical office, a 125,000-square-foot self-storage facility, a preschool, an underground parking garage, and a 5.2-acre man-made lake with walking trails and outdoor fitness equipment accessible to the public and residents.
The commercial components include a 24,500-square-foot food market space, a number of restaurants, and a specialty grocery store totaling about 55,000 square feet.
Residential units would be divided among apartments, condominiums, and a senior living facility.
“This is a huge deal for Mount Dora,” Aaron Hakim, the land developer with Amco told the council at the Jan. 17 meeting. “This is a legacy project. This is a destination. I think this will complement the city of Mount Dora. We just got to figure out how to make this work. I’m trying to do everything I can to do that.”
After hours of discussion, the city commission voted 6-1 in favor of the project at its first reading, but they want to see some changes, particularly in regard to building height, when it comes back for a final vote in
Amco originally proposed buildings as tall as 350 feet for its mixed-use project, but it was scaled back to 310 feet following a recommendation by the city’s planning and zoning commission.
The planning and zoning commission, and city staff, recommended the council approve the project with new reduced heights.
But 310 feet is still out of reach for members of the council.
“I think it’s an amazing plan, but not necessarily for Mount Dora,” councilman Dennis Dawson said. “It’s great for maybe Orlando or Maitland, but even at 300 feet it is 300 percent over what the innovation district calls for. “
New Apopka community planned
After entering into the Central Florida housing scene a few years ago with a land buy in Clermont, Minnesota-based Summergate Development wants in on the residential construction erupting in Apopka’s Kelly Park Interchange District.
The land development company is prepping 41 acres of property to the west of the Rock Springs Golf Course community, east of Plymouth Sorrento Road, for a 79-home subdivision called Acuera Estates.
Summergate intends to get all of the necessary approvals in place for a subdivision with 75-foot lots and then develop and market the finished lots to a home builder.
“Apopka is just blowing up,” Jim Atkinson, the senior land specialist with the company’s new Clermont office, told GrowthSpotter. “It’s got great access to S.R. 429 there. We like the whole Kelly Park interchange. I’m glad that we could get our foot in the door and get some business going there.”
The project has been in the pipeline for more than a year. The Apopka City Commission approved a rezoning request for the two subject parcels in early December 2021, switching the land use from transitional to planned development.
The city’s development review committee gave final approval to construction plans drafted by Kimley-Horn in August.
On Jan. 19, Summergate submitted a permit application to the St. Johns River Water Management District related to the project. The company has not yet acquired the land.
According to deed and property records, Evergreen Settlement, a company that provides real estate and title services, currently owns both parcels. An entity managed by Susan Chang, the company’s president, has owned the largest of the two tracts since 2009 when she bought it for $1.025 million.