Maitland-based E2L Real Estate Solutions will head a public-privately partnered development in the Midtown CRA
Ten years after its inception, the oft-maligned Midtown Redevelopment project finally has a developer, E2L Real Estate Solutions, and could have aspects of the project completed by 2019.
During a meeting of the Community Redevelopment Agency, City Commissioners voted unanimously Monday to direct city staff to move ahead on contract negotiations with the Maitland-based firm.
“When we started the project, I think we envisioned making a decision like the one we have before us today,” Mayor Rick Lott said.
It’s been more than 10 years since city officials set out to redevelop the area of land south of Historic Downtown know as Midtown. A national financial crisis shortly after the project came together, the economy’s slow-crawl return and stormwater related environmental concerns were among issues that slowed the project in the last decade. Those hurdles have now been mostly cleared.
Plant City has spent more than $4 million getting the area ready for development.
The selection of E2L follows a March authorization from the city for three companies, E2L, Green Mills Group and Lefrois Builders, to respond to a Request for Proposal. Only E2L and Green Mills followed through with proposals.
E2L presented a master plan concept commissioners said fell in line with the “live-work-play” vision for Midtown that has guided the project. Green Mills, a developer of affordable housing for families and seniors, provided a concept for a 75-to-100 unit complex of affordable housing for senior citizens.
Though commissioners felt the Green Mills proposal didn’t fall in line with the Midtown vison, they gave a consensus agreement for city staff to move forward with finding another suitable location for the Green Mills project. Interim City Manager Kim Leinbach said gaining both companies as partners is like making “two home runs.”
“I know there is a market for it,” Vice-Mayor Bill Dodson said. “I know there is a need for it.”
The E2L concept is still in the conceptual “vision” stage. E2L President Mark Hefferin has already recruited a team of partners, including local community members and established industry professionals, to help move the vision forward into the application stage. Utilizing local talent, he said, is crucial to keeping the project tied in with Plant City’s unique character and allowing for seamless transition into Downtown. He also said the timing is right.
“We didn’t pick local partners to get a score,” Hefferin said. “We picked local partners because we know they know the culture and history. They are here to help us understand that, get us up the learning curve as quickly as possible and teach us how to be a part of your community.”
The proposal Hefferin and his team created is for a mixed-use residential and commercial development adjacent to Historic Downtown within the overall Midtown redevelopment area.
The main segment of the development would start on Collins Street, move west past Wheeler Street and go south to Ball Street.
The development would include a park and event corridor adjacent to the Village Green Midtown Park, continuing west to near South Daniel Street. The Park would serve as an “event corridor” to host weddings, concerts and other functions.
The center of the development would be a boutique hotel similar to Winter Park’s Alfond Inn, incorporating Plant City’s character. The development would also include space for retail locations, restaurants, a fitness center, senior living facility and an educational facility.
The idea would be to create an 18-to-24 hour living space that could “achieve an authentic walkable community connected to Downtown as an expansion, integrating all age and ethnic groups,” Jim Edwards a real estate associate and former Lakeland CRA director said.
Hefferin offered a timeline showing seven-phase project with expected completion near Jan. 18, 2022. The first phase, which would consist largely of the new park, could be completed by early 2019. However, market conditions could get in the way, he said.
“It’s a factor beyond anybody’s control,” Hefferin said. “You’re always trying to stay out ahead of it. Be aware of it. From a timing standpoint, the sooner you move, the better off we will all be… We’re not just doing a Field of Dreams here, where you just build it all and hope they come. You’ve got to literally bring it on as the market will support it.”
