REAPING THE HARVEST IN APOPKA

CENTRAL FLORIDA’S BOOM MAY HAVE PASSED THIS ONE-TIME AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY BY. BUT TIMES ARE CHANGING.

By Mick Lochridge

Like any young boy growing up in a small town, Paul Faircloth Jr. rode his bicycle everywhere in the Apopka of the 1960s. “Even back then,” he recalls, “you only wanted to cross (U.S. Highway) 441, never ride along it. On bicycles we would cover the entire town.”

As a third-generation Apopkan, the businessman holds to those memories even as he anticipates the growth that he hopes will bring positive change to his hometown without damaging its appeal. It’s a sentiment shared by many others. 

“My hope is that, as Apopka inevitably grows, we retain that sense of small-town charm that drew so many people here in the first place,” says Joe Kilsheimer, the city’s first-term mayor, former councilman and resident since 1988.

While many still call Apopka the “The Indoor Foliage Capital of the World,” many more people now call it “home.” With an estimated population of more than 47,000 in 2014, it’s the second-largest city in Orange County, behind only Orlando.

And growth isn’t slowing. U.S. Census Bureau numbers show a 13 percent population increase since 2010. But it’s not just new residents who are changing the face and feel of the city: Within a short few years, long-awaited and unprecedented development may transform Apopka into something new and different.

“Steady population growth, construction of two major roadways (State Roads 414 and 429) and a new, forward-looking city administration have combined to set Apopka’s course on a broader, more urban trajectory,” says Suzanne Kidd, a member of the steering committee for the city’s visioning process and a retired educator who moved to Apopka in 2001.  

“Apopkans have the chance to determine their own destiny and influence how to handle the potentially explosive growth that’s coming to Apopka sooner rather than later,” she adds. “It’s as if the city is awakening from a long slumber.” 

A NEW HOSPITAL

Perhaps the most immediate and prominent project underway is Florida Hospital’s new Apopka facility, which will replace the smaller, 40-year-old hospital near downtown. 

Scheduled for completion in 2017, the seven-story medical complex will include 120 private rooms, additional surgical services and a women’s center.

Its location — at the convergence of State Roads 429, 414 and 45 — will spark more development south of U.S. Highway 441. That growth could include a large town center with a mix of professional, commercial, recreational and residential land uses.

“The new Florida Hospital Apopka is a transformational project,” says Kilsheimer. “It’s bringing new jobs and new investment and will be the key element in establishing Apopka’s southern gateway.” 

He adds: “Our challenge is this: How do we find and encourage new businesses and additional developments that will complement the hospital?” 

The city expects development on more than four square miles around the hospital. A 2014 area study notes that much of that land, a few miles east of Lake Apopka, is “largely undeveloped with large tracts of vacant or under-utilized agricultural lands.”

While there are a couple of subdivisions in the area, much of the land is government-owned, according to the study. Population figures show fewer than 400 residents lived in the area in 2014.

“Most of the land is suitable for development, with few natural constraints,” the study says. “Development is advantageous for businesses, especially as the hospital brings new employees, potential residents and foot traffic.”

The hospital itself owns more than 30 acres near the site of its new facility — tracts that could be used for retail, residential and other uses. The city set a moratorium on development requests until Oct. 31 to give officials time to set specific guidelines for growth.

“The construction of the hospital will be the catalyst for developing a whole new separate and distinct district within Apopka,” says Kidd. “Housing of all types, commercial development, employment opportunities, architecturally significant buildings and walkability will become hallmarks of this new mini district.”

WEKIVA PARKWAY

“If you build it, he will come,” goes the famous line from a 1989 movie about baseball and cornfields. In Apopka, that adage could be rewritten to say, “Build it, and they will come,” about a new highway, homes and stores.

That highway is State Road 429, also known as the Wekiva Parkway, and it will connect Apopka directly to Interstate 4 at Sanford. Scheduled to open by 2021, the 25-mile stretch that runs through Orange, Lake and Seminole counties will complete the outer beltway around Metro Orlando. 

Sections of the road in Apopka are scheduled to be completed by 2018, including an interchange at West Kelly Park Road. That’s the future home of Kelly Park Crossing, a 564-acre development approved by the city in 2011 in anticipation of the Parkway interchange. 

According to plans, Kelly Park Crossing is “designed to be a mixed-use high density/intensity development centered around the Kelly Park Road interchange of the proposed Wekiva Parkway.” 

In addition to commercial and residential plans, approved uses could include a hospital, community college and a hotel. Projections call for up to 1,550 residences on 58 acres.

“The Wekiva Parkway, again, is a transformational project,” Kilsheimer says. “When complete in 2021, it will place Apopka in the middle of Florida’s main highway network with easy access to Florida’s Turnpike, Interstate 4, Interstate 75 and Interstate 95. Combine that with the land we have available for development, as well as our capacity to deliver utilities, and Apopka has tremendous potential for growth.”

Kilsheimer sees that project as another challenge to preserving “Apopka’s small-town, family-friendly atmosphere and accommodate growth at the same time.”

CITY CENTER

A third project that holds promise for providing Apopka with another economic boost and civic pride, the City Center would offer a new downtown area to encompass shopping and entertainment.

“Our town center will incorporate planned housing for multiple income levels, thus making it a real draw for those wishing to live, work and play in one central area,” observes Kidd.

At the intersection of U.S. Highway 441 and State Road 436, the town center would be the welcome sign for visitors from Orlando and Seminole County. For Apopka residents, it would be the culmination of something they’ve heard about for years.

“This impending project will bring the kind of shopping and dining options for which Apopka residents have been searching for decades,” says Kilsheimer. “For most Apopka residents, it can’t get here soon enough.”

City planners, consulting with developers in the early 2000s, started work on an idea to create a pedestrian-friendly downtown area with an urban, mixed-use project containing commercial and residential areas. A few years later the city bought land near the intersection for the project. 

But the recession put a halt to plans until this year, when the city decided to try again by seeking developers. The site includes Martin’s Pond and events venue Highland Manor, both visible from the 441-436 intersection.

As with the new hospital and Wekiva Parkway, the City Center will mean challenges for the city.

“These large projects will hopefully bring some significant quality-of-life improvements for many residents,” says Faircloth, whose family owns Mosquito Creek Outdoors. “Unfortunately for many of us, it may mean significant lifestyle changes. We hope that with proper management of growth we’ll have three commercial villages, but be able to maintain our green spaces between them.”

HOMES GALORE

While those three projects may attract the most concern and attention, new-home building plows ahead throughout the city. As of today, within the city limits there are 15 residential developments underway totaling about 1,750 residences. Those projects are almost evenly divided north and south of U.S. Highway 441.

Highland Homes is building 52 single-family homes in Lake Doe Reserve, which is east of State Road 429 and south of U.S. Highway 441. Those homes start at 2,000 square feet and $225,000. In nearby Lake Doe Cove, Maronda Homes is offering single-family homes that start at 1,600 square feet with prices starting under $200,000. 

Maronda is also building in Apopka Woods, between Apopka and Ocoee, offering single-family homes ranging from 1,995 to 3,186 square feet and priced from the $230s to the $280s.

A few miles south, Royal Oak Homes is building 207 single-family homes in Breckenridge, which is near the new Florida Hospital Apopka. Homes there range from 2,000 to 4,800 square feet with prices between $265,000 to $363,000. 

Ryland Homes has two active Apopka communities: Oak Ridge (single-family homes from 2,256 square feet and $238,990) and Clear Lake Landings (single-family homes from 1,853 square feet and $229,990).

K. Hovnanian Homes is also busy in Apopka with Hilltop Reserve, where it’s offering eight different floorplans from 1,847 to 3,070 square feet with prices between $222,449 and $273,449. The family-friendly community includes a playground, an athletic field and a pool and cabana. 

Continuing to build on that diversity of housing options will be a priority for the city, he adds. For example, MMI Development is building Marden Ridge, a 272-unit apartment complex near the new hospital. And it’s that mix of residential choices that city leaders want.

“We need to have places where young people can find a foothold in an apartment, and then build their first home,” Kilsheimer says. “We also need to have places where active seniors can downsize and still enjoy all the benefits our community has to offer.”

As Kidd puts it: “These are major shifts in thinking about Apopka’s housing offerings — shifts that are necessary if Apopka is to handle the population growth that’s coming and address the housing needs of different income levels and lifestyle choices.”

LOOKING AHEAD

For years, Apopka was slow to grow for myriad reasons. Now that growth is on the city’s doorstep, and it’s coming inside. City leaders, both public and private, are faced with how to make it work for old and new residents and for businesses.

“Apopka has been traditionally known for its low property tax rate and a high level of municipal services,” notes Kilsheimer, adding that the city’s fire department is rated by the Insurance Services Office at Class 1, putting it in the top half of the top 1 percent of all fire departments in the country. “Our challenge is to maintain that high rate of service at the most efficient cost available.”

Faircloth, who grew up in Apopka, knows his old town is changing: “Agriculture was the economic driver throughout most of our lives. It’s sad to see it go, but that change has been coming for many years.” 

He adds: “We need commerce and industry. We need a new economic engine for the area. We suffer from ‘brain drain,’ where many of our youth leave for career opportunities not available here, or go to college never to return. This city administration appears to be on the right track, attracting and incentivizing new business and opportunities.”

That growth also brings with it anticipation of what’s ahead. “Expectations are rising and excitement is mounting for what Apopka is becoming,” says Kidd. 

“I’m so excited that our time for growth and change has finally arrived. Through the years we watched other areas of Orange County blossom while Apopka remained that underrated, agricultural outpost tucked in rural Northwest Orange County. But no longer.”