Development in West Volusia: What's coming to DeBary, DeLand, Deltona, Orange City
DELTONA — "Florida is hot on so many levels."
That's what Volusia County Economic Development Director Helga van Eckert said enthusiastically during the West Volusia Regional Chamber of Commerce's economic forum on Wednesday at The Center.
"Volusia County really is kicking it right now," Van Eckert said. "Our employment is at the highest it's ever been; our unemployment has never been as low as it is right now."
Economic development officials from several cities in West Volusia also shared what their respective cities are focusing on and expecting in the future:
DeBary: Embracing green space and connectivity
With Alexander Island in the city's possession, Shari Simmans, director of economic development, communications and government affairs, said DeBary is looking for feedback via an online survey on what kind of amenities residents want.
The survey closes at midnight April 16. Visit bit.ly/AlexanderIslandSurvey to participate.
Alexander Island
DeBary bought the 170-acre property, located off Fort Florida Road, outright for $3.5 million in February from a private group that was looking to sell to residential developers.
If the city hadn't purchased the property for preservation, the site's future land use designation would have allowed for the development of 64 homes.
The majority of the site is freshwater marsh; 17 acres are forested uplands.
DeBary hopes to open a park in the next 18 months to two years.
10 acres will go to freshwater research and education center.
The City Council unanimously approved the master development agreement, which includes the purchase and sales agreement for the second phase of the DeBary Main Street project with Mosaic Development.
DeBary's Main Street
Phase I: 13.07 acres with 227 multi-family units, 37,560 square feet of retail space and 7,000 square feet of office space
Phase II: 5.62 acres with 170 multi-family units
Permit required: DeBary residents may drive golf carts on certain roads, sidewalks, trails
DeLand: SunRail by next summer?
Nick Conte, the city's economic development director, discussed helping local businesses expand, the future SunRail station and DeLand Industrial.
SunRail
DeLand station projected to open during summer of 2024.
Project will add just over 12 miles of track to the SunRail corridor.
Next in line: Volusia County picks $42 million SunRail station for DeLand expansion
DeLand Industrial
Newly-completed through-road, less than a mile north of Glenwood Road, to connect State Road 11 to Eidson Drive, adjacent to the DeLand Municipal Airport.
New through-road also connects to DeLand Industrial, a 62 usable acre industrial park and flex space — possibilities include office, warehouse and/or retail — where parcels ranging from three to 25 acres are for sale.
Deltona: Commercial and residential projects coming
Jerry Mayes, Deltona's economic development and ecological tourism sustainability manager, noted a few different projects that are under construction or up for the city's consideration.
2.5 million square feet of commercial space under development, 1 million of which is in the Interstate 4 Logistics Park, formerly known as Portland Industrial Park
Synergy at Normandy: 230,000 square feet of warehouse, retail and office space and 300 apartments incorporated into design by developer
The Nutty Bavarian: 53,000 square feet of food manufacturing space
414 apartments coming to Deltona Village
Enterprise Osteen East: 118 acres of mixed-use development within the Osteen Joint Planning Agreement
Mayes said the developers behind Enterprise Osteen East have proposed building 253 single-family homes and retail and office space on the remaining acreage.
Orange City
Becky Mendez, development services director, said there is nearly $90 million worth of projects under construction including:
49,000-square-foot post-acute medical hospital
16,000-square-foot Surgical Direct
70,000 square feet of self-storage space
500 multi-family units
Mendez also said that two vacant big box retail spaces will have new tenants:
The grocery store chain Aldi will take over the space formerly held by Bed Bath & Beyond in the shopping center off Harley Strickland Boulevard.
pOpshelf, a discount store that sells clothing, beauty items and goods for the home, will move into part of the plaza space formerly held by Kmart at the southwest corner of the intersection of Enterprise Road and Saxon Boulevard.
Additional planned developments include:
The Crossings: Circle K store and multi-family units for the site near the I-4 and State Road 472 interchange are under review.
North Kentucky Industrial: a 650,000-square-foot distribution warehouse project slated for the southeast corner of S.R. 472 and Kentucky Avenue.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Development coming to West Volusia: DeBary, DeLand, Deltona, Orange City
