Future of $400 million, 'master-planned community' hinges on traffic: Here's what we know

Eileen Zaffiro-Kean, The Daytona Beach News-Journal
·4 min read
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DAYTONA BEACH — Something out of the ordinary happened at the March 15 Daytona Beach City Commission meeting.

First, a majority of city commissioners shot down a rezoning request that would have cleared the way for a housing and commercial development that would stretch across 415 acres between Interstate 95 and Tomoka Farms Road.

Then at the urging of the attorney representing the developer on the project, commissioners said they would reconsider the rezoning if traffic problems on the county-controlled Tomoka Farms Road can be worked out.

The explosion of new housing development around the LPGA corridor has overtaxed the two-lane Tomoka River Bridge just west of Interstate 95. Daytona Beach city commissioners are afraid bottlenecks that already occur at Tomoka Farms Road and Bellevue Avenue will get worse if a new housing development is allowed nearby and nothing changes.
The explosion of new housing development around the LPGA corridor has overtaxed the two-lane Tomoka River Bridge just west of Interstate 95. Daytona Beach city commissioners are afraid bottlenecks that already occur at Tomoka Farms Road and Bellevue Avenue will get worse if a new housing development is allowed nearby and nothing changes.

So what's this project all about, and what happens now?

What does the developer want to do?

The plan is to create a $400 million development with 1,660 residential units of apartments, townhouses and single-family homes as well as 340,000 square feet of commercial, institutional, and light industrial uses.

The developer wants to build 800 apartments, 250 single-family attached townhomes, and 610 single-family houses. The hope is to also construct 200,000 square feet of light industrial space, 100,000 square feet of storage buildings, 30,000 square feet of commercial space, and 10,000 square feet of general office space.

There would be trails throughout the upscale community where residents could stroll or bicycle around small ponds. The neighborhood would also offer clubhouses, fitness centers, resort pools, a dog park and a multi-use field.

Backstory on Daytona development:Proposed 1,660-home Daytona Beach development initially shot down, but may be reconsidered

Daytona housing growth exploding:With 9,000 new homes planned for Daytona's LPGA area, city looks to tap more water

More Daytona Beach news:After 15 years of trying, Daytona Beach getting $3 million for flood mitigation study

Who is the developer?

The developer is The Kolter Group, a diversified real estate development and investment firm that has invested in projects with an expected value in excess of $19 billion. The company is headquartered in Florida's Palm Beach County.

When the company was getting started in the late 1990s, its first single-family home was built at PGA Village on Florida’s Treasure Coast and its first condominium project was The Water Club on Longboat Key. During the same period, Kolter purchased land to develop South Creek, a one-million-square-foot, six-building commercial office park in Ontario.

Over the past 25 years, The Kolter Group has operated out of five divisions in the Southeast. The company has created master-planned communities, luxury high-rise condominiums, multi-family apartments and branded hotels.

Large developments such as Daytona Beach's Latitude Margaritaville 55-and-older community have taxed the city's roads.
Large developments such as Daytona Beach's Latitude Margaritaville 55-and-older community have taxed the city's roads.

What's in it for the city if the Daytona development is built?

The development would come with a commitment to spend $10 million extending city utility lines across I-95. Another $7 million would be paid in impact fees, and when fully built out in about six years, the new subdivision would start producing an estimated $7.25 million in tax revenue annually. The land currently yields only $5,000 per year in taxes.

The city has not promised any tax breaks or offered any grants. But city commissioners did approve the formation of a community development district on the site, which would allow the developer to tax future property owners and tenants to help cover its costs.

What happens now?

The Kolter Group's contract to buy the family-owned Daytona Beach property, which for nearly a century had been used to raise cattle and grow crops, is still active.

Daytona Beach attorney Glenn Storch, who's representing the developer, will meet with city and county officials to help broker an agreement to improve Tomoka Farms Road's ability to handle heavy traffic.

Who supports the project, and who's against it?

Some Daytona Beach residents say the project is a great example of smart growth and would be a wonderful, high-quality addition to the city. It would be a master-planned community, and it would dedicate more than 100 acres to stormwater management.

Daytona Beach's Midtown neighborhood was inundated with floodwater that rose as high as five feet in some areas of the community between Nova Road and Ridgewood Avenue. Pictured is Lockhart Street off of Kottle Circle as it looked after Tropical Storm Ian blew through Volusia County in late September.
Daytona Beach's Midtown neighborhood was inundated with floodwater that rose as high as five feet in some areas of the community between Nova Road and Ridgewood Avenue. Pictured is Lockhart Street off of Kottle Circle as it looked after Tropical Storm Ian blew through Volusia County in late September.

Only one-quarter of an acre of wetlands would be impacted, and the developer would remove septic tanks and wells on the site to protect the groundwater.

Nonetheless, some local residents worry building over the undeveloped land would create flooding problems and overtax the city's roads, water supply, and sewer systems.

You can reach Eileen at Eileen.Zaffiro@news-jrnl.com

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: A Daytona Beach housing project relies on improving a congested road