When Floor & Decor moved into the former Sam’s Club shell in Fern Park/Casselberry three years ago, the property came with a gigantic parking lot and an odd condition that required the front of the property on S.R. 436 to be developed as a second phase for residential use.
Now the Atlanta-based retailer is working with Seminole County to eliminate that condition and amend the development order to allow for more commercial space on the front half of the property.
“We looked at the property and we’re not really seeing a fit for residential here, nor interest for residential development,” F&D Land Development Manager Natalia Domovessova said Wednesday during a pre-application meeting. She said F&D would like to subdivide the property to create commercial outparcels. “We don’t know what box will land there, but we assume it will be restaurants.”
A development order attached to the former Sam’s Club property in Casselberry required that the shaded area be developed for residential use. (Site plan by VHB)
Domovessova said the retailer will also be seeking to eliminate a good number of the 539 parking spaces. A typical F&D requires about 120 parking spaces, she said.
“We agree that you’re overparked,” DRC Chairman Jose Gomez said, who said the staff had not added the residential use to the most recent development order. “That was something the previous owner wanted.”
The Fern Park Sam’s Club abruptly closed in 2018 and sat vacant until Floor & Decor purchased the 12.8-acre property in 2021 for $6 million. The flooring outlet spent nearly $4 million to remodel the store. The store now occupies 84,606 square feet of the building and has 37,712 square feet reserved for a future tenant. The property also has a .55-acre park in the parking lot next to the area that was slated for residential.
Gomez said the revised development order would have to be approved by the county’s planning commission and board of commissioners, but any site plans and building permits would simply need staff approval. F&D could also submit a parking study to support a variance request for reduced parking, as long as there is shared parking between the new development and the existing store.
“This is pretty straightforward,” he said.
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