Construction for a new apartment complex across from the Meadow Woods SunRail station is expected to begin next year.
Developed by LeCesse Development Corporation, Prato Apartments will break ground in the second quarter of 2026, Matthew Gourlay, senior director of development at LeCesse, told GrowthSpotter. The complex will be located near the intersection of S. Orange Avenue and W. Wetherbee Road with access on both roads, plans show. Construction is expected to last 20 months, and the new complex will begin welcoming residents in the summer of 2027.
Plans for Prato, done by Thomas & Hutton, call for four residential buildings with 280 market-rate units. Of those, 172 will be one-bedroom apartments, 84 will have two bedrooms and 24 will have three bedrooms, Gourlay said. The units’ square footage will range between 813 square feet and 1,268 square feet. Plans also show a clubhouse, a pool and a mail kiosk. Forum Architecture and Interior Design is the architect and interior designer on the project.
LeCesse bought the 10-acre property for Prato in 2023 for $6.5 million. Gourlay told GrowthSpotter then that the property, with its proximity to the SunRail station, was an “opportunity to provide a transit-oriented development.”
Altamonte Springs-based LeCesse Development paid $6.5 million on Sept. 28 for roughly 10 acres of property near the intersection of S. Orange Avenue and W. Wetherbee Road, a short walk from the Meadow Woods SunRail station. (Orange County Property Appraiser/ GrowthSpotter)
Such development has been popping up around Central Florida as SunRail ridership continues to rise. While ridership peaked pre-pandemic in 2019, the commuter rail line saw 1.2 million riders in 2024, a 12% increase from the year prior, according to data released by SunRail. There are currently 17 stations across Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia counties.
Other transit-friendly apartments coming down the development pipeline include a 232-unit apartment complex near the Altamonte Springs SunRail station, a high-density, mixed-use project near the Sand Lake Road SunRail station, and an apartment tower with a grocery store near the Kissimmee SunRail station.
Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at Newsroom@GrowthSpotter.com or (407) 420-6261. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.