OVIEDO, Fla. \u2013 After years of planning and negotiations, the Oviedo Mall has secured all required agreements to move forward with approximately 700 apartments on mall property \u2014 a milestone its director of development calls a major step in a sweeping transformation.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything\u2019s been executed, signed and approved,\u201d said Kevin Hipes, director of development for Oviedo Mall Holding LLC. \u201cWe are for sure getting two sets of apartments.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phase I: Macy\u2019s comes down, 400 apartments go up<\/p>\n
Picerne Development Corporation of Florida closed on the 15-acre former Macy\u2019s parcel in late June and has already received site plan approval, according to Hipes. The company is now preparing construction plans to submit for building permits and is expected to apply for a demolition permit for the former Macy\u2019s building within 90 days.<\/p>\n
Hipes said the timeline could move quickly once permits are secured.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Macy\u2019s comes down \u2014 that\u2019ll probably happen within a few months because they can probably get a demo permit,\u201d he said. \u201cThen 400 or so apartments will go up. Probably take six months to get permits because they have to draw plans, and then probably a year to build, six months to lease up. So, we\u2019re a year and a half to two years away.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to the apartments, Hipes says Picerne has committed to building a new mall entrance on the east side of the property, where the Macy\u2019s store currently stands. The entrance is designed to give residents walkable access to the mall\u2019s retail shops, restaurants, entertainment venues and other services.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese businesses [are] very excited \u2014 they\u2019ve been waiting for years,\u201d Hipes said.<\/p>\n
[WATCH: Crazy Hot Buys closing at Oviedo Mall months after opening]<\/p>\n
Phase II: West side development adds 325 more units<\/p>\n
Woodfield Development Co. is under contract on a 14-acre parcel on the west side of the mall and plans to build approximately 325 market-rate apartments in Phase II. The company is currently working with the city to obtain site plan approval before finalizing construction plans and applying for permits.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat would only be about a year behind [Phase I],\u201d Hipes said. \u201cAnd we\u2019re going to create some sort of a connection \u2014 like a walkway, maybe \u2014 because that\u2019s further from the mall.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phase II construction is expected to begin in late 2027 or early 2028, with apartments potentially leasing up and fully operational by mid-2028.<\/p>\n
A complicated path to approval<\/p>\n
Hipes said the long road to this milestone came down to one central challenge: Oviedo Mall, like most regional malls, is not owned by a single entity.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost people don\u2019t realize malls are not wholly owned by one entity,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s five different entities that you have to bring together and negotiate with \u2014 development agreements, cross-access agreements \u2014 because each development impacts the other property.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mayor Megan Sladek confirmed the city\u2019s approvals were not the holdup.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe city actually approved this back in 2020 \u2014 it was the first time these ideas started being discussed at City Hall and, for the most part, approved,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing new that has happened with the city related to this property. The new part is that the owners of the property have decided to let things move forward. So that has really been the holdup.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hipes said he has been working toward this vision for more than a decade.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came up with this idea 12 years ago, before everybody was putting apartments in malls,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it wasn\u2019t easy because, initially, even the city didn\u2019t want apartments here. They wanted more retail on the outside areas.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the rise of e-commerce and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic shifted that thinking.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen they realized that was different,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then I had to explain to the city first, and then to the residents, that apartments at the mall is the place where they should be.\u201d<\/p>\n
[WATCH: Oviedo moves toward permanent stop signs at intersection near mall]<\/p>\n
Traffic concerns addressed<\/p>\n
Hipes pointed to the mall\u2019s existing infrastructure as reason to believe the development will have minimal impact on surrounding neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knocked down no trees. We repurposed old defunct retail. We\u2019re right on [State Road] 417. We\u2019re in the commercial district. Three signalized intersections. No access to local neighborhoods and no trees coming down,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mayor Sladek echoed that sentiment, noting the mall property was originally built with high-volume use in mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe main concern is always traffic, but this was originally developed, it\u2019s a development of regional impact \u2014 and that is a term of art from Florida statute,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, when it was developed, all of the roads \u2014 we got the double-lane road out there, we\u2019ve got the traffic signals already, we have an elaborate stormwater system, plenty of utility capacity. It was all done before anybody broke ground on anything in this area. So, this is about the best place it could happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Economic impact for Oviedo<\/p>\n
Mayor Sladek said the redevelopment is expected to boost city tax revenues.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlready, this area is one of the biggest tax-producing places in the entire city,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, once it converts to more productive, occupied residential, that tax revenue will go up even more to help offset the cost of the lower costs being paid by residents who live in single-family neighborhoods.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hipes added that the Sears building \u2014 currently vacant \u2014 represents another major opportunity, and that he plans to launch an aggressive leasing campaign now that the apartment deals are in place.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d love to bring in a big employer that will employ 3[00] or 400 people \u2014 maybe a high-tech [company],\u201d he said. \u201cWe have no jobs in Oviedo. Oviedo is a bedroom community. We need jobs here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Market-rate units, not luxury or age-restricted<\/p>\n
Hipes addressed community questions about whether the units would be age-restricted or upscale, saying the decision ultimately comes down to market forces.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are what they call market-rate apartments,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of people are saying, \u2018What happened to the 55-plus? What happened to this? What happened to that?\u2019 It\u2019s all market driven. These developers are going to spend $100 million building that thing. They do their own analysis \u2014 they\u2019re going to build what they believe is going to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bigger vision: Eat, sleep, work, play<\/p>\n
Hipes said the apartments are just the beginning of a broader plan to reposition Oviedo Mall as a mixed-use regional destination \u2014 and he has a concept for what comes next.<\/p>\n
\u201cApartments isn\u2019t going to fix the mall entirely,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s the first stage to creating a first-class mixed-use \u2014 eat, sleep, work, play \u2014 regional destination, which is the plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mayor Sladek noted the mall is already drawing visitors from beyond Oviedo\u2019s borders.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got to share, sitting over here having coffee with people who are coffee tourists \u2014 they came all the way here from Volusia County because they heard that our mall food court, Cafe Natura, had great coffee, and it was confirmed,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s the weirdest and most interesting mall in the entire state of Florida. If you haven\u2019t visited lately, come on over.\u201d<\/p>\n
Right place for growth<\/p>\n
Hipes acknowledged not everyone in the community embraces the idea of more apartments, but said the mall property is the most logical location for new residential density.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re going to get growth whether you like it or not,\u201d he said. \u201cWhy not put the growth where you really should put it and have it also turn around your mall? It\u2019s really the right thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said he welcomes conversations with any resident who has questions or concerns.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m willing to talk to anybody, any resident who wants to hear the full plan,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m a very transparent guy \u2014 I\u2019m the only developer on the planet who talks on Facebook and tells everybody what I\u2019m doing on day one.\u201d<\/p>\n
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