Infill apartments proposed on Cady Way Trail

Orlando developer John Builder III is partnering with Woodlands Residential, led by Wood Partners founder Leonard Wood Sr., to develop the 231-unit Woodlands at Baldwin Park apartment community on Sasoon Avenue.

Wood told GrowthSpotter the two have longstanding family ties dating back to early in his career at Trammell Crow Residential, where he is still a member of the board. TCR will serve as general contractor for the project.

"It's exciting because when I started with Trammell Crow in 1982, I lived in Orlando and had my first projects there in Central Florida. So it's interesting to be coming full circle," Wood said.

The partners have applied for annexation into the City of Orlando for 8.5 acres of undeveloped land that abuts the Cady Way Trail. Builder is calling the project Woodlands at Baldwin Park, and they’re planning a mix of three-story garden-style apartment buildings and rental townhomes.

Wood said the greater Winter Park/Baldwin Park area is underserved for housing, especially attainable housing. "And it's not a terribly high-density project. It is multifamily, but it's not midrise or anything like that. I think it's just the type of project that's needed, and it's somewhat more affordable to build."

The application, which goes before Orlando's Municipal Planning Board in July, also assigns a RES-MED future land use and PD zoning for the parcel. Portions of Moosh Avenue and Sevas Street, which were platted but never constructed, would be abandoned as part of the development plan. Builder engaged Kimley-Horn's Brooks Stickler for the civil and landscape plans and to lead the project through the annexation and entitlements.

The site plan shows three 3-story, garden-style apartment buildings overlooking a central pond and swimming pool. The development matrix includes 11 studios, 117 one-bedroom units, 80 two-bedroom units and 3 three-bedroom units.

A series of four townhouse buildings, each with five units, would face Sasoon Avenue. The townhomes would have a rear-loaded, one-car garage.

"What we wanted to do, of course, was to put as pleasant a façade on Sasoon as possible so that people living on that street and driving would get a nice looking house to look at, and they don't have to look at cars in the driveway," Wood said.

Builder said the design of the buildings was intended to be consistent with the Baldwin Planned Development.

"When it came to the architectural aesthetic we told [Charlan Brock Architects] we want that sort of Old Florida architecture that's consistent with Baldwin Park so it feels like you’re connected there," he said in an earlier interview.

The developer will connect the site to city sewer and build a lift station at the southern property line. The plan also shows a connection to the Cady Way Trail in the southeast corner of the site.

Wood said the trail access will make Woodlands a desirable location. "In Atlanta the Beltline, which is our equivalent of the Cady Way Trail, is very important as the city grows and people need still need a place to walk and ride their bikes and that sort of thing," he said. "And it has been a huge asset to the city and to the people that live near it and are able to continuously use it."

They’re still working with the design team from Charlan Brock Architects on the amenities. The clubhouse, fitness center and leasing office will be incorporated into the largest of the three apartment buildings.

The densely forested site contains some wetlands but could be developed if Palmetto purchases mitigation bank credits, according to a report by Thomson Environmental Consulting.

The Baldwin Park area has drawn several new multifamily projects in the last year. Gables Residential is building a 222-unit infill community at 1801 Prospect Ave., next door to the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol office and across Lakemont Avenue from the Baldwin Harbor apartments in the Village Center.

Nearby on 2420 S. Lakemont Ave., a joint venture between Parkway Property Investments and TriGate Securities has filed plans for a 305-unit multifamily building just north of Blue Jacket Park, which bisects the Baldwin Park master-planned community. The project is slated on rise on what's now a parking lot for the Baldwin Point office building, which the partners bought last year for $35.5 million.

Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at [email protected] or (407) 420-6261, or tweet me at @LKinslerOGrowth. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Sign up for our newsletter