Latest news with #DevelopmentReviewCommittee
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Whataburger's 10th Escambia restaurant approved for construction. Here's where it's going
Whataburger has been approved to build a new restaurant in Escambia County, raising the chain's local store count to 10 locations. The new Whataburger will be constructed off of North Blue Angel Parkway and West U.S. Highway 98 in the same plaza as Escambia's newest Publix. The restaurant's official address will be 9510 W. U.S. 98. Escambia County's Development Review Committee (DRC) issued a development order for the Texas-based chain's latest restaurant on April 30. The project's approved site plan shows the restaurant will be approximately 3,305 square feet with two drive-through lanes and 43 parking spaces. Whataburger has planned to build this restaurant for three years. Its initial proposal was filed with Escambia County on Feb. 22, 2022, and they've submitted updated plans twice since then. New Chipotle restaurant approved: Chipotle Mexican Grill is coming to Bellview The 1.27-acre lot that Whataburger plans to build on is one of four outparcels inside a new shopping center named Blue Angel Plaza that's anchored by Publix. Escambia County property records show that Publix bought the parcel in 2023 for approximately $1.01 million. Before Publix's acquisition, the parcel was last sold in 2007 for $95,900 and assessed to be worth approximately $684,150 in 2022. This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Whataburger Escambia County location coming to Blue Angel Plaza
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Everything we know about the latest 18-story condo project proposed for downtown Sarasota
The Adagio, another towering residential project in Sarasota's growing portfolio, is in the development pipeline for downtown. Here's what we know about it: The Adagio proposes 167 residential units and commercial space across two towers, the first stretching 18 stories and the second reaching nine stories. The development would also include 457 parking spaces dispersed throughout basement and lower-level parking areas. The project's residences are proposed as a combination of market-rate and affordable units, with 100 market-rate condos proposed the first tower and 67 affordable apartments in the second. Local development consultant Joel Freedman and DT Sarasota Development LLC, whose listed owner is Michael Hoyt, are attached to the project. The Adagio's proposed site lies at the intersection of Palm Avenue and Ringling Boulevard, just off the roundabout north of the Burns Court area. Its listed addresses of 1360 Ringling Blvd., 330 S. Pineapple Ave. and 301 and 303 S. Palm Ave. total 2.2 acres valued at $5.6 million, according to Sarasota County property records. Developer DT Sarasota Development LLC cited the the Live Local Act, a state tax credit program aimed to incentivize affordable housing, to support the development at a pre-application conference with the city of Sarasota's Development Review Committee. The act requires local governments to designate multifamily projects that meet state affordable housing criteria — at least 40% of its residential units priced as attainable — as allowable uses in areas zoned for commercial, industrial or mixed-use purposes. Attainable, in this case, is defined as 80% to 120% of the area median income — and the Adagio proposes attainable units at 120%. Sarasota County's area median household income is $77,705, according to county data. Live Local also stipulates that local governments must allow the project to build up to the municipality's largest permissible density and up to the height of the tallest building within a mile of the proposed development. Nearby properties like The Westin and The Ritz-Carlton, each within a mile of the proposed Adagio, reach 18 stories. The project's proposed density of around 74.5 units per acre renders it both eligible for and subject to the city's downtown density bonus program, which allocates additional height and density to projects that meet affordable housing requirements. The program will allow the Adagio to build 200 units per acre if the developer designates 15% of its bonus units as attainable housing — the local definition of which includes more criteria than the state level. Sarasota's attainable housing guidelines require the developers to intersperse the affordable units among the market-rate units and for all units to share a common entrance, and the affordable units must be functionally indistinguishable from the market-rate units. The Adagio proposes its affordable units and market-rate units in two separate towers, so it will have to either adjust its site plan in a formal application to meet these local requirements or reduce its density so they're no longer held to those standards. The Adagio would add another figure to Sarasota's growing skyline, with buildings like Westin and The Ritz-Carlton already to the top of the city's height parameters and future projects like The Obsidian looking to match. More downtown development has proven a daunting prospect for some local residents like Dean Scarborough, who lives at the Sansara Condominium development on Pineapple Avenue. Scarborough told the Sarasota City Commission the Adagio's height could damage property values of smaller surrounding developments like his, and he's concerned that Live Local's height and density benefits will serve the developer without requiring enough attainable housing in return. 'The city's zoning integrity is breached,' Scarborough said during public comment at a March 3 meeting. 'Many of us bought condos in this area with the understanding that 10 stories was the maximum allowable height. Others, however, are encouraged by the Adagio's possible contribution to downtown's vibrancy and growth. Denise Kowal has owned the Historic Burns Square Boutique Hotel, now Burns Square Historic Vacation Rentals, since 1986. The building at 531 S. Pineapple Ave. is about a quarter of a mile from the proposed Adagio, meaning Kowal would be the project's close neighbor if it's approved. More: to open first Florida store in Sarasota, Bradenton area later this spring Kowal said she welcomes a compact structure like the Adagio as an alternative to urban sprawl. As the Burns Court area and Sarasota at large continue to grow, Kowal said she's hopeful that residences in the heart of downtown will mitigate surrounding traffic help bolster the city's character. 'Downtown, I believe, should be a place that people live and work and do cultural experiences,' Kowal said. 'Having more people living downtown is going to make it more vibrant, and that's what we all want.' Contact Herald-Tribune Reporter Heather Bushman at hbushman@ Follow her on Twitter @hmb_1013. This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: What we know about the high-rise condo project proposed for Sarasota
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A developer wants to remove wetlands in Orange County. Will it make Osceola flood?
Three years ago, as Hurricane Ian dropped nearly 18 inches of water on Central Florida, flooding from Shingle Creek left hundreds of Osceola County residents stranded. Now Orange County is considering a development that threatens to increase the flood risk. The Tuscana project would bring over 1,600 hotel rooms and 5,200 multi-family dwelling units to an area of agricultural-zoned land near Central Florida's theme parks and close to parts of 20-mile long Shingle Creek, extending into sensitive wetlands that serve as the headwaters to the Everglades and run through Osceola County. 'Florida originally had like 4 million acres of wetlands and … they're like the kidneys of our land so the pendulum of protecting them as they get more rare is critical,' said Gabrielle Milch of the Sierra Club, noting that wetlands absorb stormwater that otherwise can run off into neighborhoods. 'We've tried to do a good job but the competing interests of economics and social values doesn't always consider the environmental impacts.' Last week the Tuscana project was set to be reviewed by Orange County's Development Review Committee. But applicant Kimley-Horn, representing developers Shingle Creek Co-owners LLC and Geyer Development LLC, amended its rezoning proposal the night before in an apparent effort to make it more palatable. Included was a 22-acre decrease, from 58 to 36 acres, of the portion of the development that would remove wetlands. The entire development would occupy 227 acres surrounded by undeveloped forest and lying on the eastern portion of Shingle Creek Basin. Kimley-Horn had already requested waivers from the county's code to build at a higher density, raising some buildings over 200 feet in the air. In this case, the company argues, the more intense development mitigates the environmental impact by reducing the buildings' footprint and the amount of wetlands affected. Orange County staff said they didn't have enough time to review the new details and scheduled a decision on whether to move the proposal to public hearings at the next development committee meeting on April 2. Kimley-Horn declined an interview request from the Orlando Sentinel. While Orange County staff has many questions for the developer, Tuscana is being judged under more relaxed county rules established in 1987, but later tightened. The developer only needs to show it is attempting to minimize the project's wetland impact and that it doesn't require a cumulative impact analysis, said Tim Hull, environmental programs administrator for the Orange County's environmental protection division. Kimley-Horn is seeking to make that case. Project Manager Jennifer Stickler told the committee board that the developer plans to offset any impact to the wetlands by preserving over 176 acres. In 2023 the county adopted a more stringent code that more aggressively protects wetlands, but Tuscana began its application process right before the new code took effect. However, Hull said the county will require Kimley-Horn to explain in more detail how it will handle stormwater as part of its project. 'Shingle Creek is a very important drainage basin in the county,' Hull said. 'The county is very tuned in to flood concerns… once the applicant is at the level where they're providing engineering plans that's when they provide more details on stormwater management.' Even though the impacts may be felt in Osceola, that county is not involved in the process, Hull said. Instead the South Florida Water Management District, which oversees waters in both Orange and Osceola, has oversight and it has already issued a preliminary permit for the development, he said. Environmentalists say that's a concern. John Capece is an environmental researcher who leads Kissimmee Water Keeper, a global network of water protection organizations. Capece said it's alarming that the development is even under consideration, given its invasion into critical wetlands that store so much water. 'The undeveloped complex there west of Shingle Creek where Tuscana is proposed is the largest wetland complex remaining along the Shingle Creek System,' Capece said. 'Whenever you constrain a flood plain, you have the potential to enhance flooding that will occur in other areas.' Even with the existing level of devleopment, flooding along Shingle Creek during Hurricane Ian in 2022 rendered more than 500 homes uninhabitable in the Good Samaritan retirement community at Kissimmee Village. Adding to Capece's concern, climate change has made previous flood maps outdated and extreme rainfall events more common, he said. A 2022 study Capece was involved with researching for the South Florida Water Management District estimated that extreme rainfall events would increase by roughly 60% regionwide, including in Orange County, from 2020 through 2059. 'It's a huge amount,' Capece said. 'And it'll generate even more than 60% runoff or flooding because much of the initial rainfall is stored in various parts of wetlands…therefore every acre of wetland, every acre of storage potential becomes more critical.' Capece said the county or developer should be required to do computer modeling of flooding. State agencies in charge of overseeing multiple counties have become lax, he said. Tuscana is just the latest illustration of the pressures growth is placing on environmentally sensitive areas in Central Florida. Once protected, Split Oak Forest soon will have a highway slice through a portion of it despite fierce community opposition. There may be more stringent guidelines in the future. Hull said Orange County's new updated code increases environmental protections. While Tuscana is being considered under the earlier codes, the Board of County Commissioners has the ultimate say as it balances growth with conserving land. The project is scheduled to be presented to the board on May 20. Gordon Spears formerly sat on the planning and zoning advisory board of Orange County. He said not only will the development increase flood risk but the area lacks urban infrastructure. 'It may pass the development review committee but it wouldn't surprise me if the board of county commissioners don't pass it,' Spears said. The Shingle Creek basin not only offers wetlands that store water to mitigate flooding but trails and bike paths that are close to the heart of many in the region. A mother of five, Lauren Allen brought two of her children to the development committee meeting where she spoke against Tuscana. Allen said her kids, who range in age from 7 to 18, enjoy the creek and are worried the development will destroy a treasured play spot. 'One of the things my daughter said is she was very concerned that they were not going to be any more beautyberries because when she had been hiking on one of the trails with her grandma they found them,' Allen said. 'Her grandma said next time we'll make some beautyberry jam but now she's worried she'll never get to make beautyberry jam.'
