City Approval of Zoning Change Paves Way for Large Townhome Project

A land use change on 24.66 acres of the site from LDR Low-Density Residential, to MDR Medium-Density Residential will allow for the construction of hundreds of townhomes as part of the new Hunt Club new development.

The City Commission approved the change as part of a busy agenda Tuesday that featured several other significant development-related items, part of a wave of growth that has arrived during a nearly nationwide housing shortage.

The project, planned for a 234-acre swath of orange grove property on the southeast side of the city, will also include more than 800 single-family home sites. It is a separate project from the small Tangelo Street subdivision.

The present LDR designation on the parcel would permit up to five units per acre, a density commonly used for the common single-family homes being constructed in numerous developments in the area. Citing a lack of variety in the local housing market, commissioners seemed to welcome the proposal for higher-density townhomes.

City Development Services Director Mark Bennet, in presenting the item to a Commission workshop, noted that higher-density means more efficient services and less consumption of land for housing. Commissioner Robin Gibson, when told that the site would include townhomes, replied simply "good."

The site includes 62 acres that were annexed on November 2, the balance of the site having already been incorporated in the city limits in past years. The northern parcel reaches from SR 60 to Post Salter Road, wrapping around Winn Dixie. The townhome site lies to the south within 300 yards of the Hunt Brothers packing house, adjacent to the Florida Midland Railroad. The northern parcels, including properties located between the Orange Grove Shopping Center and East Lake Plaza, site of Winn Dixie and Rural King, are designated LDR for single-family homes.