Developer unveils 1st phase of RoseArts District
Six months after Orlando’s City Council approved the rezoning and master plan for the $1 billion RoseArts District, Miami-based Westside Capital Group is moving the project forward by submitting more detailed development plans for the first phase, according to a report in GrowthSpotter.
Plans call for four mixed-use apartment buildings with a total of nearly 1,600 dwelling units and up to 150,000 square feet of retail space.
“We have submitted our [Specific Parcel Master Plan] consistent with the previously approved Planned Development,” spokesperson Dana Loncar said. “We look forward to completing the process with the City and delivering this exciting mixed use development, which includes much needed housing for Central Florida.”
Led by founder Jakub Hejl, Westside bought the former Lake Orlando golf course and country club in Orlando’s Rosemont neighborhood in 2019 for $1.85 million. Phase 1 covers more than 38 of the total 128 acres in the approved Planned Development. It’s located in the northeast corner of the site, on Rosamond Drive, just west of North Orange Blossom Trail.
In his introduction, Andrew McCown with Community Solutions Group wrote that the plan nearly maxes out residential components, requesting 1,594 dwelling units, of which 160 would be affordable and income-restricted.
Loncar said the development team hasn’t determined the order of construction for the apartment buildings but noted that all of the Phase 1 infrastructure, including the roads, trails, parks and stormwater ponds, would be developed at one time.
The plan would be scheduled for the Municipal Planning Board’s Aug. 16 meeting, with final approval by the City Council set for September. The RoseArts District PD generated substantial neighborhood opposition, with more than 600 residents signing a petition against the project and passed City Council by a 5-2 vote.
The entire project is split among three phases and has entitlements for nearly 6,000 dwelling units and 350,000 square feet of commercial. Westside received the city approval, following an appeal from the neighborhood, after reducing the number of residential units and agreeing to dozens of conditions, including the 10% affordable housing threshold.