Issues including water and sewer capacity have delayed progress on a 400-unit multifamily affordable housing development planned for 2020 Old Dixie Highway in Apopka. 

The project team behind Gale Vista made a first submittal of construction plans Sept. 10 at the Apopka Development Review Committee meeting at City Hall.  

Due to concerns surrounding the water and sewer capacity, the Gale Vista development team had to put the project on hold despite a $5.75 million allocation from Orange County to help fund the development, according to Dylan Ames, developer for Southport Financial Services, located in Tampa.   

The tract has an estimated 5 acres with a single-family house and is owned by the Housam Family Trust, according to Orange County Property Appraiser records. The property is currently zoned as community commercial.  

“We have a commitment deadline to sign that commitment next month. It requires us to build a closed financing than 18 months, or we risk losing the funding and working with Orange County in the future,” Ames told the Development Review Committee. “So, it’s very, very critical for us to be able to confirm that there is ability for us to move forward, and there’s a path for us to be able to get the capacity that’s needed.” 

Soumya Chakrabarti, a civil engineer with the Orlando firm Atwell LLC, raised concerns about the availability of water and sewer utilities, noting that the project team hasn’t received a confirmation of capacity from the city.  

In response, the city staff advised the project team to continue working with them to resolve the capacity issue.  

Gale Vista is a project of the Live Local Act. Signed into law in 2023, The Live Local Act, was created to increase affordable housing statewide by providing developers with incentives such as tax breaks and the ability to build in commercially zoned areas.  

The Live Local Act also earmarked state funds to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation for affordable housing programs and initiatives and prohibits local governments from passing or continuing rent control ordinances.  

Other issues that the project team and the DRC discussed about Gale Vista included the creation of a traffic study to assess the development’s impact on traffic, and the project’s legal eligibility for the Live Local Act.  

In September 2024, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners voted to give Gale Vista – at the time of the awarding, known as Southport Development – the $5.75 million. This was part of the nearly $21 million given to developers for various affordable housing projects around the county.  

About $19 million of that $21 million comes from the county’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund. According to Orange County’s September 2024 news release, the $19 million allocation was the largest that the trust fund had doled out at one time since its formation in 2020 as part of Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings’ Housing For All Initiative.  

The remaining $1.85 million came from the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program, which incentivizes local governments with funds to build partnerships that advance affordable homeownership and multifamily housing.