The Apopka City Council will conduct a joint workshop for proposed code updates to Wyld Oaks tomorrow, Wednesday, January 22, 5-6 p.m. at the Apopka City Hall council chambers, 120 E. Main St., Apopka.
The meeting will review the developer-proposed Kelly Park Interchange red-line amendment for the Wyld Oaks development, the 215-acre mixed-use development that broke ground in January 2024 off the 429 Beltway and West Kelly Park Road Interchange in Apopka.
The Statement of Justification for the Text Amendments, found in the joint workshop agenda packet, explains the reason for the proposed code updates to Wyld Oaks:
As the market dynamics, development standards, and overall character of the area have evolved since the original conception of the Wekiva Parkway Interchange Vision Plan, and subsequent codification of the Mixed Use Kelly Park Interchange (MU-KPI) Form Based Code, the need for flexibility and evolution in the standards applicable to this area have changed as well.
The creation of the Town Center Overlay District as a new character zone is applicable to large project sites, encompassing a minimum of 170 acres. It will permit an innovative set of zoning and development standards to ensure that the gateway to the City’s premier mixed use area can capture the range of uses at the desired intensity and density that will provide maximum benefits to the City and residents from the standpoint of the local economy, public open space, and quality of life. In particular, all citizens will benefit from the greater amount of open space that can be provided in a Town Center Overlay District as a master planned network of parks, plazas, squares, greenspaces, pedestrian and bicycle pathways, outdoor recreation facilities, wetlands, woodlands, native plant community conservation areas and preserves, pet recreation facilities, and stormwater facilities that are enhanced as visual amenities.
The Town Center Overlay District is consistent with and advances the Wekiva Parkway Interchange Vision Plan, the Wekiva Parkway Interchange Land Use Plan, and the Wekiva Parkway Interchange Goal, Objectives, and Policies contained in the Future Land Use Element. The Town Center Overlay District ensures development will occur in a predictable, yet flexible manner consistent with the intent of the Wekiva Parkway Interchange Vision Plan, the community vision, and the City’s economic development goals. This will enable more creative master planning and urban design that will provide a balanced land use scenario accommodating a broader mixture of land uses that reflect the desired character of the community, promote realistic housing-job balance, offer varied housing opportunities, protect environmentally sensitive lands, incorporate a larger network of parks/open space, and use traditional community building practices. This District will provide a balanced land use scenario that can accommodate economic and residential growth” located in the City’s “primary targeted area for greenfield development within the Wekiva Study Area”.
In order to encourage innovative land use techniques, creative urban design, environmental protection and the use of sustainable development principles and practices, this new Overlay district meets the spirit and intent of the MU-KPI, the Comprehensive Plan and the Wekiva Parkway Vision Plan.
Wyld Oaks will feature several amenities including up to 200,000 square feet of retail and outparcels, two hotels, 3,000 to 4,000 multifamily and condominium residences, expansive outdoor entertainment venue, up to 200,000 square feet of office space, a 10-acre park and preserve called Yonder, and a section named Wyld Green that will include a multi-use trail network.
At the time of the groundbreaking, the 2024 demand for Wyld Oaks retail was estimated to be nearly $1.1 billion, while supply was only $700 million, leaving a gap of about $400 million, according to a Wyld Oaks press release.
Wyld Oaks is intended to boost economic development, relieve the regional affordable housing crisis, and bring more vibrancy to the Orlando area, according to several speakers at the January 2024 groundbreaking.
The agenda and documents can be viewed on the city’s Agenda Portal. The joint workshop will be livestreamed on the city’s YouTube channel.
The Apopka Chief and The Planter are weekly community newspapers, independently owned and family operated, that have served the greater Apopka area in Central Florida since 1923 and 1965 respectively.
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