City accepts first reading of Southfork Drive annexation 

The Apopka City Commission accepted the first reading of an ordinance to annex Southfork Drive’s remaining segment on Wednesday, marking another step in the creation of the upcoming mixed-use development Floridian Town Center.  

“The proposed annexation will bring the remaining segment of Southfork Drive, located between S.R. 429 and its westerly terminus, into the City limits. This segment currently separates the north and south portions of the Floridian Town Center development,” said the staff report. “After annexation, the developer intends to request the vacation of the applicable portion of Southfork Drive so the existing alignment can be incorporated into the master planned roadway system. Annexation must occur before the roadway vacation and subsequent platting activities can proceed.” 

According to developer CR Endeavors’ website, Floridian Town Center will span approximately 75 acres and include residential, shopping, dining and health care partners. Last month, the commission approved the development plan for Floridian Town Center’s upcoming Marriott-branded hotel. 

CR Endeavors President Jimmy Holloway expects the project to begin construction by spring of 2027. Although CR Endeavors is based in Alabama, Holloway has done business in Florida “for 30 years through different means in the real estate sector.” His foray into the Orlando metropolitan area, however, begins with Floridian Town Center. 

“When we were going around, we were looking at different areas in the Orlando metro area that had growth. 429 had not opened all the way around and connected before at that point, but we saw what was happening,” Holloway said in a phone interview with The Apopka Chief. “We found out [Apopka] was a bedroom community for a lot of people that actually worked in the health services sectors in Orlando, so that was an interesting combination, which has also led to our desire to make this a little bit more of a wellness village-type.” 

Holloway said Floridian Town Center would be built in a similar manner to one of CR Endeavors’ other projects, Alabama’s Riverwalk Village. 

“[Riverwalk Village] is going to have a very large medical facility in it, ambulatory surgery, physician medical practices, diagnostics, imaging, wellness facilities,” he said. “We have some larger buildings on this property–we probably won’t have quite as large buildings in Florida — but we have some smaller-scale medical specialties, wellness facilities, and then just walkability because we’ve got a lot of property here… There’s going to be a fair amount of green space with all of the drainage systems and everything that are in place. So from a walkability standpoint, on 70 acres, there’s a lot of property to walk around and do things between the different areas.” 

Although Holloway said high interest rates and “the slowdown of people migrating into Florida” proved difficult, he is confident in the future of the project. 

“Things are stabilizing. We’re seeing a lot more level playing field and level need base from renters and owners, and also retail is doing well and expanding. We foresee, in addition to medical, specialized, smaller boutique retail here, such as restaurants and specialized stores, maybe a market or two,” he said. “Things have been challenged in the past, but we’re heading into a better time and era. And I’d say that we’re in the right place from a growth pattern standpoint, coming north out of Orlando, and we’re very excited about where this project is going to go.”