The Apopka City Commission unanimously approved a notice of default on Wednesday for a long-delayed downtown redevelopment project after city officials said the developer had not submitted required plans nearly two years after a contractual deadline. 

The action, which the commission voted 5-0, affects the Station Street development agreement between the city, the Community Redevelopment Agency and Standard Investments and Holdings LLC. 

According to city staff, the agreement allows the development of up to 60 affordable multifamily housing units in exchange for the construction of a city-owned public plaza and extensions connected to the Downtown Apopka Trail. 

Interim City Administrator Radley Williams told commissioners that the developer was required to provide completed design specifications for the public plaza and trail extensions by July 15, 2024. 

“To date, nearly two years later, the city has received no submittals from the developer,” Williams said. 

The notice was addressed to Tony Benge Jr. on behalf of Standard Investments and Holdings LLC, the company the city selected in 2022 to redevelop the property.  

Williams said the property contained brownfield-related environmental issues that required additional testing and studies. Those studies were completed earlier this year. 

“Staff has met multiple times with the developer along the way,” Williams said.  

Williams added that after a recent meeting, the developer indicated it would contact city staff to begin discussions regarding the public plaza.  

“The time passed, they didn’t reach out, more time passed, and we’re kind of here where we are now,” Williams said.  

If the developer proposes a cure within the 30-day period, commissioners will review it at a future meeting. If not, city officials could move toward terminating the agreement and determining the property’s future, Williams said.  

Vice Mayor Diane Velazquez said she opposed postponing consideration of the item and argued the project had become a major obstacle to downtown redevelopment efforts. 

“I have been following up with this project for probably about two years, and they have not, in good faith, started this project,” Velazquez said. “It needed that project to be done in order to kind of build our city downtown.”  

Commissioner Sam Ruth said developers should be held to the same standards as residents and businesses. 

“If we have any chance of changing the direction of the city, it’s going to go into the future,” Ruth said. “We need to demand it from our developers.” 

Several residents also supported moving forward with the default notice. 

Mayor Nick Nesta said the city’s goal remains creating a vibrant downtown district and that the notice of default could either motivate progress or clear the way for a new approach. 

“If they can bring us and we can follow through with what they committed to, awesome,” Nesta said. “But at the same time, if they’re not going through [with it or are] just no longer interested in it, that’s okay as well.”