Freshfields Farm, which has stores in Orlando and Jacksonville, is eyeing Apopka as the site of its third location.
The development team gave its first submittal of Freshfields Farm Apopka’s construction site plan at the Development Review Committee (DRC) on Wednesday. The owner/developer is Freshfields Farm CEO David B. DeLoach under the entity Apopka 3 LLC.
The family-owned grocer first opened in 1973 as a small meat market in Orlando. It expanded many times and added fresh produce to its inventory. To show increased commitment to offering the freshest produce and meat, the business changed its name in 2008 from “Momm’s Meats Popp’s Produce” to “Freshfields Farm”. In 2013, Freshfields Farm opened its second location in Jacksonville and expanded this site three years later.
The grocer intends to open more locations, according to information on the company website.
The DRC is comprised of representatives from several city departments who meet weekly to review and comment on applications for proposed developments.
According to city planner Jean Sanchez, Freshfields Farm Apopka is proposed to be a 17,550 sq. ft. specialty retail store on Armando Borjas Jr. Way. The submitted documents identify the address as 1819 Piedmont Wekiwa Blvd., which is another name for Armando Borjas Jr. Way.
Apopka 3 LLC purchased the 5.58-acre Armando Borjas Jr. Way tract from Gail M. Taylor and ACH Associates for $1.7 million in 2021, according to Orange County Property Appraiser records.
Although Freshfields Farm Apopka is proposed as under the threshold of 25,000 sq. ft. and therefore doesn’t require a public hearing, the project would undergo both major development plan and construction site plan processes.
“We gave [the development team] the discretion that they can undergo those two processes together,” Sanchez told the DRC. “So, we will treat this as both plans.”
The major development plan process entails a review of the overall project layout to make sure aspects such as building placement and proposed land use comply with the city’s zoning codes and comprehensive plan.
The construction site plan process is a more detailed, technical review of the architectural and engineering renderings to check for compliance with city technical specifications before a building permit can be issued.
Dane Frey, civil engineer with Bowman Consulting Group, said that they received a copy of the comments from the city. The team reviewed them and had no objections to the housekeeping items, but there are requests to clarify the amount of parking, Frey said.
“We do intend to provide a study for a similar store that justifies the need for additional parking above code minimum, and the other items, we have no issues addressing those,” he said.