The first business to sign a long-term lease for the city center is the one that’s already on the property.
Highland Manor, through its parent company Dubsdread Catering, has signed a 10-year lease with city center developer Taurus Southern Investments to be a part of the center that is located near the intersection of U.S. Highway 441 and State Road 436.
Taurus purchased the Highland Manor building and parking lot on the south side of the building back in April from the city of Apopka, which had owned the property for about 10 years.
Dubsdread’s Steve Gunter first announced the transaction Friday, June 9, at the annual Apopka Area Chamber of Commerce Gala that was held at Highland Manor.
‘Very excited’
Gunter and his company have been hosting special events – mostly weddings – at Highland Manor for several years, but he said he is happy to have the long-term lease.
“We’re the first signee to the city center,” Gunter said. “We’re thrilled with that. It kind of becomes a reality with us. I’m very excited to have the building be fresh and new, and part of a center there. It’s going to be awesome.
“It means everything to us. We came in and took it over and thought, ‘Let’s see what kind of legs this has.’ And we found out that, honestly, it can be one of the top 10 wedding venues in Orlando because of the amenities and the look and feel of it.”
Gunter said initial questions about whether the Highland Manor building – more than 100 years old – would be a part of the city center kept him from getting excited about the center since it appeared at first that the building would be torn down or moved from its current site.
“We were going to be very, very sad if we weren’t given an opportunity to stay there because we built it up to a pretty good business and the only thing that’s been holding us back has been the general feeling in the community that it was going to go away when the city center was built. That was hanging over our head,” Gunter said.
A lack of knowledge of each other’s business was the main thing keeping Dubsdread Catering and Taurus Southern Investments from signing the lease, said Mayor Joe Kilsheimer.
“I think that some of the original hesitation was due to the fact that Taurus didn’t fully understand the business model at Highland Manor and Steve Gunter didn’t fully understand the business proposition that Taurus was bringing to the city center. Once they sat down with each other and Steve showed them how successful his business is at Highland Manor, Taurus said, ‘Of course, we have to keep Dubsdread Catering here.’
“It took months of discussions and negotiations to bring that lease to completion.”
Improvements to building
With the signing of the lease, the condition of the building – both exterior and interior – will be addressed this summer.
“The other thing that was holding it back a little bit was parts of it were in need of freshening. It looked a little old and worn,” Gunter said.
In the lease agreement, Dubsdread Catering will update the interior of the Highland Manor building, while Taurus Southern Investments will freshen up the exterior.
“To have Taurus come in and create a city center and want Highland Manor to be the actual anchor of the city center is great news because they’re going to spend $300,000 to $350,000 freshening up some of the rough spots on the building. It will be absolutely perfect,” Gunter said. “With the amenities we have upstairs for the brides and grooms, that’s going to be great for weddings. More importantly, we’re now going to be able to go after corporate business more than we have in the past. That’s what we’re looking to do: hold more family events during the weekend and more corporate business during the week.”
The improvements to the building, Gunter said, will be done during July and August.
“It’s going to happen during those two months because, frankly, it needs to,” he said. “A lot of this stuff is very critical. Also those are the slowest months. We want to have it in prime form for the fall and spring wedding seasons as well as the Christmas party season. I expect it will all be done by the first of September.”
The work will be done so that the special events that are planned during those two months won’t be affected, Gunter said.
Other businesses
Jeff McFadden, managing director of Taurus Southern Investments, said his company is continuing to negotiate with various businesses for the city center, including a hotel.
In April, McFadden said Taurus is seeking a Hilton Garden Inn for the site. That effort continues, he said, but the deal is not quite done.
However, he acknowledged the importance of a hotel to the overall success of the city center, especially for Highland Manor.
“It’s our intention to build a hotel that will interact with Highland Manor,” McFadden said. “We think having the hotel they’ll help fill us (hotel) up and vice versa. They’ll be able to generate more weekday business meetings and convention type stuff.”
For Gunter, the hotel being built is important to attract business clientele, as well as out-of-town guests who are in town for a wedding at Highland Manor. “That’s a big part of us wanting to stay, too,” Gunter said about the hotel. “That will bring business people to the area that will also help us develop the business clientele during the week. We’ve had some big-name clients, we just haven’t had a lot of them.”
In addition to the hotel, McFadden said Taurus is continuing to talk to companies representing restaurants, retail businesses, offices, and entertainment venues.
“We have a ton going on now, but nothing I’m ready to announce publicly. We’ve got a lot of stuff going on but I’m not ready to announce it,” McFadden said.
He’s hoping, however, to make those announcements fairly soon.
“I would hope in the next 60 days. Absolutely nothing happens as fast as you want it to. I’d be surprised if we don’t see some construction start by the end of the year.”
Mayor Kilsheimer echoed McFadden’s statements. “I am aware of multiple negotiations going on with a variety of prospective tenants that are close to completion,” the mayor said.
“It’s hard for us to identify specific tenants. I know of a bunch of deals that they are working through. There have been a couple of prospective tenants who have taken a really hard look but have said, ‘You know, this just doesn’t fit our business model.’
“This is almost like designing a jigsaw puzzle,” Kilsheimer said, adding that changes must be made when prospective tenants decide to look elsewhere. There have been a couple of instances of that, and that’s just business, in the normal course of business. It would be great if it was a straight line to success.”
Traffic concerns
Traffic issues with the intersection of U.S. 441 and SR 436 must be resolved through the Florida Department of Transportation (DOT) and all the parties involved have said some changes must be made for the city center project to work.
“I think it’s going pretty well. We’ve had a few meetings with DOT,” McFadden said.
He said discussion has centered around putting a traffic signal at U.S. 441 and SR 436 as well as adding a lane to where SR 436 ends at U.S. 441. In addition, there is talk about adding a traffic signal at U.S. 441 and McGee Avenue, which is just west of U.S. 441 and SR 436 intersection.
“This will slow traffic a little bit and calm it, but it will add more capacity with that extra lane,” McFadden said.
The mayor added, “We’ve had multiple meetings with prospective tenants and state agencies in making traffic improvements. There is a lot going on behind the scenes, we just don’t want to prematurely reveal what is going on and hamper the progress.”
Related development
Mayor Kilsheimer said that, at its next meeting on Wednesday, June 21, the City Council will take the first steps with the Community Redevelopment Agency to approve a plan that will set up a Station Street district and a Sixth Street promenade near Sixth Street and Central Avenue where the Apopka Community Center/VFW is located. Among the improvements, he said, will be a pedestrian trail from Sixth Street east to the city center area and then west to Alonzo Williams Park.
If the City Council votes to approve the acquisition of the Fifth Street parking lot that sits behind businesses that front Main Street (U.S. Highway 441), the mayor said the city will make it “an inviting place for people to come and park” by repaving the lot, and by installing underground utilities and landscaping.
The parking lot is currently owned by a consortium of businesses that are located near the parking lot.
