Mount Dora Business and Real Estate

Mount Dora City Council approves AMCO Development rezoning

6/20/2024

ABOVE: A portion of the Amco Development's revised plan presented to Mount Dora City Council on February 5, 2024. Due to the site's topography, some of the actual building heights could be approximately 40 feet taller or more than indicated on AMCO's conceptual rendering above.

After tabling the issue for two weeks, on June 18 Mount Dora City Council voted (5-2) to approve zoning for a controversial 38-acre, mixed-use development that would change the landscape of the eastern section of the city. Council Members Cal Rolfson, Marc Crail, Doug Bryant and Mayor Crissy Stile voted in favor of the re-zoning, while Council Members Nate Walker and John Cataldo voted against it.

The AMCO Development proposal features high-density housing, as well as office and commercial space, senior living and other uses. At least eight mid-rise buildings would exceed the original zoning’s 100-foot height limit, and include two buildings that would be 175 feet tall when measured from State Road 46 or over 200 feet when measured from the bases of the buildings due to the sloped topography of the property. (see attached conceptual site plan below).

During the discussions at the June 4th City Council meeting, City Attorney Patrick Brackins raised the issue of potentially costly legal fees the City could incur if the project was declined and the developer filed a lawsuit. At the June 18th meeting, Brackins stated the City will be revising its Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code to prevent this particular development situation from occurring again.

The City of Mount Dora will service the AMCO Development with water and sewer utilities if capacity is available at the time the formal site plan is submitted for the project and each subsequent phase thereafter. At the current concept plan stage, the City’s staff has stated it does not have capacity for waste water to service the development.

The next phases of the project would be platting and then submitting the site plan, which includes traffic studies and other engineering reports for geotechnics, environmental, drainage, storm water and tree mitigation, in addition to determination of utility capacity.

RELATED: Mount Dora City Council decline AMCO Development settlement agreement

RELATED: AMCO files legal action against City of Mount Dora

Eight of the 10 proposed buildings in the AMCO Development project would exceed the area’s 100-foot maximum building height. The heights of those buildings are as follows:

Two buildings with maximum heights of 175 feet measured from S.R. 46 (B & C on site plan).
One building with a maximum height of 165 feet measured from S.R. 46 (D on site plan).
Two buildings with maximum heights of 150 feet measured from S.R. 46 (A on the site plan and the remaining portion of the property on site plan).
The proposed hotel building maximum building height of 138 feet measured from S.R. 46.
The proposed senior living building maximum height of 125 feet measured from S.R. 46.
The proposed multi-story indoor self-storage is 100 feet maximum height measured from S.R. 46. However, measured from grade, it could exceed that by approximately 40 feet.

The AMCO Development project originally came before Mount Dora City Council in February, 2023, with a proposed building height of 310 feet, but the City Council voted down that proposal.

After a proposed settlement between the City and the developer was voted down by a 4-3 vote of the City Council, a Special Magistrate recently recommended the City allow the 175-foot building height measured from S.R. 46. Last night the council voted (6-1, Walker dissented) to approve a slightly modified settlement agreement with the developer which paved the way for the City Council to vote on the rezoning to allow the project.

The AMCO project will be built in three-phases and would have a maximum of:

865 apartments
665 condominiums
275 senior living units
900,000 square feet of office space
950,000 square feet of commercial space
100,000 square feet of convention center space
150,000 square feet of mini-storage warehouse
352 hotel rooms with up to two hotels
2 retention ponds
1 food hall
1 playground area

RELATED: 11 things to know about Mount Dora's proposed AMCO Development

For more news and events in Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis, visit Mount Dora Buzz's website, its Instagram and Facebook page. Download the area's free mobile app for info on the go. For local food recommendations, follow Mount Dora Foodie's Facebook and its official Instagram account.

Steamroller Technologies Breaks Ground on New Mount Dora Headquarters

6/10/2024

ABOVE: Team members of Steamroller Technologies in front of the future site of the company's new headquarters.

Steamroller Technologies celebrated the groundbreaking of its new downtown Mount Dora headquarters that is expected to be completed in the summer of 2025. The company is the sister company of Steamroller Animation, another Mount Dora technology enterprise.

Steamroller Technologies has a team of 22 developers, animators, and engineers who specialize in content and software development for location-based entertainment for local and international clients, including theme parks and museums. The team is led by Cofounders Keith Lackey and Phil Bias, and Operations Director Marissa Whitehill, Lackey won an Academy Award in February from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, when he was presented with a Technical Achievement Award for his work on a project called Atlas.

The company will lease the second and third floors of the new three-story building being erected adjacent to Steamroller Animation’s existing location at 301 N. Baker Street. Each of the two floors Steamroller Technologies will occupy will have 2,500 square feet of office space.

“We are thrilled to finally be breaking ground on our new space. We love being in Mount Dora with walkable access to great restaurants, coffee shops, and waterfront views,” said Bias. “We are glad that this building will give us the space we need to house our team, as well as demonstrate some of the immersive technologies we create.”

ABOVE: The leadership team of Steamroller Technologies: Phil Bias, Marissa Whitehill, and Keith Lackey.

The sister company, Steamroller Animation, was founded in 2015 and moved to downtown Mount Dora in 2018 after outgrowing its historic Olde Chapel Hall office space in Eustis. The animation studio specializes in high-quality animation for major entertainment companies, including Sony, Paramount, Apple, Blizzard Entertainment, and Epic Games. It recently announced the opening of a new remote office in Canada. Steamroller Animation CEO Aaron Gillman is from Vancouver, so an office was opened in British Columbia.

For more news and events in Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis, visit Mount Dora Buzz's website, its Instagram and Facebook page. Download the area's free mobile app for info on the go. For local food recommendations, follow Mount Dora Foodie's Facebook and its official Instagram account.

Orlando Health submits application for freestanding E.R. in Eustis

6/1/2024

Orlando Health has submitted an application to the City of Eustis to build a free-standing emergency department (FSED) on U.S. 441. The application will need to undergo a technical review and any subsequent changes will also require review.

The proposed 9.3-acre site for the 11,600 square-foot facility is approximately a mile from AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares and also in close proximity to HCA Healthcare’s newly completed FSED also located on U.S. 441 in Eustis. Adding to the local emergency healthcare options, UF Health opened its new Emergency and Urgent Care Center in Eustis last month on U.S. 441 and Eudora Road.

Orlando Health reportedly purchased the land for $5.25 million last month. The proposed building’s height is 28 feet where 35 feet is the maximum allowed.

Orlando Health is a not-for-profit healthcare organization that was founded over a century ago. It currently has 17 hospitals, 10 FSEDs and over 100 outpatient centers. The company has $9.6 billion in assets under management, according to its website.

For more news and events in Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis, visit Mount Dora Buzz's website, its Instagram and Facebook page. Download the area's free mobile app for info on the go. For local food recommendations, follow Mount Dora Foodie's Facebook and its official Instagram account.

Business Buzz

Mount Dora City Council approves AMCO Development rezoning

Steamroller Technologies Breaks Ground on New Mount Dora Headquarters

Orlando Health submits application for freestanding E.R. in Eustis

BUSINESS & REAL ESTATE

Archives

Categories