- November 19, 2024
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UPDATED 1:38 p.m. Feb. 6.
PALM COAST — When a shopping center dies, it’s rarely resurrected. And that’s why the proposed redevelopment of the Palm Harbor Shopping Center, which has steadily fallen to about 40% occupancy over the past several years in the heart of Palm Coast, is one of the most significant construction projects in the city’s history.
That was City Manager Jim Landon’s assessment at the Feb. 4 Palm Coast City Council meeting, when the councilmen voted 5-0 to approve the rezoning of 28.89 acres at the northwest corner of Florida Park Drive and Palm Coast Parkway from general commercial to master planned development. Site plans and permitting will follow in the coming months.
“This is a very exciting project,” Landon said. “We have the opportunity to see this turn around.”
Three phases of construction
The project will be completed in three phases. First, the western end near Old Kings Road will be developed, which will then allow the existing stores in the roundabout area, such as PC Bike, to relocate near Old Kings Road with minimal disruption. The stores at the roundabout will then be razed.
Second, a new building will be constructed for Publix, moving the store to the west to become more the complex's center. The new one will be 9,000 square feet larger, or about 20%, making it one of the company’s larger stores, according to Michael Chiumento, the attorney representing the developer, Winter Haven-based Michael Collard. The target date for Publix to move: September 2015.
“We are currently in discussion with multiple, new, national tenants that you see at other plazas in the region,” Chiumento said, adding that he was “shocked” at the high level of interest at this early stage.
Third, the current Publix building would be outfitted for a new tenant. In addition, three outparcels will be created — two near the corner of Florida Park Drive and Palm Coast Parkway, near the new-and-improved retention pond. Chiumento said the developer is hoping for a restaurant — “Maybe a Macaroni Grill, you never know,” he said.
What about the trees?
The city requires 65% of the specimen and history trees to be preserved by this development. The proposed plan exceeds that requirement, preserving 72.73% of the specimen and historic trees.
Many of the trees in the shopping center were planted in the 1970s. “The trees in the existing islands are significant and are beautiful,” Chiumento told the City Council, adding that experts — both from the developer and the city staff — examined every tree on the property to assess health and type. Every effort is being made to design the development around the existing trees, Chiumento said, including accommodating a tree with a double trunk of about 20 inches in diameter near the Bealls site.
And the traffic?
A left-hand turn lane will be added to expand the location into the shopping center at Florida Park Drive North.
Residents of that road were still concerned, saying there is already heavy traffic along the road. Steven Carr showed a video of constant daytime traffic, including school buses and 18-wheelers.
One Florida Park Drive homeowner, Mark Langello, had a different perspective. “I moved here when that shopping center was opened. Now I’m an old man, and that shopping center is old, too.” He said he hopes a rejuvenated shopping center will increase his property values.
In addition, the southern exit between Starbucks and Mobil will only be westbound in the future. Today, drivers can exit there, cross Palm Coast Parkway East and wait at a stop sign to head east. Traffic engineers have analyzed that exit and determined that when Island Walk is built out, and when Palm Coast Parkway is expanded to six lanes, traffic will be such that there won’t be enough room to stack cars between the parkways. Therefore, the plan calls for an elimination of that eastbound exit.
Because of the September 2015 deadline set by Publix, “the applicant is moving aggressively,“ said Beau Falgout, senior economic planner for the city.
WHAT WON’T BE IN ISLAND WALK?
Nothing is certain about what stores will eventually be in Island Walk. But, there is a long list, created by the new owners, of what is not allowed at Island Walk — anything that would interfere with a “high-end shopping experience.” The list is as follows:
Dry cleaners, adult entertainment, massage parlor, adult book store, “a so-called ‘head shop,’” tattoo or piercing parlor, gambling facility, check cashing, cinema, skating rink, bowling alley, discotheque, dance hall, nightclub, amusement gallery, pool room, electronic game room, funeral parlor, flea market, bingo parlor, cafeteria, auto sales, car wash, bill board, cell phone tower, pawn shop or driving school.
BOX: BY THE NUMBERS
| Existing | Proposed | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Square feet | 175,410 | 233,948 | +33% |
| Impervious area | 61% | 76% | +15% |
| Parking spaces | 952 | 1,236 | +30% |
Created with the HTML Table Generator
