- February 4, 2025
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The type of car wash coming to Granada Pointe is not like ones the community has seen, said developer Paul Holub at a neighborhood meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 18, adding that it is bringing a multi-million dollar investment to the area.
"This is the top line of car washes, and if we're going to have another car wash, this is the one we want in the community," Holub said.
The Cloud 10 car wash is being proposed for the southeast parcel of Granada Pointe, which will also be home to a Wawa gas station. The building will span 4,750 square feet and will see an average of 300-400 cars on a weekday and 500-600 on a weekend. Holub said this is a 25% reduction of the daily trips compared to the ones a fast food restaurant with a drive-thru would generate; This is a current permitted use of the parcel.
Building a car wash requires an amendment to Holub's development order for Granada Pointe, which in turn, also required him to hold another neighborhood meeting. An estimated 40 people, including past City Commission candidate Sandy Kauffman and members from the Ormond Beach Historical Society, attended the meeting held at the Hampton Inn.
Aside from permitting a car wash use in Granada Pointe, Holub is also seeking five other amendments: the removal of a historic tree from the north parcel, clarification that two buildings could be permitted in the southwest parcel, permit privacy walls of a 6-8 foot tall range, remove the eight parking spaces on the north parcel for the historic Three Chimneys property and modify that the $10,000 contribution to the Historical Society can be used for repair and maintenance of the Three Chimneys.
Though 10 months have passed since the land for Granada Pointe was cleared, some at the meeting expressed they were still grieving the loss of the trees. Ormond Beach resident Linda Williams asked Holub and the other investors and engineers of the project if there was something else that could have been proposed for the site.
"We feel like the trade-off is just horrible," Williams said. "For a gas station and a car wash for that beautiful woodland."
Holub mentioned earlier in the meeting that a Culver's had been initially in the works for Granada Pointe, but the deal was unable to be finalized when another Culver's franchise began construction at the Tomoka Town Center across from the Tanger Outlets by LPGA Boulevard.
"We're just heartsick that this is what you have brought us for this piece of land," Williams said.
Holub said that other uses are coming to the development, including retail and a new grocer.
Holub is seeking to remove a historic oak tree at the entrance of the north parcel. It's not an oak with a full canopy, he said, but it is leaning into Granada Boulevard and branches hover over the power lines. Holub said that, while the tree is currently healthy, it could pose a problem in a future storm due to its proximity to the $400,000 mast arm for the planned traffic light at the intersection of Tomoka Avenue and Granada Boulevard.
When asked by Ormond Beach resident Ashlee Gruenewald about why this tree was initially kept, Holub said they thought it was in a location where they could preserve it. As the development went along, he said they noticed how much it was leaning.
"I think a lot of people were upset about the leveling of that beautiful forest area that now we're talking about, no offense, putting a car wash, and it seems like in lieu of an understanding of what we wanted, you could have thought about that," Gruenewald said.
Holub's landscape architect gave the tree a "9" rating in terms of being a hazard, with "10" being the most dangerous. City Planning Director Steven Spraker said the city sent an arborist to inspect the tree, and it was determined the tree was healthy. While staff is likely to not recommend approval for removing it, Spraker said pruning the tree could be an option.
"If the city does not want it down, then we don't object, but we want to be on the record that it is a hazard," Holub said.
Kauffman suggested Holub consider not putting a traffic light in that location if the historic tree could be an obstruction. She asked for a show of hands to see how many people wanted a traffic light so close to the one in Orchard Street. Four people, including Holub's son Bryan Shaffer, raised their hands.
"I would think that anybody that lived in the neighborhood to the south would welcome a traffic signal to go west, because this used to be a 'Y' intersection which is not allowed in today's world," Holub said. "It was there since the '60s and 70's. It was very dangerous."
The amendments are expected to be reviewed by the Planning Board at its meeting on Jan. 10, 2019.
