- February 6, 2025
-
-
Loading
Loading
There is still no answer as to whether a multi-tenant building will be developed off Dunlawton Avenue between the Chick-Fil-A and Panera Bread.
During its Thursday, Jan. 4, meeting, City Council approved the request by Target Corp. to wait on voting until Jan. 16, when the item can be revisited after more information about the outparcel is provided. The project for the multi-tenant building is set at a cost of $3 million.
"We have an opportunity to control, for that matter, what goes in there," Councilman Chase Tramont said. "We don't want to miss out on those opportunities."
The land, currently owned by Target, would be subdivided for the outparcel, which would have four tenants. Two of these tenants would include Zales Jewelers and First Watch restaurant, which would have a 10-year lease.
"It's a mixed bag," Mayor Don Burnette said regarding discussion about traffic in the area. "You want services, you want places to shop, you want good products, and our job up here is to find that balance."
In its Tuesday, Dec. 12, meeting, City Council voted 3-2 against the amendment to the Master Development Agreement and Conceptual Development Plan for the Port Orange Gateway Center Planned Commercial Development.
The lot, south of Chick-Fil-A, is currently used as overflow parking for Target. The multi-tenant building would be approximately 10,250 square feet. The lot would be accessed from the Dunlawton Avenue and Yorktown Boulevard driveways. There are already cross-access easements between the lots for pedestrians and vehicles.
"We're going to work with the shopping center itself to deal with that four-way stop that creates somewhat of a bottleneck," Glenn Storch, attorney for Target, said.
Storch said the restaurant closes at 2:30 p.m. and that this would help alleviate traffic congestion.
Councilman Drew Bastian compared the traffic on Dunlawton Avenue to more severe roadway congestion in other cities.
"We're nowhere near that kind of traffic yet," Bastian said. "It's just crazy when you look some of these other communities and the traffic issues."
According to City Planner Penelope Cruz, traffic count numbers are approximately 70% to 79% of capacity on Dunlawton, which is below the traffic volume set by the state for Dunlawton Avenue between Clyde Morris Boulevard and I-95. The state set the level of service at 59,900 cars, and numbers from 2016 came in at 47,500 cars for that segment of the roadway, according to Cruz.
"I had a very good meeting with the developer, and we had a very honest and frank talk, and they did make a series of suggestions that are very positive for traffic, including financial commitment to signalization," Councilman Bob Ford said.
If the project amendment is approved and the project completed, there would be 765 parking spaces within the Target retail store lot and 89 spaces within the multi-tenant building lot.
Storch said he is looking at ways to minimize traffic in addition to adding conditions, such as prohibiting more drive-thrus or driveways. He noted a traffic study is also being conducted to see if there can be improved traffic flow. Storch added that there are plans to contribute to additional left turn lanes to alleviate any traffic as well.
In the meantime, the City Council will wait to see what additional information is brought before them in two weeks.
"I'm looking forward to the 16th," Vice Mayor Scott Stiltner said.
