- October 2, 2024
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The Volusia County Council approved 4-1 two agreements that will help pave the way for a Hand Avenue extension at its meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
The agreements with Avalon Park Daytona, a development planned for 3,000 acres of land west of I-95 and south of State Road 40 near Breakaway Trails in Ormond Beach, are for cost allocation and right of way for needed road segments. Avalon Park Daytona plans to construct 7,878 homes, both single-family and multi-family units, and 1 million square feet of commercial.
The agreements with Avalon Park Group state that the county will obtain two missing segments of right of way, one for Tymber Creek Road between Old Tomoka Road and State Road 40, and the other for Hand Avenue between the river and I-95. The county will also provide, or coordinate, the funding of the Hand Avenue bridges over the Tomoka River and I-95, add the segments to its comprehensive plan, capital improvement plan and 5-year road plan, and pursue adding them to the River to Sea Transportation Planning Organization list.
County Councilman Troy Kent said his biggest issue with Avalon Park Daytona is the traffic it will generate — and trying to keep the traffic off State Road 40 in Ormond Beach. He’s an advocate for the Hand Avenue extension, he said, as it will be provide an alternate east-west corridor.
“It’s hugely important for the people that live in this area to have that alternate east-west opportunity, instead of just being on Granada Boulevard or LPGA,” Kent said. “... The quicker we can get support from the state and even the feds to get help with those bridges that were going to need on Hand Avenue, the better,” Kent said.
The first phase of the development will consist of 1,609 residential units and 90,000 square feet of commercial development on 783 acres.
Volusia County Engineer Tadd Kasbeer said that staff has been speaking with the developers for about two years regarding the overall development plan. The developers have invested about $90 million on the project.
“Our one obligation is the funding of the bridges,” Kasbeer said.
Avalon Park, said Ormond Beach resident Connie Colby, is a “definite problem” for Ormond Beach.
“Hand Avenue is already used as the alternate for Granada in Ormond Beach,” she said. “It’s heavily trafficked and it’s getting widened now just for the residents, us.”
Ormond residents, she said, do not need a Hand Avenue extension.
County Council Chair Jeff Brower voted against accepting the agreements, saying he wasn’t in favor of taxpayers funding any roads in the development.
“This is one of the areas that I believe we just should have never developed west of I-95, right here,” Brower said. “It’s all very wet.”
The county will also transfer the right of way for the extension of Tournament Drive back to the developer so that Avalon Park can provide a road network to support its development.
The city of Ormond Beach is creating a Downtown Master Arts Plan to create a roadmap for public art.
The Downtown Public Art Master Plan will give the city an action plan for types of public art, as well as a five-year work plan. In May, the city awarded an $80,000 contract for the master plan to Designing Local, a company based in Columbus, Ohio. A website has been created for the master plan, obpublicartplan.com.
“Public art can be used to activate public spaces and invigorate communities,” the website states. “Thoughtfully implemented public art can offer cultural meaning to Ormond Beach and convey its spirit and energy to ourselves and our visitors.”
Public art may include murals, interactive sculptures, temporary art experiences, light installations or performances.
Have an opinion on the master plan? Share it in a new survey. Visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9D2MBPM.
To learn more about the Ormond Beach Downtown Master Arts Plan, visit obpublicartplan.com.
A neighborhood meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 8, at Coquina Presbyterian Church, 2085 W. Granada Blvd., to discussed a new residential development to be composed of 31 single-family homes, a church and a community recreation center.
The development, known as Little Tomoka Village, is proposed to be located north of West Granada Boulevard and east of Shadow Crossings Boulevard.
