Commercial, Residential Construction Seem to Remain Part of the Poinciana Scenery

July 19, 2006

A shopping mall that is scheduled to open this fall and the continued development in both the industrial park and on the new-home front are the latest indicators that growth is not slowing down in this huge master-planned community south of Kissimmee.

Avatar, the primary developer of Poinciana, announced recently that the much-awaited Solivita Marketplace is expected to open more than 41,000 square feet of business and retail space when the first phase of the shopping mall's construction is completed Nov. 1.

A mixed-use complex that will eventually encompass more than 60 acres along the Polk-Osceola county border, the center is directly across from Solivita, the adult community of more than 5,000 residents on the fast-growing Polk County side of Poinciana.

The first phase, which has 6.61 acres, is being developed by Southeast Shopping Centers Development of Coral Gables, which bought the property from Avatar. It will consist of five buildings with a Walgreens Drug Store and two banks occupying three of them, according to Warren Raymond, the director of leasing for Southeast Commercial Realty Group.

The other two buildings will have 9,000 square feet of retail space. Raymond said among the tenants who are expected to be in place when they open are Martin's BBQ of Orlando, Lin Gardens Chinese Restaurant, a Quizno's Subs, The Poinciana Bakery & Cafe, a Cellular One cell phone store, Gigi's Beauty Salon, Osceola County Insurance Group, Classic Barber Salon and a yet-to-be named nail salon.

According to Tony Iorio, Avatar's vice president of development, the remaining acreage will involve several developers, including Avatar, with part of it being designated for medical offices to accommodate the hospital Avatar hopes to get built nearby.

Plans for the 120-bed hospital are on hold, however. Osceola Regional Medical Center's efforts to receive a certificate of need from the state were denied after a challenge by two other area hospitals. ORMC is appealing that decision, a process that could take two years.

While the marketplace is nearing a grand opening at one end of Solivita, the Poinciana Office and Industrial Park on the Osceola County side is the focus of development action by Thomas Chalifoux of Kissimmee, a longtime developer and general contractor in the area.

Chalifoux recently contracted with Avatar to buy 36 acres in the industrial park on Poinciana Boulevard just north of the CSX Railroad tracks and State Road 17-92.

"This is one of the hottest intersections in all of Center Florida," Chalifoux said in a press release announcing the purchase.

The purchase includes two adjacent sites, one of 23 acres and one with 13. Chalifoux plans to build a mixed-use project consisting of about 500,000 square feet of retail office and office warehouse space at an investment cost estimated at between $50 million and $60 million.

The 36 acres will be added to the 22.75 acres Chalifoux already owns just south of U.S. 17-92 at Poinciana Boulevard and Robert McLane Boulevard. He is planning to build a $45 million, 320,000-square-foot mixed-used development there with 62,000 square feet of retail space, 120,000 square feet of Class B office space and 140,000 square feet of small-bay office warehouse space.

Chalifoux, who heads Chalifoux Management Group and is a member of the Osceola County School Board, said development on the 22.75-acre site should begin later this year and that projects on both sites are expected to be completed within four years.

"That is going to bring in some terrific development opportunities for Osceola County and for Poinciana," Iorio told The Reporter.

Meanwhile, on the home-building front, Avatar recently announced plans for development of a residential community of more than 500 homes on Marigold Avenue, just north of Cypress Parkway and near Solivita Marketplace.

To be called Fieldstone, the development will offer nine floor plans of three- and four-bedroom homes each with up to 2,836 square feet of living space. It will also have an amenity center with swimming pool, spa, cabana, children's playground and open space with a picnic area.

Iorio said development of Fieldstone began more than a year ago, but the plan was put on hold until it was determined which property would be best for the hoped-for hospital. That, Iorio added, is what happens when you are master planning a community and want to make certain that the elements work together.

Not far away along Cypress Parkway and just west of Poinciana Towne Center, Avatar has plans to build its first townhouse development in Poinciana.

With a total of 100 upscale townhouses and an amenity center, The Courtyards by Avatar will be built on two nine-acre sites on either side of a 39-acre wooded conservation area. The units will consist of five one- and two-story residences, each with three bedrooms, an attached two-car garage and 21/2 or 31/2 baths. The homes will range is size from 1,700 to 2,392 square feet with prices expected to start at about $250,000.

Bill Cowart, Avatar's president of primary home building operations in Florida and Arizona, said townhouses are attractive to a lot of former single-family homeowners who want to get away from higher-maintenance properties.

"They don't want to move down in size, quality and style," he said. "But they do want a low-maintenance home that allows them to enjoy their leisure time to travel and do what they want, when they want."

SOURCE: http://www.theledger.com