Princeton along Carriage Way

UPDATE Tuesday June 17, 2014: The project received approval from the Municipal Planning Board and will now head to City Council.

The Princeton project where Princeton St and Smith St split just east of Edgewater we told you about last month is headed to the Municipal Planning Board next week for approval.

The new 228 unit apartment complex requires approval by the board because it’s a new planned development and the zoning needs to be adjusted to allow for higher density and allow the building heights to lessen slower than what is currently required.

The development fits mostly within the Edgewater Drive Vision Plan with the exception of the exact way the developer wants to scale down the building as it blends into the neighborhood.

Building Height

When the Edgewater Drive Vision Plan was created the plan called for any future development on this lot to start with a maximum of seven stories, then go to a maximum of five and then to three.

Princeton - Zones

Because the proposed development does not sit directly on Edgewater (the retail that currently houses CVS, Tijuana Flats and Subway will remain along with some surface parking) the project does not decrease building height quick enough.

Princeton Zone Height

The project starts at six stories and decreases to five in the first zone. It remains at five as it goes into the second and third zone and decreases to four and then to three stories as it goes into the third zone.

Traffic & Parking

The new development would generate 2,254 vehicle trips per day. That’s about an extra 1,300 trips. At peak hour that would mean an extra 100 vehicle trips.

The development would increase on-street parking and provide 48 spaces in the existing surface lot and 49 spaces on the ground floor of the parking garage for retail. The reminder of the garage will have 390 spaces for residents.

That ends up being around 500 total spaces when you include the on-street parking. A development of this scale only is required to have about 400 spaces to meet city code.

The project could also help the Edgewater intersection by removing a lot of the curb cuts along Princeton St and Smith St. There would be a cut for the retail parking and one for resident access.

Streetscape

The developer has also proposed to create not only the required streetscape improvements along the setbacks of the property but also has proposed improving the splitter island that sits just west of the property and adding a bus pull in lane along Smith St for a potential LYMMO expansion.

Princeton Splitter Island

Community Feedback

The developer has held information sessions throughout College Park and has taken that feedback made minor changes to the plan to accommodate the community. This included a separate entrance for residents and making minor improvements to the exterior to make the three-story part feel more like individual brownstones versus attached apartments.

The project will go to the Municipal Planning Board on June 17 and then to City Council for approval. The staff is recommending approval of the project.

Here are some more renderings of the project:Princeton along Smith  The Princeton Rendering 1 The Princeton Rendering 2 The Princeton Rendering Smith Street The Princeton Rendering Edgewater The Princeton Rendering Princeton The Princeton Site Plan

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13 Comments

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  1. I’ve lived in College Park 37 years in one of the few remaining bungalows. Sadly bungalows are being cut down like cornstalks and every one replaced by two story, stucco McMansions. This proposed monstrosity on Princeton shows how greed will overpower charm and heritage (albeit lost). College Park has turned into Winter Park wannabes. At this rate it will very soon be Manhattan, NY. wannabes. Progress??? No. GREED. Why not bring in a Ferris wheel and just call it Coney Island Park !

  2. Actually Winter Park just passed a development code change to allow for greater density. And there are large scale apartment complexes being built there currently.

  3. I think the developer likes to talk a bunch and put out a bit of misinformation. Per their response to me on their face book page, there are currently no other renderings and won’t be any unless they get past the zoning issue. Which is interesting because the latest renderings on the city website are slightly revised from what was shown at the community meeting. These latest renderings show gates at both sides of the building now for the revised parking entrances.

  4. I hate the fact that they’re going to build an apartment complex in our small town, College Park! And the traffic congestion is going to be an absolute nightmare! I wish the developer would take his idea out of our neighborhood! College Park does NOT need a 228 unit complex with 60+ percent one bedroom apartments!!

  5. Makes me sick. The last thing cp needs is another condo complex on edgewater drive. When I think of how original the strip there was, full of mom and pop places that had been there forever,mand look at it now, it makes me angry and sad as to what it’s become. It’s one reason I left.

  6. I think this is a great project for the area, but hope they have that Lymmo route running sooner than later to connect Edgewater to SunRail and Downtown.

  7. College Park is great as it is. The Wellesley is an eyesore. The more you begin to transform CP into high-density living, the more it becomes downtown Orlando, which is a cluster-f’k.
    Apartment complexes bring unforseen crime along with them. It is an inevitability that coincides with new tenants. My vote would be to keep the high-rises on the east side of I-4. It makes far more sense anyways, considering the proximity to FL Hospital and the Sunrail station.
    Ever been to Tijuana Flats for dinner? How about on a Friday or weekend? As it is right now, you nearly have to wait for seating during peak times. Subway is the same, as are many of the CP Edgewater-strip restaurants. The strip died a little when arguably one of the best restaurants in the area, Wildsides, changed management, later to be sold off to become The Hangar, clearly the worst restaurant to pop up in its place, considering its longevity filled with lackluster food and abysmal service.
    What about the existing residences and businesses that currently exist on that property? Old Florida National Bank is one of them, one of the highest rated small banks in Florida, conveniently located in a centralized location.
    Just what exactly do people think will happen when you flood the immediate area with upwards of another 500 people? It currently can take 10+ minutes just to get from one end of the strip to the other during certain times of the day. There is a lot more involved than just plopping down 228 units. I don’t know about you, but I rather like the small-town feel — it’s why my wife and I stay here.

  8. Developer – Anthony Everett, Managing Director, Pollack Shores Real Estate Group. Architects on the renderings are Poole and Poole.

  9. I’d like to see a little more density in College Park. I think the Wellsley has been a good edition

  10. We are told that the renderings with the city and that we have are the old renderings. They have since been updated but we don’t have a copy of those.

  11. What minor improvements have they made to the 3 story section? The renderings I saw on the city’s website today are the same ones the developer has shown since day 1. I’m not opposed to a project like this is theory, but the architecture – especially the 3 story section – is generic at best. College Park deserves better. I was hopeful the developer would embrace the community’s comments more robustly. But thus far I’ve seen very little change and it seems the city is just fine with whatever they want to do.