“Did you see this? Seems like an odd place for an apartment complex.“
– JOHANNAH O.
Kimco Realty Corporation, which acquired Colonial Plaza via a merger last year with Weingarten Realty Investors, is reportedly considering knocking down some retail on the site to be replaced with new apartment buildings.
The project, which was first reported on by Laura Kinsler of GrowthSpotter, is in the very early planning stages and nothing is currently set in stone but if it moves forward, it could see the demolition of the buildings that currently house Barnes & Noble, PetCo, and Goodyear, and replace them with mixed-use buildings that feature roughly 250-350 new apartment units, boutique shops on the ground floor, and structured parking.
Recent additions to Colonial Plaza include Conn’s Home Plus, Five Below, Sprouts, and the upcoming revamp of Colonial Lanes just next door.
Do you have something you want us to look into for you? Send us an email to [email protected] and ask a question!
What is missing from this conversation is how much we need more “boutique shops.” Maybe a nail salon or a craft brewery? I just hope everyting is “curated” and “handcrafted.”
I hope they redevelop this (if B&N and Petco were already going to close- I’m a dog mom who loves reading). While traffic is an issue, to me it is an issue because people can’t get anywhere without a car. If they develop this into apartments, I would hope they significantly cut parking and fix the Cady Way connection and Maguire and SR50 so that people can use this trail as a new form of transportation. This feels like a great opportunity to make this part of Colonial safer for pedestrians.
Definitely need to think infrastructure here. Central FL needs more apartments but, holy cow, people are going to be flying down Hillcrest and Concord to avoid the cluster at Bumby and Colonial. Or there’s that WONDERFUL light at Primrose… Why just today I almost got t-boned by some psycho running the stop sign at Hampton and Hillcrest.
Chick-Fil-A traffic is gonna be intense! Love the concept, hate the location though.
350 daily tenants driving in and out of that location will be a traffic nightmare for shoppers.
As someone who shops at Colonial Plaza weekly, I frickin’ hate this. I love Barnes and Noble, and I’d hate to see them go (unless they already had plans to close). If the redevelopment of Fashion Sq ever moves ahead, there will be a literal TON of apartments on that property. My only issue with Colonial Plaza is the poor layout of the parking lot and the chaos that Chic-ful-o-hate creates from 11AM to about 2PM. Try to get in our out at the main entrance around that time… jackasses blocking the flow of traffic to get their jesuschicken. Tear that homophobic little shack down and build some crappy, generic apartments right up front ok?
It’s great to see some new housing come up but Barnes and noble? They can take all of Ross and Staples and Marshall’s for all I care.
I really don’t think this Robin understands that something like 200k people move or looking to move into Florida or Orlando area within next 2 years.
We need Shopping Centers not more Apartments! There are not enough trim for cars in the highway with more vehicles in new apartments .. !
Stop the Madness !!!!
So many Barnes & Nobles shutting down in Orlando, pretty sad. Hope they relocate and not just kill it.
This actually isn’t an odd place for apartments. It’s the same kind of development just down Colonial Drive at Fashion Square, where people can live, so they can walk to shops & restaurants without getting into a car with other traffic on the roads.
That’s one of the only Barnes and Nobles left in Orlando and always has a good selection. To turn that into housing along with the fashion square mall is a lot for that area.
Love the idea. Hate that it’s the Barnes & Noble and PetCo building they’d opt to knock down. Kindly rethink that choice 🙂
As someone who lives, and has lived in the area for 30 years….where is all of this traffic going to go?! Adding these along with those new apartments at Fern Creek is just going to wreak havoc on all of the current roads. This is insane to me.
I’d be really upset for the PetCo to go away but can’t argue that mixed-use housing is a better use of the space.