By Roger Jimenez, Interning Correspondent for The Apopka Voice
Apopka has secured a major win for infrastructure improvements with the awarding of a $17,360,000 BUILD Grant, one of only 30 given nationwide—and the only one in the state of Florida. The funding will support the Complete Streets Ocoee Project, a significant upgrade to the Ocoee-Apopka Road corridor.
The project will plan, design, and reconstruct a stretch of CR-437A from Harmon Road to South Hawthorne Avenue. Planned enhancements include widening the current two-lane road to four lanes, adding bicycle lanes, a multi-use path, and implementing smart lighting, sensors, and ADA-compliant upgrades.
Related: Florida's $66 Billion Transportation Makeover: What It Means for You.
“The funding allows us to address current congestion and safety issues while planning for future growth. The improvements will enhance mobility for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians, and connect neighborhoods to schools, jobs, and services in a safer and more efficient way,” said Senior Planner Jean Sanchez. “It’s a direct result of years of planning, extensive public input, and strong partnerships, both locally and at the federal level. It’s a project that truly reflects the community’s vision for safe streets, economic opportunity, and sustainable growth. This is a win for all of Apopka.”
Kinley-Horn’s Senior Grants Professional, Laura Wittenbauer, and Transportation Engineer, Mike Woodward, presented the announcement during the August 6th City Council meeting. They explained how the project’s strong public involvement and clear benefit-cost analysis helped secure the funding.
“This pursuit of funding actually began in 2023 when Pam Richmond was here,” explained Wittenbauer. “We worked closely in developing a RAISE grant for this specific project, but we did not win that one. We attended a debrief with the agency to find out where we were short. The number one area was our public involvement.”
From there, the Kinley-Horn team ramped up their efforts. They conducted in-person outreach with residents, GIS work, a benefit-cost analysis, and even developed a proprietary app, PublicCoordinate, which is designed to facilitate community input for public agencies and planners. Their efforts were met with a wave of public support.
“We secured letters of support from Congressman Daniel Webster, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, Metro Plan Orlando, BIPOC Central Florida, and many others,” said Sanchez.
Woodward emphasized that the project's benefit-cost ratio was a key factor in its selection.
“We went through the benefit-cost analysis. This is a step that all of the grant reviewers want to see, and you want to see a number that’s over 1, which means you’re spending your money wisely. And ours is almost a 2.3. That’s a pretty good benefit-cost ratio, and that is definitely one of the reasons why the federal government was able to prioritize this project.”
While the funding has been secured, the project must still go through several phases before construction can begin. These include a Project Development and Environmental (PD&E) study, full design planning, and right-of-way acquisition.
Construction is expected to last approximately 12 months, with project completion projected by 2032 if no delays occur.
During the council meeting, Commissioner Nadia Anderson raised questions about public reaction to right-of-way acquisitions.
“In regard to the acquisition of the properties for the right of way, have there been any residents who expressed any concerns?” she asked.
“So far, we have not,” replied Woodward. “But there is major public involvement in the next phase. There will be public meetings, and letters will be sent to everyone. Whoever the consultant is at the time would present different alternatives, and the public would be invited to comment on all of them.”
Commissioner Alexander Smith inquired whether overlapping phases could help accelerate the timeline.
“In reference to the timeline, is it possible that some of those phases could overlap?”
“Certainly,” said Woodward. “As one phase wraps up, like towards the end of PD&E, you have some space where if you’ve had enough progress and verification of what’s happening, you can be confident to move into the next step.”
Commissioner Diane Velasquez reminded the council that the grant requires a 20% local match, which is approximately $4.3 million.
Commissioner Nick Nesta voiced frustration over how the match requirement was communicated and handled during the budget process.
“In the development of the 25-26 budget, our discussions revolved around having to do some reprioritizations of some of the projects to meet this match,” said Finance Director Blanche Sherman.
“But this states that we have already appropriated the funds. None of this was brought up when we went over our budget workshops. This was never brought up as a line item that needs to be funded,” said Nesta.
“That is correct. We didn’t know we were going to receive the grant at the time, given the short timeline,” Sherman responded.
“This is something that I brought up before, but everyone gave me issues about it,” Nesta continued. “Sometimes there are matters we may not know about but need to budget for, like this. We may not know all the information, but your team does, and we could have budgeted for this. But now, if we don’t change anything to our budget, we’re in the hole for $4.3 million.”
Sanchez clarified that the funds could possibly come from the uncommitted projects line in the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for transportation, a discussion that was had outside of the council.
“It’s just a matter of reprioritizing,” Sherman added.
“You say that, but it means somewhere else in the city is losing what we have already planned for… It’s great for the community, and it’s going to be helpful, but it just goes back to the budgeting side. I was never privy to this information, and it could have been very helpful in our conversations,” Nesta replied.
Despite the concerns, the council expressed appreciation for the team’s hard work and dedication, closing the presentation on a positive note.
