From Staff Reports
In Summary:
The Station Street redevelopment project is headed toward cancellation under a proposed mutual termination agreement scheduled for CRA consideration on November 12. The document says denied environmental clearance halted the project and states that the developer is not in default, contrasting with the City Commission’s June vote to issue a default notice. Termination would take effect once all three parties sign, and the document identifies no replacement development plan.
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Apopka’s long-stalled Station Street redevelopment project is headed toward cancellation, with a proposed mutual termination agreement scheduled for consideration by the Community Redevelopment Agency on Thursday.
Related: Station Street default notice could become latest chapter in Apopka’s long-running downtown redevelopment saga.
The document would end the March 2024 agreement for a downtown development that included up to 60 affordable apartments, a public plaza and portions of the Downtown Apopka Trail extension. Developer Tony Benge signed the termination document on behalf of Standard Investments and Holdings, LLC, on October 23.
The city and CRA signature pages remain blank in the supplied copy. Under its terms, termination would become effective when the last of the three parties signs.
The CRA will consider the item November 12 at 2 pm in the Apopka City Hall Commission Chambers. The proposed termination comes more than five months after the City Commission voted unanimously to issue a default notice over the project’s lack of progress.
A different explanation for the project’s halt
The proposed termination document presents a substantially different account of the stalled development than the one city officials offered in June. It attributes the halt to environmental clearance issues and expressly states that the developer is not in default.
According to the document, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection denied Orange County’s request for a Site Rehabilitation Completion Order necessary for brownfield clearance of the property. It describes that outcome as resulting from “unexpected circumstances beyond Developer’s control.”
The document says the developer consequently could not accommodate the projected schedule and that advancement of the project stopped. It then states that “while Developer is not in default of the Agreement,” the parties mutually wish to terminate because of the project’s status and the elapsed schedule.
That language contrasts with the City Commission’s June 3 action. At that meeting, commissioners voted 5-0 to approve a notice of default after staff said the developer had failed to submit required designs for the public plaza and trail improvements.
The termination attachment does not include the state’s denial letter or identify when the denial occurred. The supplied materials therefore do not resolve how that environmental determination relates to the account city officials gave in June.
From default notice to mutual termination
According to The Apopka Voice’s June 3 report, then-City Administrator Radley Williams told commissioners that the city had received no design submissions despite a July 15, 2024, deadline. He acknowledged environmental delays but said the additional studies were complete.
“To date, nearly two years later, the city has received no submittals from the developer,” Williams said at the June meeting. Commissioners approved a notice giving Standard Investments 30 days to cure the cited violations before possible termination.
The original agreement contains two provisions relevant to the schedule. Its objectives section describes projected time frames as nonbinding and allows reasonable administrative adjustments for delays beyond the parties’ control. A separate section specifically requires completed plaza and trail design specifications by July 15, 2024.
The proposed mutual termination does not explain how those provisions were evaluated after the default notice. Instead, it would end the agreement by mutual consent while stating that the developer is not in default.
During the June discussion, commissioners expressed frustration that the project had not advanced and questioned what should happen next. Vice Mayor Diane Velazquez said she had followed up on the development for about two years and viewed its delays as an obstacle to downtown revitalization.
Mayor Nick Nesta said at the time that the city remained willing to work with the developer if the commitments could be fulfilled. “But at the same time, if they’re not going to or just no longer interested in it, that’s okay as well,” Nesta said. “We need to follow the provisions that are in the agreement.”
What Station Street was supposed to deliver
The March 20, 2024, development agreement covered approximately 3.43 acres in downtown Apopka. It envisioned two apartment buildings containing a maximum of 60 affordable housing units, paired with public improvements intended to bring residents, visitors and events into the downtown core.
Under the arrangement, approximately 2.43 acres would be conveyed to the developer following approval of construction site plans. The city would retain approximately 1 acre for the public plaza.
The developer’s obligations included a pavilion, plaza, lawn or artificial grass, trees, a tower or other focal feature, public restrooms, and a food truck staging area. The agreement also called for at least 30 public parking spaces, pedestrian connections and portions of the Downtown Apopka Trail extension.
The agreement cited a projected total development cost of approximately $8.8 million and more than approximately $900,000 in public improvements. Those were estimates in the agreement, not amounts documented as spent.
City support included the planned land conveyance and $50,000 in impact fee credits toward construction of the plaza pavilion. At the June meeting, Williams said no city funds had been provided under the agreement.
The projected schedule anticipated ground and site work beginning in January 2025 and completion of the public plaza by January 15, 2026. Both dates have passed.
What happens next
If completed, the mutual termination would end the development agreement for this version of Station Street. The document directs the city clerk to record it in Orange County’s public records within 14 days after all parties have signed.
It does not identify a replacement developer, establish a new solicitation process, or provide a revised plan for the property. It also contains no stated cancellation payment.
In June, commissioners discussed potentially seeking new redevelopment proposals or pursuing portions of the work themselves. Those possibilities remain separate from the termination document now before the CRA.
Thursday’s meeting will give the agency an opportunity to address the proposed termination and the project’s future. Public comment is scheduled, and the meeting will be livestreamed on the City of Apopka’s YouTube channel.
Key Points:
- The Apopka CRA will consider termination of the Station Street agreement Thursday, November 12, at 2 pm at City Hall.
- Tony Benge signed for Standard Investments and Holdings, LLC, on October 23; the city and CRA signature pages are blank in the supplied copy.
- The proposed termination cites denied brownfield clearance and states that the developer is not in default.
- The original project included up to 60 affordable apartments, a public plaza, at least 30 public parking spaces, and trail improvements.
- The termination would become effective upon the final party’s signature and does not establish a replacement project or developer selection process.
