Dr. Phillips shopping center owner scraps plan for apartments

Highly controversial plans from Kimco Realty Corporation to add as many as 879 apartment units to the Marketplace at Dr. Phillips are currently off the table.

In April 2022, Kimco, one of the largest owner-operators of grocery-anchored shopping centers nationwide, filed an pre-application package with Orange County that included conceptual plans for apartments on the western end of the shopping center along Della Drive. The proposal included several potential site plans, all of which involved the demolition of a building north of Publix that was previously home to Stein Mart.

Some of the other options called for the additional demolition of a building on the southern end of the retail center that held HomeGoods and a vacant Office Depot, as well as a smaller building located just north that is home to several smaller tenants.

The most ambitious plans called for the demolition of all three buildings, and anywhere from 841 to 879 units to be built in two buildings of either eight or five stories. Other potential options that would have left all of the buildings other than the former Stein Mart building intact would  have included between 418 and 760 units spread over two buildings of eight or five stories.

Last year, Kimco renovated and leased the former Office Depot space to Homesense, an affiliate of TJ Maxx. And in April, Spencer Phelps, Kimco’s Senior Director of Real Estate, made a LinkedIn post announcing that the former Stein Mart property, which was vacated due to the retailers bankruptcy, was now available for lease for the first time since 2021. If Kimco is looking for a tenant for that property, it means they have no plans to demolish it soon.

“Previously held for redevelopment, this 37K Anchor Space (former Stein Mart) is now available for the first time in over three years at our high-traffic, grocery-anchored center off Sand Lake Road in the heart of the Dr. Phillips market,” the post read.

Jen Maisch, Kimco’s Vice President of Marketing & Corporate Communications, declined to comment on the company’s plans for the property.

Dustin Wyatt, spokesman for the Orange County Planning Department, confirmed that the County hasn’t received anything from Kimco since the initial pre-application materials were submitted in April 2022. However, he said that planning staff are unable to speak to the status of the project.

The project generated a lot of controversy, with community members forming multiple Facebook groups opposing the project. One of the groups, Stop Kimco – Save DP 2022, has nearly 900 members from the Dr. Phillips community. Many residents spoke against the project, arguing that the development is out of character for the neighborhood, will lead to overcrowding of local schools, and that it doesn’t align with the original, retail-focused intent of the shopping center. The most prominent concern was the impact on traffic in the neighborhood, particularly along Sand Lake Rd.

A change.org petition against the proposed project generated over 5,000 signatures, and includes comments from concerned residents.