The Palm Coast Planning Board last week recommended approval of a 316-unit gated apartment complex on nearly 19 vacant acres on the West side of White Mill Drive and the north side of Whiteview Parkway, in the W-Section’s last remaining vast expanse of fallow land. The acreage is part of a 116-acre area zoned for master-planned development.
KB Home is already building a subdivision of 205 single family homes on another part of the acreage, which will also include a city park that has yet to be built. The neighborhood includes churches, duplexes and single family homes.
The apartment complex would consist of 10 three-story buildings, each with 30 apartments, and four two-story buildings with four apartments each. The buildings will be oriented in a pentagonal shape, with parking ringing the development. There would be 1.66 spaces per apartment, for a total of 544 spaces, including the clubhouse. Some 106 garage spaces will be built. The complex would have a clubhouse, a pool and a dog park, and would have its main access point on what will be Wisteria Hill Drive, which will intersect with White Mill Drive.
The apartments will consist of 120 one-bedroom units of between 707 and 800 square feet, 166 two-bedroom units of between 1,164 to 1,338 square feet, and 33 three bedroom apartments of 1,248 square feet. Rent costs have not been set, but the complex would be considered luxury apartments.
City planners reviewed the development for its “logic of design” and impact on neighboring sites, among other criteria. It found that with the site’s internal planned ring road, the development’s residents will be able to walk and bike with minimal interference from traffic. The site will be largely buffered from neighboring properties. “Staff found it’s very compatible with the neighborhood,” Planner Bill Hoover said.
Alliant Engineering of Jacksonville will be developing the site for Mesa Capital Partners, which has been building complexes since 2010. It has a current portfolio of half a billion dollars, with more than 3,000 units under development. “They’ve been doing this for a while and they know what they’re doing, and they really like to do a high end product,” Curt Wimpée, Alliant’s vice president for the southeast region, told the planning board.
The developer focuses on rapidly developing areas. In this case, it’s tying the development to the AdventHealth hospital opening later this year on nearby Palm Coast Parkway. “The expansion of the Adventhealth hospital in Palm Coast will bring a significant number of medical jobs to this area. Whiteview will now offer these employees fantastic living options with the high level amenities,” Wimpée said, reading from a company document.
A planning board member was concerned about the sufficiency of parking.”Because nobody has one car,” the board member said. The developer is basing parking calculations on an analysis of numerous apartment complexes in the state. “We have more parking than actually most of the multifamily developers in the multifamily agencies in the nation think is needed,” Wimpée told the planning board.
“I think we need to be careful about sales pitch for a project versus reality of a project and sales pitch,” Planning Board member Larry Gross, who would end up being the lone dissenting vote, said. “It sounds great that you have 1.66 parking spaces, but as you drive around Palm Coast and you see rental homes, you see three or four cars. I took a drive around the W section today, and I saw four and five cars. People are parking in the streets and as a citizen of Palm Coast and someone living here, parking is a big deal when you build these projects. It’s not something to be ignored.”
Sandra Shank, the vice chair of the planning board–who chaired the meeting last week–noted that the Palm Coast development’s parking needs should not be confused with calculations from cities where public transportation lessens the need for cars.
“They’re spending millions and millions of dollars in this complex, they do not want to have not enough parking,” Wimpée said. “That’s detrimental to their business.”
Wimpée did not know whether the apartment complex’s construction was funded. That raised another question: while the city needs more rental apartments, a board member said, luxury rentals are not necessarily what’s needed in that part of Palm Coast. “I’ve lived here in Palm Coast,” Gross said. “If you don’t work for the city, or if you don’t work for Boston Whaler, or you don’t work for the school system, you’re driving a long way to be making good money here. You’re driving a very long way, you know, Orlando, Jacksonville. So I don’t know if Palm Coast can support expensive apartments. That’s the other side of the coin.”
At that point Ray Tyner, the city’s planning director, gently reminded the board members that they could be getting beyond the purview of their responsibilities: it’s not the board’s place to get into the developer’s business model. “Our our staff’s job and our role is to make sure that it complies with our land development code regulations,” Tyner said. “So when it comes to discussions like, Oh, high end, we can’t support this, there’s no criteria or basis for that in our land development code for us to make a decision on this.”
On the other hand, Tyner said, parking is in the planning board’s–and the city’s–purview. But in that case, the city administration reviewed the developer’s numbers, and found them sound. “You don’t want a whole pavement of asphalt that’s wasted, but you don’t want to under-parking either,” Tyner said. “So it’s a study that these engineers do and transportation planners do based on engineering standards and technical information on parking. Our professional staff agrees with the parking flexibility.”
The city at this late stage does not have “a ton of discretion” to request more planning, another planner said. But board members were not raising the questions with changes in mind, so much as at cautions. “Just if we [] build 316 beautiful, luxury apartments, and then have half of them empty, and the developer selling the project off to somebody else, because we’re at a loss,” Shank said, describing her concern “more as food for thought.”
The proposal drew no public comments. The planning board approved recommending the project on a 5-1 vote. That sends it to the Palm Coast City Council for approval. Even then, it won’t be the end of the regulatory road: the complex’s site plan, with actual architectural renderings, would have to go before the planning board and the council for approval.
KR says
Is this truly necessary?!? How about some much needed land conservation!?How about much needed protection for the wildlife!? We do NOT need any additional housing especially Housing that is impossible to obtain for most of the population of Flagler County!! Who decided this was a great idea! Palm Coast offers NOTHING in things to do and see! Let’s work on that first!
Palm Coast Resident says
We don’t say the same thing, generally, for single family homes, yet we do for building over 300 units on 116 acres.
If this were single family housing, it would take up about 200 acres, not 116 acres to build 300 housing units.
You can’t stop private land owners from develeoping. It’s going to happen. It’s not the City’s decision to build or not.
Also, you want things to do , but businesses (private businesses) that come here are looking at rooftops. We have miles and miles of greenspace taken up by single family homes–dispersing households over all that acreage. It’s not enough within proximity to warrent “things to do.” You’ll start seeing a little more when more of these multi-family units come into town–and they are better at preserving greenspace than single family homes!
John says
I have a feeling this is Ray Tyner or one of the council members/realtors groups that are shoving this crap down our throats.
David says
If I wanted to move to a big city I would have moved to Miami! I’m disappointed in the fact that they are ruining All the things that I chose to move to Palm Coast for by over developing in a sick sort of quest to become a Miami,under the selling us a line of Bull that growth is actually going to be good! Well goooooood for someone else maybe but not for me! Good luck And good bye Palm Coast I’d like to remember you as you were not really interested in what you are looking to become!!!
pete says
I felt the same way 11 years ago when i got out,and sure am happy i did. Was there 2 months ago and what a dam mess. LITTLE ORLANDO
Concerned says
They boted a real estate monger for mayor, what else do you think they were going to do, Palm Coast is going down. If you build this please put in a building for Sheriff Stanley and his amazing team, the crime rate will double now
MAT says
What’s the number? How many businesses do you want? How many houses do you want? How many apartments do you want? What do you want our county/city to resemble? Daytona Beach? Ormond Beach? St Augustine? After all of our forestry is destroyed? When is the required infrastructure going to begin? Police, Fire, EMS, schools, roadways? Sorrowful
Laurel says
Palm Coast Resident: The green space could have been kept for green space. You must be either a real estate agent, a developer or an investor. Greed is ruining Palm Coast, and county area Hammock (which is NOT Palm Coast).
Mike says
This type of housing brings in much more congestion than private dwellings. The city council can set the amount of units per acre per say. It’s a shame this type of housing is being built around private homes but when your city council is made up of mostly realtors the idea of building and selling more will always be in the developers favor!
pete says
Im all for nice apartments BUT not where its going that is wrong and needs to be stopped. What the hell is wrong with the thinking of the council. The people in the area need to stand up and fight this, the value of homes in that area is going to fall. This is BAD BAD BAD
Maria says
We need more stores. There is not enough shopping in Palm Coast. This is a necessity that no one is taking seriously enough. This is a huge problem!!!
John says
Ding ding ding ding! You are absolutely correct. Without the land uses to support this type of development it just crowds our streets and stores and make getting around more difficult. The traffic will only get worse!
Dennis C Rathsam says
Hmmmmm, 316 units x 2 cars per unit=632 more cars on our all ready crowded streets. I truely believe these dingbatts that run our government have lost thier minds. These city streets were not designed for all this traffic. Does anyone in Town Hall really give a rats ass about the city their trying to destroy. The more people that say stop the building madness, until you fix the traffic situation. When all these new people move in to all these new apts. & houses, our city will turn into a parking lot, then add the school buses, compounding the problem even more. Our once sleepy bedroom community is turning into a nightmare. Now we have cars parked in the swales overnight, motorhomes & boats in driveways weeks at a time, nobody follows the city rules, they do what they want, park in the middle of streets, on the grass, no one gives a dam, rules are made to be broken, & broken they are! Wheres the sheriff deputys? Where are the code enforcers? The city could make a lot of money by enforcing the laws already on the books. $20.00 parking ticket second offence $40.oo. & on & on. Its the same people over & over again…
Richsagala says
My wife has been a registered nurse in this hospital here for several years and has worked in management . She has been asked over the years by family members coming into the hospital. Where is the pediatric unit? Now we have a second hospital coming up. Still no pediatric unit and all these families coming in with apartment buildings and homes does that make sense?
JustBeNice says
I agree. I have been asking about this and was told that the demographic studies don’t support it. I saw that’s a load. Our schools are busting at the seams and more kids are coming. Parent have to travel to Daytona or St. Augustine for pediatric emergencies and to deliver babies. Ludicrous.
Herbert Degan says
Agreed for sure. And if anyone believes that these units will be occupied by max number of occupants, they are dreaming.
Steve says
Dennis you hit the nail on the head. It’s all about money plan and simple. A one room apartment runs about $1000. We need to spend money on improving our street, drainage and so forth. Our streets are already overwhelm with traffic now.
Karen says
Code enforcement is too busy harassing us for one tire parked on our grass. What a joke.
Rich sagala says
This city is crazy. Too much building way too much in the over 20 years. I’ve been here.. My street is falling apart. building on my street with duplexs for the past year and a half. It’s filled up more traffic, especially from duplexes , corner lot is completely destroyed. A 6 inch drop, they haven’t paved my street in 18 years . What do you expect from a mayor who deals in commercial real estate and his wife deals in residential real estate they have a $750,000 plus Home on old Kings Road owning 2/5 acre lots he is exploiting the city and then he’s gonna take off and run for some higher office in the county or state mark my words he is not to be trusted. He lied to the public before he came in to office in and states a proposal to give 45% pay increase to the other useless council members.
Richsagala says
After 20 years, it’s time to move someplace else again politicians have destroyed what used to be a very very peaceful and less congested travel on the roadways. It’s very sad. Well I’ve seen over 20 years it’s time to either go to Georgia or way up to Nassau County or clay county You can keep your stores your restaurants your homes I’ve had it
Fitz says
I’ve considered leaving, too.
I remember Perkins Family Restaurant, two lanes instead of four up and down all of Belle Terre. I must have at least 500 cars whizzing by my house every day, many speeding. It’s not even safe to walk on this road (Rolling Sands), let alone bicycle on it. I usually have to wait for three or four cars to go by before I can safely check the mail. Text/high & drivers have taken out my mailbox numerous times. I’ve had daydreams about throwing spike strips down in front of speeding vehicles. I used to have woods on all sides of the house. A family of owls used to nest nearby. Now it’s all gone. It’s just the sound of exhaust pipes and whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh of the cars, motorcycles and trucks all day, every day. No more birds singing, no more butterflies and dragonflies.
Best wishes on your own search for a new paradise, neighbor.
Bj says
The upcoming traffic problem is not being addressed. With all the housing coming, the résidents are going to have a serious problem with no trafic lights to exit the community. By the way, why are the trafic lights not coordinated in Palm Coast?
Simon says
How is a one bedroom apartment with 700 to 800 square ft. of space and one parking space “luxury”?
Sick of Palm Coast says
Because it will have a stainless steel stove. But it will draw lower income residents, traffic and congestion. These types of apartments are going up all over. They’re awful!
Shark says
I guess that means more storage facilities and pizza joints. The realtors running this town are showing their true colors !!!!
Deborah Coffey says
Can we get a comparison of how much development is being approved in Palm Coast (apartments, housing, storage complexes, etc.) and how much REAL infrastructure (roadways, widened roadways, businesses and other job-providing commerce) is occurring simultaneously? It just seems that this Council keeps providing more and more housing for more people to move into Palm Coast but very little in the way of places for them to work and shop and eat out. We are not Boca Raton with huge surrounding areas filled with commerce, though our populations are about the same! So, the question is…are we growing larger in the right way? Should Palm Coasters need to drive to Daytona, St. Augustine, Jacksonville and Orlando for work?
John says
Palm Coast does not need an apartment complex. Seems there’s a special interest Board member who’s has a stake in this.
What a shame how this board is dragging this once wonderful town under.
palmcoaster says
Another approval for thousand of more vehicles trips in clogged with traffic, insufficient not enough wide roads without turning lanes! This is the real reason for the wasteful remodeling of our original beautiful White View Pkwy to benefit developers plans…in our pockets. We should request FOIA of communications with developers regarding then Pkwy remodeling and also this approval from planning department and PLDRB totally inconsistent with the original zoning where homeowners bought and simply because no matter what they lie we do not have the needed infrastructure for this monstrosity. Wasn’t senior planner Mr. Hoover retiring?
David Schaefer says
Here we go again same shit different day. If it wasn’t for my wife’s job we would have been out of here years ago. This place just sucks period.
pete says
Saw it coming 12 years ago and got out of dodge.
David Schaefer says
On the new hospital who flipping idea was that in the first place. No Peds or L&D unit are these people on crack daily. Why didn’t they build what the citizens want instead of what they want and money is their object no doubt. I was in Advent in Jan as an emergency ( could not go to Baptist in Jax) and all I heard was complain, complain and complain from everyone so sad…….
Jay Tomm says
3 stories????? those W section people should be mad. Very mad.
Show up to the city meetings. voice your concerns, in mass numbers they HAVE to listen. The problem is no one wants to voice up. I’ve been to 3 public city meetings & 10-15 people isn’t going to do it. Of course PC is going to ignore us.
MITCH says
It is impossible discuss traffic with those that moved here from other cities that allowed excessive traffic to invade/destroy their residential neighborhoods. Just because those city leaders there did not care to protect the “safety and health” of their residents, they expect us to allow our city leaders to do the same here. We want our city leaders to respect the lives of residents here, but we are seeing as some of our elected leaders moved here from overcrowded cities that they are “forcing” residents here to accept the same madness they left. Bully tactics within government is nothing new; we were elected so you have to accept what we force on you. “ELECTIONS MATTER”. No matter what scientific studies prove of how residents will be harmed, if it goes against their goal of building “their legacy”; RESIDENTS LOSE!” and residents will have to accept the dangers to safety and the harms to health (when health is harmed it can plague a person for life) – see harm from excessive traffic: https://envhealthcenters.usc.edu/infographics/infographic-living-near-busy-roads-or-traffic-pollution
Ron says
Elections absolutely do matter. When electing pro real estate politicians and seeing the results as mentioned in many of the above comments, one would need to think about voting strictly by party if you’re searching for different results.
blondee says
Yeah Palm Coast, keep voting those realtors into office……!
pete says
And when it’s over all of them will be gone and onto the next place to make more money. They don’t care about any area they go to it’s all about $$$$$$$
Dennis C Rathsam says
I hear all of you!!! We are all on the same page!!!! Impeach Stuff Em in Alvin!
Denali says
For those of you complaining about overcrowding and traffic, you need to face the facts. You bought an 80′ x 125′ city lot on a street filled with other similar city lots. If you wanted the solitude of birds, Lynx, deer or whatnot, you should have purchased 4 or 5 lots in every direction around your house, or just bought acreage outside the city. To purchase a city lot surrounded by other platted lots and think that it will remain a wildlife refuge is simply not realistic. This city was designed in the late 60’s with all streets and lots laid out for all to see. Just because you and I bought a property with vacant lots surrounding us gave us no justification to think that those vacant platted lots would not soon grow houses. And with the houses comes the associated traffic and people. This city is not over-crowded, it has a long ways to go before those platted lots are a all built up and the multi-family/PUD’s have been constructed. Palm Coast was always intended to be a city filled with people and cars.
Laurel says
Denali: I understand what you are saying, but at the same time, just because a city was badly planned 20 years ago, which did not take off, for a huge number of residents, people could have done better over the years. As you well know, zoning keeps getting changed for the developer’s interest. It could have been changed, instead, for a better quality of life. That doesn’t happen because quality of life is not the priority, money is. It is completely illogical for a large, four story apartment building, still in the planning stages, which will have one, two and three bedroom units, to have 1.6 parking spaces per unit. This ain’t the 50’s. More and more impervious areas, yet cars bumper to bumper with nowhere to park.
Residents of this area are already feeling the impact of too much population every time we go out.
There is one, and only one, reason for this and that is greed. It’s such a shame; it is such a loss.
Jackie Mulligan says
Absolutely correct, if you want space, you buy more space! This is a huge problem in PC and other cities! All vacant lots are owned by people just like you, who want to live in a nice community!! Its a city that was planned a long time ago, its not the suburbs, or a subdivision! Cities accommodate all kinds of housing! And as far as stores and other businesses, the city doesn’t PUT them here, someone spends their hard earned money to open shop here!! Yes their money, with hopes that there are enough people to sustain their business!!! Greed has nothing to do with it, The town was set to build out at 200,000 people when I bought a lot in 1972 YES!! that’s what I was told. I bought knowing this , instead ended up selling and buying in Flagler Beach when arriving in Florida in 1980.
I have enjoyed my time here and all the changes that came, we wanted more space than our 80 ft lot, so WE BOUGHT THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR, PAID IT OFF EVERY MONTH!!! Nobody ruins this place by coming, we all came at different times, Its you attitude that will ruin it for you!!! We live in a wonderful small county, If city life feels like its not right anymore we have the rural area with more land, maybe that will work better! Flagler beach is mostly 50 ft lots, not everyone can handle this , so find a place that fits you now!! But you cannot stop the world form growing!!When we arrived in this little county was 10,913!! Think about it!!! Its 10 times that now!!!We enjoyed it, but even at this time we were told we were too young to be here in Flagler Beach and the water supply could not sustain more people!!??? LOl ,I told them I didn’t know it was a retirement city??? and assured we would not deplete the water supply , we were just a young couple with 1 child!! them LOL
I still love it here and would not trade it for anywhere else!! I visit many other places and still love when I come across the bridge to come home. I bought and am in the same home for 42 years!! I am blessed!
Michael says
I would like to respond to Mr Gross you are wrong there are a lot of Local Businesses that pay more then twice you can make for the city schools and Boston whaler and that doesn’t include the benefits that we offer !! And our local businesses still can not get help 🙁
Dianne says
Who are these 5 people who vote this in…put it out to the citizens of Palm Coast….let us vote ….where is all this traffic going? Build build build but yet our taxes increase..our water bill increases…. All the building should be bringing revenue to the city…whose pockets?????
Taming of the Swales says
Crime will skyrocket in the next couple of years. These apts will fill up with thugs,cartel members, drug addicts, and criminals. Good thing Tallahassee past the Constitutional Carry Bill…. Thank You Gov. DeSantis.
Wow says
That’s your answer to overcrowding? Shoot them all? Yikes.
pete says
I agree but the crime is out of control now and will go up if it were 316 homes. The apartments can be good IF they do background checks and are managed right. But that’s not the right place to build it.
Dave says
Just build more stuff and remove all the trees, hell with the traffic issues, hell with the ever increasing crime, the ever increasing taxes and the increase in the cost of living. Who cares about the actual people, well its not Flagler Cty Govt or Palm Coast City officials. Its nothing but we want more tax dollars, so lets plan it, approve it and screw the actual full time residents. . ITs freaking City greed.
pete says
It’s the wrong place to build an apartment complex. Need to relocate,just the traffic alone will be a nightmare. It’s just not the place for it.
Ken says
New York retirees, their kids and witness protection families are the only people moving here. No jobs in the city support cost of living. The overbuild lead to problems.