The company is behind plans initially submitted to the county last summer that calls for a total of 576 dwelling units. The proposal includes 214 attached single-family homes and 362 apartments. Of the apartment units, 20%, or 72, would be designated as affordable, according to site plans by Jim Hall of  Hall Development Services (HDSi).  Site plans show seven apartment buildings on the interior of the property along with a clubhouse and pool area.  Thirty-four townhome buildings surround the apartments, site plans show. It’s unclear if townhome residents would have also access to the pool.  A section of property on the southeast corner of the site is reserved for a recreational area, according to site plans.  Apartment units would cover a minimum of 500 square feet while townhome units would cover a minimum of 800 square feet.  For the project, the applicant is seeking six waivers from Orange County, with most related to building height and the amount of separation between the multifamily project and single-family zoned properties next door.

Go Construction’s proposed mix of market-rate and affordable housing within the same community is a product that Orange County planners are pushing for more of.  Alberto Vargas, the county’s planning director, told GrowthSpotter recently that the county anticipates having submittals for 80,300 new multifamily units by 2030. Of that number, the county’s goal is for 30% of those units to be designated as affordable.  Around the time that this mixed-income project was submitted, Vargas said that developers of projects that introduce a mixed-income program could see incentives such as an expedited review process, a reduction in impact fees, and other financial incentives.  Vargas said mixed-income communities should be designed in a way where the affordable units are indistinguishable from market-rate units by either appearance or amenities.

“The residential units shall be dispersed at all affordability levels throughout the development, neighborhood, or community with a continuum of income levels rather than a demarked division between market rate and low-income residents. New mixed-income neighborhoods should fit seamlessly into the surrounding community.”

Vargas said the county is working to move away from stand-alone affordable housing communities.

The Live Local Act, which was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on March 29 and became effective July 1, requires a county to approve a multifamily development project in an area already zoned for commercial, industrial, or mixed-use if at least 40% of the units are defined as affordable under the state’s guidelines.

In addition to speeding up the approval process, the new rule gives developers more flexibility with density and allows them to build the project as high as the tallest building within a mile of the property, regardless of the county’s current regulations.