Winter Park, in a bid to transform the West Fairbanks Avenue corridor, is exploring incentives that could ignite more development in the area.
On Thursday, Winter Park held a City Commission work session to discuss the future of the corridor, specifically the South of Fairbanks Avenue (SOFA) District. The district, which stretches from Orlando Avenue to I-4, is part of a community redevelopment area with land under the jurisdiction of Winter Park, Orlando, and Orange County.
“As other areas in the city become less vacant, that’s pushing investment farther out in the city. We have certainly seen over the last 10 years that 17-92 has started to attract more investment. We’ve been seeing development happen along there, and I think we are starting to see the development world start to turn its eyes to West Fairbanks,” said Peter Moore, director of the city’s Office of Management and Budget.
The SOFA district is located south of W. Fairbanks Avenue, between Orlando Avenue and I-4. (City of Winter Park)
The corridor experienced a 167.3% increase in taxable property value between 2012 and 2025, higher than the citywide growth rate of 158.1%. However, city staff had hoped to see much more growth in the SOFA district due to the level of public investment in the corridor. The City of Winter Park has put about $30 million into infrastructure upgrades there in the last 15 years, which included bringing transmission lines underground and building out stormwater infrastructure.
One of the biggest issues keeping the district from growing is the relatively small parcel sizes. As a result, the current property owners along West Fairbanks — many of whom are not developers — are deciding to sit on their land until they can acquire more acreage, or are only pursuing smaller projects.
“Probably the overarching thing that we found is there’s no clear catalyst or champion for a project in that area,” Moore said. “What we’ve been doing is not giving us that ROI that we’re really hoping for.”
Recent development proposals for the corridor have also stalled or fallen through. For example, plans to renovate old industrial buildings and build two new buildings on 2.6 acres south of W. Fairbanks Avenue between Formosa Avenue and Clay Street are no longer moving forward. Fairbanks Exchange would have had 21,224 square feet of commercial space, including restaurants and a coffee shop.
Fairbanks Exchange would have included six mixed-use buildings totaling 21,334 square feet. (Handout photo courtesy of Kroeger & Co.)
Allison McGillis, Director of Planning and Zoning, said that she didn’t know why the project foundered. However, another idle project at the northwest corner of W. Fairbanks and Clay Street could provide some insights into what the city could do differently.
The site is approved for a two-story medical office space that could also include a retail component. Orlando-based Verax Investments planned to build medical office space there, but earlier this year, the owner put the site up for sale.
McGillis listed tariffs, construction costs, and a problem with leasing the property as reasons why the project stagnated. She also pointed to another obstacle — Winter Park’s high impact fees. While Orange County and Orlando have reduced their transportation impact fees over the years, Winter Park’s fees for the SOFA district have stayed the same. McGillis and Moore indicated that the city is at a disadvantage as a result.
For example, a developer that wants to build more than 10,000 square feet of medical office space in nearby land within unincorporated Orange County would pay $12,446 per 1,000 square feet. In Orlando, the fee is $19,168. In Winter Park, that number rises to $27,101, and impact fees for Winter Park are higher across the board for multifamily, office, medical, retail, and restaurants than in Orlando and Orange County.
“I think [Verax Investments] is still interested. But, maybe they’d still be interested in the same level of development that they were doing before, if they didn’t have to spend $27,000 per 1,000 square feet of medical,” McGillis said.
City Commissioners were receptive to the idea of waiving or reducing certain impact fees to make the West Fairbanks corridor more competitive with neighboring jurisdictions. However, staff members haven’t made any formal recommendations.
Winter Park’s impact fees are higher than the neighboring jurisdictions of Orlando and Orange County. Staff discussed the possibility of reducing or waiving some of the impact fees for the SOFA district, but there is no formal proposal at this time. (City of Winter Park)
Staff also discussed other ideas, including allowing developers to tap into a density bonus pool and build higher-density projects in exchange for some sort of concession, such as road improvements or improvements to local parks. Staff additionally raised the possibility of using “gap” incentives, such as assistance with land acquisition or financing for certain projects that could move the SOFA district forward.
The city’s comprehensive plan allows for buildings as tall as six to eight stories close to I-4. Mayor Sheila DeCiccio and City Commissioners generally agreed that the blocks close to I-4 could act as a “gateway” into the city, and that developers should “not sacrifice quality” when designing projects. West Fairbanks is envisioned as a mixed-use corridor with a mix of office space, multifamily, and retail space.
“One of the reasons you cluster residential with your mixed-use is because that really helps financially underpin it. Now you have built-in demand, because the people who are living in those units walk downstairs and go visit the restaurant or the shop, and that’s why you’re seeing that style being more prevalent now,” Moore added.
At the end of the meeting, Commissioners directed staff to return with recommendations concerning impact fees, developer incentives, and potential redevelopment sites. However, there isn’t a timetable for when the city would review those recommendations.
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