Unicorp National Developments Inc. appears to be in talks with two major retailers — including a specialty grocer that has now been named — for its $200 million mixed-use project in Lake Mary’s new “Midtown” area.
Unicorp is proposing a 25,000-square-foot Earth Fare grocery store and a 38,000-square-foot 24 Hour Fitness as part of the commercial portion of the 35-acre Griffin Farms Town Center, city of Lake Mary documents showed.
If approved, this would be the first Central Florida store for Fletcher, N.C.-based Earth Fare Inc., which along with a handful of other niche grocers has been hunting for local sites for more than a year.
San Ramon, Calif.-based 24 Hour Fitness USA Inc. has one existing gym in Downtown South, and several others in the works, including in Winter Park and Kissimmee, as previously reported by Orlando Business Journal.
Meanwhile, Lake Mary officials in March approved an overall plan for the project, after the state had no objections to the city’s request to change its comprehensive plan to create the new district and allow for Unicorp to begin work on the project.
Griffin Farms Town Center is expected to create nearly 2,000 temporary construction jobs and 415 permanent jobs while also bringing a much-needed mix of housing stock to Lake Mary, a fast-growing financial industry hub with big-name employers including Verizon Communications Inc.(NYSE: VZ), Deloitte and, most recently, Kroger Co.’s related Axium Healthcare Pharmacy Inc.
The project will include:
- A $20 million, nearly 120,000-square-foot commercial complex
- A $55 million, 265-unit apartment complex, which is down from the original plan of 300 units
- $30 million worth of for-sale homes, including up to 150 attached or detached single-family homes
- A four-level, 600-space parking garage
- A walkable pedestrian plaza with gardens, water features and a gateway monument
Representatives from Unicorp National Developments weren’t immediately available for comment.
But read more about the new project in these previous OBJ stories and come back to OrlandoBusinessJournal.com for updates.