Atrium Management (Website) withdrew its request application from the City of Winter Park Planning and Zoning Board for its 5-story Henderson Hotel project planned for a 2.5 acre assemblage of properties next door to Hillstone restaurant (215 S. Orlando Avenue) in Winter Park.
At the November 5, 2019 P&Z Board meeting, Atrium Management requested to defer the items on the agenda referring to the Henderson Hotel request until the January 7th P&Z Board meeting. At the start of the January 7th meeting, the board announced Atrium had selected to withdraw the Henderson Hotel application.
Atrium Management owner Adam Wonus met with The Daily City Monday. Behind the scenes, the hotel project is still in the works. A new application will be submitted with changes in the next few months. When it's submitted, a notice will be sent out by the City of Winter Park and the project will start over in the City approval process.
The original plans for the hotel include 118 rooms, 222,037 SF and a 245-space parking garage on 2.5 acres of property facing Lake Killarney and South Orlando Avenue. The project is estimated to cost $50 million. The architect is Baker Barrios Architects, Inc.
The original request included a Conditional Use permit to develop the hotel, an ordinance giving Atrium a portion of Killarney Drive between Beachview & Fairview Avenues, an increase in building height and density above what is currently allowed on the properties, and a change of the Future Land Use Designation from Single Family Residential and Office to Commercial.
Reasons for the Withdrawal
Rather than go forward with their application and make changes later, Atrium chose to withdraw and submit a new one with all the changes included.
The owner of one of the properties within the assemblage changed their mind about selling to Atrium. Hillstone restaurant owns a small sliver of land on the hotel site they use for overflow, valet, and employee parking. It contains approximately 25 parking spots. Wonus says the changes required due to the removal of the property from the assemblage will be minor.
Atrium is planning on purchasing three additional properties at 1310 Fairview Avenue, 337 Grove Avenue, and 349 Grove Avenue. Upon agreement by the City and Winter Park Land Trust, Atrium would donate this land to the City to be designated as a public park with an easement (deed restriction) to be held by the Winter Park Land Trust. The details of which will need to be worked out with the City and the Winter Park Land Trust.
The park helps divide the residential neighborhood from the commercial properties.
In the original plans for the hotel, in exchange for the park, the City would give a portion of Fairview Avenue to the hotel. This won't change in the new request application. However, planned alterations to Fairview Avenue will.
Originally, it was to remain open to the lake, then end in a cul-de-sac, cutting off its connection to Killarney Drive. The cul-de-sac can be seen in the original graphics below.
Cutting off the connection to Killarney would help with cut through traffic the neighborhood beside these properties have been experiencing. According to a traffic study from Kimley-Horne, over 30 cars a day were cutting through the neighborhood.
In the new application, rather than have Fairview Avenue separate the new park from the hotel grounds, the road would end halfway down the block.
This allows for better pedestrian flow from the park to the lakeside walking area behind the hotel.
Fairview would divert traffic to Grove Avenue and the entrance of the park's parking lot.
This area of Winter Park has several new projects in the works. A wine-on-tap restaurant named Sixty Vines is moving into the space formerly occupied by Kona Grill in Lakeside Crossing Shopping Center. Down the street Garber Development is bringing Mills Place Market to an empty 7,000 SF building. Breakfast restaurant First Watch is moving into the former Cinco Tequila + Tacos building, Dexter's New Standard recently opened in the Ravadage development in a space first occupied by TR Fire Grill's (and almost occupied by East Hampton Bait & Tackle). A bit further down the street a newly created restaurant space will be the result of the conversion of the first floor of Winter Park Tower. And around the corner from that the Orange Avenue Overlay District is expected to transform Orange Avenue.
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