Real Estate Developer Proposes Retail, Residential Project for Haines City

Published: Monday, July 14, 2014 at 8:38 p.m. Last Modified: Monday, July 14, 2014 at 8:38 p.m.

HAINES CITY | A Celebration real estate developer has proposed building more than 3,000 mostly rental units and 70,000 square feet of retail and office space in Haines City over the next few years.

If CBD Real Estate Investment LLC builds all four projects announced Monday, it would total as one of the largest residential developments in the city's history, said Mark Bennett, a city planning manager involved in discussions with the Celebration developer.

"The cumulative impact of all of them would be significant," Bennett said.

All four developments would aim at creating "market-affordable" housing, meaning no government subsidies involved, said David Waronker, CBD president.

"We see a tremendous increase in demand nationally, regionally and, most specifically, locally for affordable market rate for sale and rental housing," Waronker said in a press statement. "There is no secret that those looking for housing have less to spend, but want now more than ever the best value for their hard earned dollars."

One-bedroom apartments would rent for about $450 a month with three-bedroom units at less than $1,000, or about $400 cheaper than the Tampa and Orlando areas, he said. Single-family homes would sell for less than $200,000, half the $440,000 median price of a Polk County home in 2005-06 at the height of the real estate boom.

The developers expect current Polk residents would make up more than half the renters and buyers with the rest coming from Tampa and Orlando area residents looking for affordable housing, Waronker said.

Construction on two of the four projects could start within a year pending approvals from city and state officials, he said. A third project depends on construction of the proposed Central Polk Parkway, an extension of the current Polk Parkway farther east, and the fourth remains in the planning stage.

First on the block would be the $22.9 million Liberty Bluff gated community on 19 acres off Hinson Road near Power Line Road, Waronker said.

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Real Estate Developer Proposes Retail, Residential Project for Haines City