A massive mixed-use project that promises to bring 3,000 apartments to Apopka’s rapidly-growing Kelly Park corridor has landed its first multifamily project.
Madison Capital Group, based in Charlotte, is under contract to build a 325-unit community within the 230-acre Wyld Oaks master planned development.
Located at the intersection of Kelly Park and Golden Gem Roads, just west of S.R. 429, Wyld Oaks would be Apopka’s largest mixed-use project ever with 1.1 million square feet designated to non-residential office/commercial/retail uses and up to 1.8 million square feet of industrial space in addition to the apartments.
Wyld Oaks, developed by Vero Beach-based Evans Properties, is also set to include a performance stage for live concerts and comedy shows, a farmer’s market and specialty grocer, two hotels, convenience stores, coffee houses, a craft brewery, multiple restaurants, and a gym.
As the first multifamily developer to attach itself to the lofty vision, Madison Capital Group has submitted plans to the city for a project called Madison Oaks.
“It’s an excellent location right there off (State Road) 429,” said Matt Wilcox, the company’s executive managing director. “You have access to so many employment centers. You can drive to downtown Maitland pretty fast, you can drive to downtown Apopka pretty fast. Really up and down the 429 there’s a ton of industrial, a ton of employment and it’s really not that far from Disney. We feel like it’s going to be a pretty diverse tenant base.”
The garden-style community would consist of seven residential buildings. Three of those buildings would be three stories in height while the four on the southernmost portion of the 12-acre tract, closest to Sadler Road, would reach four stories with elevator service, according to site plans by engineering firm Kimley-Horn. The community also includes a clubhouse, pool area, dog park and 581 surface parking spaces.
Georgia-based architecture firm Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio, LLC is leading the project’s design. Plans call for 40% of the units to be one-bedroom, 40% to be two-bedroom and 20% to be three-bedroom. Wilcox said the average rent rate would be just north of $2,000, while units would range in size from 750 square feet to 1,400 square feet.
Residents will have access to trail networks, open space and all of the other amenities included in the Wyld Oak’s master plan.
Because the apartment community is poised to go directly in the middle of the Wyld Oaks site, construction can’t begin until the master developer adds roads and other necessary infrastructure leading to the residential site.
Wilcox said he expects to break ground by the third quarter of 2024.
“The truth of the matter is that the population Central Florida is not going to stop growing anytime soon,” Wilcox added. “Even though there are a few pockets that are over-supplied right now, historical trends tell you that Central Florida is massively under-supplied for future population growth.”
Apopka is one example in Central Florida that’s under-supplied, Wilcox said. “It’s the last spot of Orlando to experience the boom. We are extremely bullish on the market.”
The company is also in the process of pursuing a 300-unit apartment community along John Young Parkway in Orlando.
Madison Capital’s resume, which includes eight completed projects across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, factors into why Evans Properties chose the company to be a part of Wyld Oaks.
“Wyld Oaks had many compelling reasons to select Madison to develop 325 units of 4 story garden multifamily as part of our Master Plan,” said Joseph Beninati, Wyld Oaks’ project coordinator. “Madison has a long track record of financial soundness, and they have built communities that tenants rave about from a quality and lifestyle point of view.”
While no commercial tenants have been formally announced yet, he said the project has drawn a lot of interest locally and nationally.
“Our premarketing soft approach has us receiving lots of inbound calls on the commercial side,” he said. “The pent-up excitement is very strong as we all expected. Once (mass grading) begins the busy folks on the national and local commercial sides can get laser focused as the progress becomes tangible.”
Wyld Oaks has already secured a developer for the industrial portion. Cadence Properties purchased 88 acres in June for $48.5 million with plans to deliver 1.5 million square feet of job-generating warehouses.
Mass grading on the Wyld Oaks development site is expected to begin in the coming weeks, said Beninati.