Dominium, one of the nation’s largest multifamily developers, recently received approval to build an affordable housing community just off U.S. Highway 27 in Leesburg.
Set on a strip of land between Lake Harris and Lake Denham, the proposed 276-unit project would rise on 18.71 acres at the intersection of US 27 and County Road 25A. The apartments would be rent-restricted apartments for families earning no more than 60% of the Area Median Income.
In a close 3-2 vote, the Leesburg City Commission approved a zoning amendment to the existing Planned Unit Development, or PUD — to allow for multifamily uses — and a comprehensive plan amendment changing the future land use designation from City of Leesburg Low Density Residential and General Commercial to City of Leesburg General Commercial.
The development will include a fully amenitized garden-style apartment complex with a clubhouse, pool, fitness center, and community center.
Apartments for the project would range from two-, three-, and four-bedroom units at 800, 900, and 1,000 square feet, respectively. Rent prices for the units, according to Dominium Development Associate Glen Daniels, will be $1,432 per month for the two-bedroom floor plans, $1,644 for three bedrooms, and $1,834 for four bedrooms.
During the decisive Leesburg City Commission meeting last month, Lowndes Law attorney Logan Opsahl, representing Dominium, said the project applicants were willing to make a few changes from the initial plans, including an increase in the number of parking spaces per unit.
Opsahl said Dominium would be “amenable” to increasing the parking spaces from 1.6 to 1.8 per unit for a total of 442 parking spaces within the community. According to the proposed site plan, two-bedroom units will have a total of 78 parking spaces, while three-bedroom and four-bedroom units will have 132 and 66 spaces, respectively.
Commissioner Jay Connell called the density of the project — just below 15 units per acre — “absurd” and questioned whether 1.8 parking spaces per acre would be enough for the community or whether the nearby roads could handle the increased traffic.
“We need commercial development, we don’t need any more residential development, and especially at this density and in this location where everything’s already bottlenecked right there,” he said. “I urge this commission to deeply consider to turn this project down. The density is just way too high, and the traffic issues on that stretch, you can’t get out of. There’s no way you can bypass that.”
Commissioner Jimmy Burry also opposed the development and voted against it, arguing the project should maintain its original PUD zoning with no amendments or changes.
Developers addressed another concern of the city commission, the potential for future homes on the property to be developed under the Live Local Act, by agreeing to prohibit utilizing the act to increase density in the future.
The Live Local Act is a law passed in 2023 to promote more affordable housing by codifying zoning flexibility and tax incentives for multifamily developers if they keep at least 40% of the units at below-market rents for 30 years.
Daniels said the proposed development will remain affordable housing and that Dominium will adhere to city’s request to prohibit Live Local for the project.
“We chose to pursue the PUD rezoning to collaboratively design a community aligned with the City’s vision and planning objectives,” Daniels wrote in a statement. “We have not considered — and will not consider — utilizing Live Local to increase density or otherwise modify the project in a manner inconsistent with the City’s expectations. Accordingly, we were comfortable incorporating this prohibition into the PUD.”
Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at jwilkins@orlandosentinel.com or 407-754-4980. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.
