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A proposed project could bring dozens of new single- and possibly multifamily homes, thousands of square feet of medical-office space and more to undeveloped land across from Oakdale Cemetery in DeLand.
The development, Lincoln Oaks, will occupy nearly 72 acres of land on the north side of West Plymouth Avenue, between North Orange and North Clara avenues.
The location puts the project just a stone’s throw from the AdventHealth DeLand hospital, and within DeLand’s medical-services overlay district.
The special planning designation is intended to encourage development that enhances and complements the hospital and medical offices near the corner of Plymouth Avenue and Stone Street.
The designation applies to much of the land immediately surrounding the hospital. It was established in 2014, in the hope of encouraging more medical-related development, as well as nearby, walkable housing for people who might work in such businesses.
Attorney Mark Watts of Cobb Cole, who is representing Orlando-based developer Elevation Development, said the new subdivision will seek to stay true to that aim, as well as meet goals in DeLand’s 2050 Vision plan, which calls for higher-density residential development in the area.
Unlike Victoria Park and other newer subdivisions built on vacant land in DeLand’s southeastern quadrant, the Lincoln Oaks site is much closer to the historic core of DeLand — generally delimited by Plymouth Avenue on the north, Boundary Avenue on the west, Hill Avenue on the east and Beresford Avenue on the south — and is close to Stetson University.
To that end, Watts said the mixed-use project will include a mix of home types, and about 50,000 square feet of medical-office space.
Currently, the design of Lincoln Oaks calls for about 279 single-family homes, Watts said, with multifamily homes possible in the future.
“We’re providing for the option of doing some townhomes on parts of that, which would increase that number to the 300s,” he said.
The single-family homes will sit on lots from 40 to 60 feet wide.
The project’s site straddles North Adelle Avenue, which currently dead-ends north of Plymouth Avenue and provides access to a handful of existing single-family homes.
Watts said the developer intends to ask the city to abandon the road. Access to the existing homes will be provided through the new development, instead, he said.
“Right now, Adelle is a 1,500-foot road that serves four houses, and so, we came up with a configuration that kind of makes more sense,” Watts said.
The project would front on a two-lane section of Plymouth Avenue that currently has a “D” level-of-service grade, with an average of 10,020 cars traversing the road each day, according to 2017 Volusia County Traffic Engineering data.
That’s about 3,500 cars per day short of what would be considered a “failing” grade for the roadway, and the project isn’t expected to add nearly that much traffic.
A project to widen the two-lane road to three lanes — one travel lane in each direction, plus a shared turning lane — is on a list of projects that could be completed if the proposed Volusia County half-cent sales tax passes in May.
Ballots for the May 21 vote-by-mail-only election will be sent to voters May 1, and must be returned to the Volusia County Supervisor of Elections office, either by mail or by hand, by 7 p.m. May 21.
Expanding the 1.25-mile segment of county-maintained Plymouth Avenue between Woodland Boulevard and State Road 15A is estimated to cost about $9.2 million.
Lincoln Oaks is expected to go before the DeLand Planning Board during its Wednesday, April 17, meeting.
