The Palms at Town Center Will be First Project in Palm Coast’s Innovation District

The Innovation District is a zoning overlay of part of Town Center that not only allows but also encourages creative concepts to increase density in our city core.

PALM COAST, FL – October 5, 2018 – An 88-unit apartment complex planned for Town Center is expected to be the first project in the City of Palm Coast’s new Innovation District – earning $440,000 in utility impact fee credits through a program designed to kick-start development in the downtown area.

The Palms at Town Center, with three buildings, is proposed for the southeast corner of Central Avenue and Bulldog Drive. The complex on 9.12 acres will have amenities including a clubhouse, pool, dog park, volleyball area, and nature path. It will not be age-restricted, and each of the buildings will be three stories tall.

Preliminary Site Layout

Developer The Housing Trust Group, based in Coconut Grove in South Florida, applied for site plan approval in August and has already gone through one round of review with the City’s Planning Division staff. The project is scheduled to go to the Palm Coast Planning & Land Development Regulation Board for approval consideration on Oct. 17. Approval by the Palm Coast City Council would not be required because there are fewer than 100 units.

“The City Council created the Innovation District earlier this year as a way to refocus development interest in Town Center, which is within our Community Redevelopment Area,” said Wynn Newingham, Head of Innovation & Economic Growth for the City. “The vision for Town Center is a mix of forward-thinking residential and non-residential developments in the area around Central Park. The Palms at Town Center is a perfect fit, and we welcome them to Palm Coast.”

As a qualified applicant to the City’s new Innovation Kick Start Program, The Palms at Town Center is eligible for a major break on utility impact fees that will reduce overall development costs. The impact fee credit through the Kick Start Program is based on the number of units ($5,000 per residential unit or $5,000 per 1,000 square feet for commercial). The Palms project is also eligible for transportation impact fee credits provided by Allete Properties, LLC, the parent developer of Town Center.

Developers have shown a very strong interest in Town Center in recent months, with other potential projects including condos/townhouses and another apartment complex on Central Avenue, as well as a retail commercial building near the intersection of Central and Bulldog, said City of Palm Coast Planning Manager Ray Tyner. The City has not received any formal applications for those developments, but is hopeful because the preliminary conversations with developers have been very positive, he said.

“We see The Palms at Town Center as a catalyst for more development,” Tyner said. “Bringing nice apartments and new residents of all ages into our downtown area will attract more and more restaurants and retail stores as Town Center continues to build out.”

Palm Coast’s Innovation District is centrally located within the urban core of Town Center. As defined by the Brookings Institute, an innovation district “facilitates the creation and commercialization of new ideas and support for economies by growing jobs in ways that leverage their distinct economic attributes."

For Palm Coast, the City plans to build on the Innovation District vision by leveraging proximity, density and character authenticity to foster it to become an experiential-living hub where our residents can live, work and play. Town Center is 17-percent developed so far, with existing development including the Target shopping center, the Publix shopping center, an office building, Epic Theatres of Palm Coast, professional office buildings, the Palm Coast Arts Foundation, senior apartments, townhouses and Palm Coast City Hall. At the core of it all is the beautiful Central Park with a lake, center stage for special events, and a walking path that connects to Palm Coast’s trail system.

Douglas Property and Development is representing Allete Properties, the developer of both Town Center and  Palm Coast Park, in the disposition of its remaining assets. Since Douglas stepped in about 1 1/12 years ago, nearly all the land in Palm Coast Park has been sold or put under contract. Douglas Property and Development is also the developer of Grand Landings, a master-planned community off Seminole Woods Blvd south of the Flagler Executive Airport. Grand Landings will have 748 residential units and 150,000 square feet of commercial space upon buildout.