Affordable housing project proposed for Pine Hills draws criticism

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An affordable housing project in Orange County's Pine Hills neighborhood could be in jeopardy before it gets off the ground.

Sarasota-based developers are working to turn a former crime-ridden motel on West Colonial Drive near North Pine Hills Road into about 200 low-income apartments.

But some argue the project doesn't fit the county's vision for the neighborhood's future.

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The property has gone by different names over the years, including the Palace Hotel and the Magnolia Inn and Suites.

But a new sign posted outside the structure refers to it as the Colonial Gardens apartments.

"It was a hot spot. A lot of drugs running through there. A lot of illegal activity," said Mark Vengroff, CEO of One Stop Housing, the company that bought the property earlier this year for more than $3 million. "It really needs a lot of TLC, and we want to put a lot of money into that place to renovate it."

Vengroff said the company aims to charge tenants $750 monthly to rent the studio apartments, which will include water, utilities and cable.

"(It will be a) safe, family-oriented, family environment -- a place they can call home," he said.

The company will need the county to rezone the property from commercial to multifamily to move forward with the project, but not everybody is sold on it.

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Two groups have sent the Orange County Planning Division letters, opposing the project.

Wanda Phillips, of the Pine Hills Neighborhood Improvement District, said the organization has concerns about rental rates for the 280-square-foot rooms, which lack full kitchens, and concerns about the limited outdoor recreational areas for children.

"The goal is good, affordable, safe housing, and it should at least be a minimum standard," she said. "When people dream of their future in this community, their dream is not, 'We want to raise our family in a hotel room.'"

Vengroff said his company continues to seek the zoning approval by January despite that opposition.

"If there are any naysayers, it would be because they just don't have a sense of understanding of what we're trying to accomplish yet," he said.

The final decision will be left up to the Orange County Board of County Commissioners.

Cox Media Group