Construction could begin as early as next spring on the first phase of a luxury rental community across County Road 466A from Pinellas Plaza.
The WholeLife Planned Development will include 543,500 square feet of commercial space, 172,240 square feet of institutional space and more than 700 homes and apartments.
Special Magistrate Archie O. Lowry Jr. recommended approval of the planned development Tuesday at a meeting of the Wildwood Planning and Zoning Board. Approval by the Wildwood City Commission is required.
The community’s first phase includes 400 bungalows expected to rent to adults aged 55 and older for $3,000 to $4,600 a month on three-year leases, said Greg Beliveau, principal of LPG Urban and Regional Planners of Mount Dora, who represented the developer, WholeLife Properties of Dallas. Completion of the first phase is expected about 18 months from the start of construction.
“As soon as we can get this thing approved, we want to get the bungalows moving,” he said.
Beliveau said the community has abundant work force rental housing but not many upscale rental units.
“People are asking for this,” he said. “This is a new market. A lot of people retiring now don’t want to sink their money into homes. They want to invest it.”
Beliveau said the bungalows will have two-car garages, picket fences and pets will be permitted. Residents also will benefit from a community center with pools and a fitness center. They will have a concierge service to assist them.
“It’s like living in a resort,” he said.
Future phases of the development include a 110-bed assisted living facility, an 300-unit apartment building up to six stories tall and commercial space along county roads 462 and 466A.
The development will be next to the Trailwinds property to the east, where 296 homes, 462 assisted living beds, 572,750 square feet of retail space and 151,500 square feet of office space are planned on 131.5 acres. That project was proposed more than three years ago, but nothing has been built.
Melanie Peavy, Wildwood’s director of development services, said agreement was reached Monday with the Trailwinds and WholeLife developers for placement of an access road that will run across the center of the Trailwinds development, south of a wetlands area and then north to connect with CR 462.
She said the commission likely will vote on the project in January and site plan approval is required before construction can begin. But grading and leveling the land can start before site plan approval.
The WholeLife development will have a 70-foot buffer from Villages homes to the north. About 50 feet of the buffer is owned by the Trailwinds developer.
Villager Charles Anderson told Lowry that the plan looks sound, but Villages residents have some concerns.
An assisted living facility is planned on the northwest part of the property and Anderson said residents want to avoid lights and noise from parking areas.
“We’d like to be good neighbors,” he said. “Anything you can do to do keep lights and parking away rom that area would be appreciated.”
Anderson said residents also are concerned about keeping tall weeds from growing in the buffer and with noise abatement. A family of bald eagles also has been nesting in the proposed buffer area, he said.
Beliveau said he hopes parking for the assisted living facility can be limited. He also said bald eagles are no longer an endangered species, but construction cannot be done within 600 feet during nesting periods.
He said representative of the developer plan to meet with nearby Villages residents over the next couple of months.
A $1.8-million sewer connection to the area from the Wildwood sewage treatment plant west of U.S. 301 is about halfway completed.
The WholeLife and Trailwinds developments are in an area where The Villages last spring proposed building more than 700 homes. The plan was withdrawn after Wildwood officials said they opposed it and preferred a mixed-use development.
