A revised mixed-use development proposal for the Trailwinds property across County Road 466A from Pinellas Plaza was endorsed Tuesday by the special magistrate of the Wildwood Planning and Zoning Board.
The plan, recommended by Special Magistrate Archie O. Lowry, requires the developer to start the project within two years, although two one-year extensions are allowed. The plan requires city commission approval and the project also requires utility agreements and a site plan.
Dirt isn’t likely to be moved anytime soon because no contracts have been signed.
“There are only prospects at this point,” said engineer Jerry Hart, who represented Word Family LLC. He said construction would begin “when we gather interest from the appropriate parties.”
The revised plan adds 8.4 acres to the project area, bringing it to 131.5 acres. It also reduces the amount of office space to 151,500 square feet, increases retail space to 572,750 square feet and maintains the number of residential units at 296 homes and 462 assisted living beds. The plan allows flexibility in conversion of various uses.
The development first was approved three years ago and amended last year. Last spring, The Villages proposed building nearly 800 homes on the property, but withdrew that plan after Wildwood officials said they wouldn’t approve it and preferred a mixed-use development.
After construction begins, a second westbound turn lane will be added on CR 466A at Powell Road and left-turn and right-turn deceleration lanes will be built at access points to the development. The project will have three access points from CR 466A, according to the tentative site plan, and one from CR 462.
CR 105, a dirt county road off CR 466A, will become Trailwinds Boulevard, the development’s signature access point.
A $1.8-million sewer line is under construction to Trailwinds from the wastewater treatment plant west of U.S. 301 with the Trailwinds developer picking up the cost.
Buffers between Trailwinds and The Villages are enhanced under the revised plan with a larger and relocated retention pond as well as a 50-foot-wide easement for utility lines at the rear of the property. A 25-foot landscape buffer is required along CR 466A and at the northern end.
Internal path networks, originally designed for golf carts, will be reduced in width from 12 feet to 8 feet.
“We still are going to promote the inter-connecting golf cart access,” Hart said. Those paths will not be accessible to The Villages, but could link to other parts of Wildwood in the future.
Melanie Peavy, Wildwood development services director, said city staff supports the revised plan because it lessens impacts to Villages residents by increasing separation, it is consistent with area development trends and it mitigates the project’s impact, including roadway access.
