Plans to bring a giant mixed-use development with more than 1,000 multi-family units to the former Flea World site are getting closer to reality.
The 110-acre property along Ronald Reagan Boulevard and 17-92 is the last large development site left in Seminole County, according to Commissioner Jay Zembower, who said the corridor has long been eyed for revitalization.
“We’ve started to see that whole area clean up and people taking pride in the ownership of their homes,” he added. “That’s what’s going to happen to the entire 17-92 corridor.”
Flea World, after being in business for 33 years, closed its doors for good in 2015. Touted as the nation’s largest flea market under one roof, it attracted visitors from all over and was considered a Seminole County institution.
The prime piece of real estate has stayed undeveloped for nearly a decade but plans to bring a mixed-use development to the vacant property are finally getting closer to approval.
It’s being called the Reagan Center – a vision that includes 1,003 multi-family units, 1.4 million square feet of office space, and nearly 300,000 square feet of retail.
“There will also be restaurants, maybe hardware stores, maybe medical attributes, office-type venues,” Zembower said. “It will really change that corridor and the flavor of that whole area for the better.”
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However, the infrastructure – specifically the utility system – needs an upgrade before the project can move forward. The developer, Randy Morris, asked Seminole County leaders for a continuance at Tuesday’s commission meeting.
“No one would enter into a developer’s agreement without the utility agreement unless they’re out of their mind, and the utility agreement is far from done,” Morris told commissioners. “This probably will come back to you sometime this summer.”
“Anytime you go from a flea market setting, which you have little infrastructure on, and you go to a higher use, you have to have that capacity,” Zembower added.
It’s not the first time a project like this has been proposed for the site. Several proposals to build similar developments have fallen through ever since Flea World was demolished.
Zembower is confident something will be built this time around.
“There’s no question at some point this will be built,” he said. “This is a very high-value property in Seminole County.”
If the project gets the final approval, construction likely won’t start until sometime in 2025.
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