APOPKA, Fla. – Apopka’s long-discussed plan to remake its downtown could be in trouble as city leaders prepare to vote on a notice of default tied to the Station Street revitalization project.
City officials say the project’s developer — Tony Benge’s Standard Investments and Holdings LLC — failed to provide required design specifications by a July 2024 deadline.
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Nearly two years later, city leaders say they still do not have what they need to move the project forward.
The proposed development would have focused largely along Station Street and included affordable housing, retail and restaurant space, and a public plaza.
A tentative timeline for the project called for plans to be delivered last summer, permits to follow, and site work to begin early this year, with the public plaza expected to be completed in January.
At a city meeting in 2025, commissioners questioned why progress had stalled.
“I’m kind of trying to figure out what happened between 2022 and today that nothing really has been done,” one commissioner said.
A representative for the development said, “Since the developer agreement was finalized, we have been actively moving this forward.”
That representative claimed that he himself did not agree to a timeline.
Some residents said they are not surprised by the delays.
“It’s just typical of what happens. You have to rethink and rethink and rethink. And then by the time you’re finished rethinking, nothing’s been done,” Apopka resident Donna Rudd said.
If the notice of default is issued, the developer would have 30 days to correct the issue. If the problem is not resolved, the city could terminate the agreement and walk away from the project.
The vote comes as the new city commission and Mayor Nick Nesta take a fresh look at major projects approved under prior leadership.