Hotly contested golf course redevelopment in Plant City will use Live Local Act to move forward
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Oct 2, 2023

A real estate developer who wants to build housing on a defunct Plant City golf course will use Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Live Local Act to move the project forward.

The Plant City Planning Board has twice denied redevelopment proposals for the shuttered golf course in master-planned community Walden Lake. The Live Local Act, which took effect July 1, allows residential developers who are building on land zoned for mixed-use and commercial projects to circumvent the local development process if they designate 40% of their units to workforce and affordable housing.

Developer Walden Lake LLC acquired the golf course property in 2019; its previous proposals were denied in 2022 and early 2023. The most recent proposal that was denied called for 550 units.

The developer now proposes 1,998 residences on the site: 1,530 multifamily units and 468 townhouse-style rental units in buildings up to three stories high. Forty percent of those units will be available for those making 120% of the area median income, per state guidelines under the Live Local Act. The remaining 60% will be market-rate rentals.

“This innovative plan addresses the pressing issue of limited attainable housing choices for middle-income Floridians, a demographic often overlooked amid the luxury multifamily housing boom,” the developer said in a news release.

The Walden Lake community is entitled to 6,000 units total; to date, 3,343 have been built. Under the Live Local Act, the property could be home to up to 6,385 units.

“The Walden Lake property qualifies for administrative approval under the Live Local Act because the existing planned development zoning for the property allows a for-profit golf course and other commercial activities,” said Jacob T. Cremer, a partner at Stearns Weaver Miller in Tampa. “This is a visionary project that supports the state’s efforts to provide more attainable housing for Floridians.”

Cremer and Elise Batsel, a partner at Stearns Weaver Miller, are representing Walden Lake LLC.

“We look forward to working closely with the city’s planning and zoning staff again to move Walden Lake forward together and provide much-needed housing options in Plant City,” Cremer said.