Summer 2005

Retail roars in west Volusia; Shop 'Til You Drop' in Orange City

If delegates to the International Council of Shopping Centers' Florida Conference, who recently met in Orlando, wanted to see a burgeoning retail market, they could have traveled no further than Orange City.

To say retail in Orange City is hot and getting hotter is an understatement.

Testimony to the desirable demographics of Orange City and its potential for retail success is the presence of major retail establishments including Lowe's, Home Depot, Super Wal-Mart, Target, and Publix, which has a superstore in Orange City. These companies conduct an extensive market analysis before investing in a location. Further validating the potential for the area is the presence of a Country Inn Suites hotel, at the site of the former Holiday Inn Express.

Retail development is common throughout Orange City, but there is a heavy concentration of shopping in the immediate vicinity of the Saxon Boulevard/Interstate 4 Interchange. If there were any doubts about that area as a retail hot spot, the soon-to-be-developed West Volusia Towne Centre would settle the argument. The shopping center will create 249,000 square feet of retail space, including a 90,000-square-foot Kohl's department store, which is under construction and expected to be the first of 10 Kohl's stores to open in Florida. Some of the other 24 proposed tenants include Books-A-Million, Starbucks, and at least one high-quality restaurant. Also coming to the I-4/Saxon Boulevard neighborhood is a Hooter's restaurant.

Crown Centre, at the northwest corner of Saxon Boulevard and Enterprise Road, has a showcase Publix supermarket, a large Bealls store, Pier 1 Imports and many other stores. Other familiar restaurant names in the area are Bob Evans, Ruby Tuesday's, Sonny's Bar B-Q, and Denny's. The list of eateries soon will be augmented by the arrival of a Big Boy, the first in Florida and one that will stir memories among Floridians who hail from the Midwest or Northeast.

In addition to the new retail establishments that have declared their intentions to set up shop in Orange City, another new retail/office center is in the planning stages. Local developer John Wannemaker is planning to create the Orange City Town Center on Enterprise Road just south of Saxon Boulevard. The 26-acre parcel will feature 14 lots that will circle a five-acre retention pond with a small park amenity that will be handsomely landscaped and appointed with a fountain. Although the development is mostly offices, it promises to attract retailers and will be a welcoming venue for shoppers.