Residents fear apartments, city stands firm

Post Properties proposes 410 apartments — one of four planned projects that are expected to bring nearly 1,200 rental units to the center of Orlando's Baldwin Park.

There are many news angles from this story in the Orlando Sentinel about Baldwin Park, a 1,100-acre redevelopment of a former Naval training center.

1) Residents are scared of a large infusion of rental units and some are vocally opposed. The residents expected condos — which is probably what would have been built prior to the housing crash. With the market shift to rental in the long-term, this kind of switch will be common and likely to generate opposition in many urban developments.

2) The City of Orlando appears to be standing firm despite opposition and characterizing the apartments as in keeping with the master plan. That's encouraging.

3) This is more evidence that the markets have shifted to multifamily rental, which we at New Urban News/New Urban Network are seeing from coast to coast. These units could be expected to lease up quickly.

4) Real Estate Investment Trusts like the Atlanta-based Post Properties, which have experience building urban rental buildings, are well positioned to finance and build this kind of housing.

5) Baldwin Park, one of the best new urban developments, will be built out when these apartments projects are completed. The project will is planned to have about 4,300 units at build-out. The apartments at the heart of the project will add energy and vitality to the town center.

6) "Winter Park real estate broker Scott Hillman said Baldwin Park has had its share of foreclosures but said sales there have been more robust than in most communities. For example, during the housing slump, sales in Baldwin Park didn't peak until 2009, several years after the highs in most Orlando-area communities."

Orlando Planning Division manager Dean Grandin, a resident of Baldwin Park, commented: "The Baldwin Park vision is a great vision. The vision has not changed, and the fact of the matter is that there's a rich mix of uses in Baldwin Park. I think what's changed here, as a resident and seeing the residential neighborhood come to life, is that the residents are very passionate about their community. … From my perspective, the city has remained true to that vision from Day 1."