Orlando's "Milk District" to receive multi-year makeover

Real estate investor Adam Wonus has raised millions of dollars to buy and demolish about 60 old houses mostly in east Orlando's Milk District with the hope of transforming it into the next Thornton Park.

As he drives past a 1940s house he recently purchased in east Orlando's Milk District he spots a vagrant slipping into an open window. The trespasser won't be able to squat there for long. The old, whitish house will be razed soon.

Wonus, 33, has demolished about 25 1940s-era homes near the old T.G. Lee Dairy property and replaced them with new rental townhomes. In little over a year, he has put together a portfolio of about 50 properties in the area about two miles east of downtown Orlando.

"What I want to do is help change Orlando," said the Ohio native, who would like to transform the Milk District into Orlando's next Thornton Park — an older neighborhood saved from urban blight by house makeovers with trendy shops and restaurants.

Unlike most real estate investors buying houses in Central Florida, Wonus draws from a banking background that has helped him raise millions of dollars. In addition, he owns Atrium Management Company, which has about 500 rentals. He said he would rather rent out his townhomes than sell to better control how the neighborhood evolves.

The Milk District area he wants to remake draws mostly 20-something tenants searching for backyard fire pits and cheaper rents than they can find in downtown Orlando. They are slowly edging out older residents, many on fixed incomes, who long ago sought the affordability of homes with fewer than 2,000 square feet.

Longtime homeowner Danielle Knight weeds the butterfly garden she has created in her front yard. She stops and sighs when asked about the redevelopment just a few houses away. "It's sad," said Knight, a nurse who bought her house when both she and her husband worked at the former Orlando Naval Base more than 30 years ago.

Investment firms have purchased rental homes in mainstream neighborhoods throughout Central Florida. "This is an older Orlando neighborhood and instead of taking a house and remodeling it, they're building this thing here and that thing there."

Prices there have spiked and sales have slowed, reflective of the region's sparse listings. Average sales prices for houses in the 32803 ZIP code jumped by about $30,000 during the last year to $300,000 in June. Sales dropped from 111 in June 2015 to 41 in June 2016, according to Orlando Regional Realtor Association reports.

Wonus said he likes to stay below $135,000 on his purchases. To keep costs down, he said he scouted construction sites to find a contractor who could build his townhomes affordably.Eyeing a dilapidated blue house as he drove around his properties, Wonus said: "This one I want so badly." Renters at the house pay about $500 a month. Next door to it is one of Wonus'signature two-story townhome duplexes. Renters there pay more than $2,000.

The houses sport quality materials and finishes and get pressured washed every year, Wonus said. Cars are prohibited from parking on the front-lawn sod he has planted.

Nearby, Rod Vermilio of Distinguished Development and Contracting Inc. is at work on a townhome and duplex project he expects will have rentals and sales from the $300,000s. "We identified the Milk District as an ideal place to create some quality housing," he said."It's a fringe area that we feel has great potential."

Orlando has seen other developers remake partially blighted areas. Dan Bellows assembled low-income pockets of west Winter Park and developed the Hannibal Square shopping area.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Craig Ustler and Phil Rampy combed through Thornton Park, rehabbing old houses and ultimately developing midrise residential towers. Ustler, who is trying to ignite Creative Village in the Parramore area, said he has met with Wonus and appreciates his vision and financial background.

"I think he sees the Milk District and other in-town neighborhoods as underdeveloped, but also understands that land assemblage and controlling development costs are potential roadblocks," Ustler said.

But holding the weeder and working in her garden, Knight lamented the new two-story townhomes that overshadow the first generation of Colonial Town houses. Seeing prices rise won't help her because she doesn't want to sell. "I'm not going anywhere," she said. "This is my home."

- Mary Shanklin, Contact Reporter - Orlando Sentinel

New town center plans for Lake Nona

A new “marriage” is brewing in Lake Nona, this time to create the southeast Orlando community’s 3.8 million-square-foot central commercial district.

Tavistock Development Co. LLC has partnered with Columbus, Ohio-based Steiner + Associates to master plan the next phases of the Lake Nona Town Center. Steiner + Associates will work with Tavistock Development on retail planning, leasing and development services.

The next phase of Lake Nona's 100-acre, open-air town center will include a mix of shops, eateries, entertainment venues, office and hotels. Early plans being discussed include a possible upscale movie theater and bowling alley. The Lake Nona Town Center will serve as the “defining anchor and amenity” for the 8,000-acre community, which already boasts 10,000-plus residents, 7,000 students and 5,000 employees in the Medical City life sciences hub.

Tavistock already introduced a downtown-like atmosphere in the first $70 million phase of the Lake Nona Town Center. It now includes an 85,000-square-foot, four-story office building with ground-level restaurants; a 200-room, dual-branded Courtyard by Marriott and Residence Inn building and structured parking. Urban-style apartments also are being built across the street from the new complex.

But by bringing in Steiner + Associates, Tavistock Development will gain expertise from a company known as a pioneer in creating the modern live/work/play environment now being used throughout the country. Steiner in 1999 debuted Easton Town Center in its hometown of Columbus, paving the way for retail destinations in the next several years. That project continues to draw new concepts. Read more about that development from sister paper Columbus Business First.  Then, Steiner + Associates last year opened Liberty Center, a $350 million mixed-use development in the Cincinnati region.

“Steiner + Associates is among the most creative and innovative mixed-use planners in the country with groundbreaking projects like the Easton Town Center and Liberty Center,” Tavistock Development President Jim Zboril said in a prepared statement. “We are attracted to their energy and passion for place making as well as their strong track record for inspiring, engaging and creating mixed-use communities.”

“Lake Nona Town Center will be unlike any other mixed-use project in the country,” Steiner + Associates founder and CEO Yaromir Steiner said in a prepared statement. “From thoughtful design and community integration to curating the very best mix of retail, restaurants, entertainment and other uses, we are going to deliver something very special to Central Florida.” - Anjali Fluker, Associate Managing Editor @ the Orlando Business Journal

Summer home sales soften for Orlando

Orlando's housing market did not get its typical bump in prices from June to July, a new report shows.  The midpoint price for the core Orlando market in July was $205,382, which was down from $207,000 the month before during a time of year when prices usually surge as families relocate prior to the school year starting. Even with the slight month-over-month softening, prices were still 12 percent higher than a year earlier, according to a report released this week by the Orlando Regional Realtor Association.

Sales declined to 3,342 in July, which was down about 6 percent from both a month earlier and a year earlier.  "Competition for homes in the entry-level and mid-price range (under $300,000) continues to remain high, especially among first-time home buyers and investors," said Colony Realty Group Inc. agent John Lazenby, president of the real estate industry association.

Another sign of a less-than-robust summer was the amount of houses on the market. The inventory of listings edged up slightly to 3.19 months of supply from 2.99 months in June. Even though supply ticked up, it remained about half what is considered a normal for a market.

"Additionally, would-be sellers are staying put and hesitant to put their homes on the market because they will face high prices and few choices as they look for a new home," Lazenby said.
Despite declines in prices and sales, July home buyers were still hit with such a competitive landscape that houses came under contract in an average of 60 days — the smallest amount of time in more than a decade.

The month-over-month declines in sales and price came as interest rates on a 30-year mortgage remained relatively low at 3.45 percent. - Mary Shanklin, Contact Reporter @ the Orlando Sentinel.

Now's the time to sell: Orlando home prices continue to increase!

Orlando-area home prices increased by 6.9 percent in June compared with June 2015, according to a new report by CoreLogic. Orlando's home price surge was better than the nationwide year-over-year average, which saw an increase of 5.7 percent.

Orlando-area home prices also saw a month-over-month growth, increasing by 0.8 percent compared with May. Statewide, Florida ranked No. 6 in year-over-year home price increase at 7 percent. Oregon and Washington came in at No. 1 and 2 at 10.9 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively. Other Realtor associations also have reported an upward trend in home prices.

Further, experts expect the increase to continue: The CoreLogic Home Price Index Forecast predicts that home prices will increase nationally by 5.3 percent on a year-over-year basis from June 2016 to June 2017.

Other positive trends, such as the region's low home inventory, are signs that Central Florida's real estate market is steadily making its way back to pre-recession levels.  - Emma Skeels, Reporter @ the Orlando Business Journal.

Election Pessimism Could Hurt The Housing Market, Survey Suggests

Whether you prefer Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump or [a third party candidate], there’s no question that the next president’s economic and employment policies will be a key influence on the health of real estate for the next four years, including, perhaps, the price of a mortgage.

“While homeowner anxiety over the election is clearly mounting, the likelihood of an immediate shock to the market is slim,” Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson said. “It will take considerable time for our next commander-in-chief to implement policies that have any impact on housing.”

No matter who wins this fall, they’re likely to inherit a stronger real estate market than four years ago. Read full article by Troy McMullen, Contributor at Forbes.