ORLANDO, Fla. — Sanford’s downtown area is set to undergo significant changes as a new multi-use development project prepares to break ground in the coming months.

While the project will add housing and food and beverage retail space, it will also eliminate a central parking lot. 

What You Need To Know

  • The Palmetto, a $14 million multi-use development, will feature 28 apartments and 8,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, enhancing downtown Sanford’s growth

  • The project will eliminate a 54-space parking lot, replacing it with 28 spaces for tenants, encouraging city officials to look ahead on parking solutions

  • Construction is set to break ground in the coming months

  • The project will take 12 to 18 months to complete, with city officials urging residents and visitors to find alternative parking options now

Developer Dan Matthews, known for his work on the San Leon multi-use building, is leading the effort. His new project, called The Palmetto, will be located at 218 Palmetto Ave., directly across from the Ritz Theater.

The development will include two buildings and 28 apartments, along with 8,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

“Downtown Sanford is a gem, and you can see it's on the cusp of something great. I mean, you have the old buildings, but there's still a lot of missing teeth — vacant lots, a lot of flat parking lots. And those need to be filled in so that the overall fabric of the downtown is complete. And that's what we're working to do," said Matthews. 

While The Palmetto will bring housing to Sanford, it will also remove a parking lot with 54 general spaces, replacing it with just 28 spaces for building tenants.

Sanford Mayor Art Woodruff acknowledged the importance of balancing development with accessibility.

“We like the idea that there is more development coming in, and we'll continue to work on the parking situation there," he said. "There's still plenty of parking downtown. It does take away some centralized parking. People will have to walk a little further. One of my concerns in what we talked about trying to figure out a solution for is ADA parking, because that's very limited downtown.”

City officials are urging anyone who currently uses the parking lot at 218 Palmetto Avenue to find alternative parking options before construction begins.

The $14 million project is expected to take 12 to 18 months to complete.