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Highlands Today

Proposed Development Could Double LP Population

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By Bill Rettew Jr. | Highlands Today

Published: October 31, 2007

LAKE PLACID — The population of the town could double in less than eight years if a proposed development, by local citrus farmer and landowner Alan Grigsby, is successful.

The proposal calls for 942 new homes on 375 acres, or an average density of 2.75 dwelling units per acre. Twenty percent of the site will be set aside for commercial development.
The tract of mostly farmland is south of West Interlake Boulevard and east of Catfish Creek Road.
Rhon Ernest-Jones Consulting Engineers Inc., the project's consultant, expects a "full build-out" by 2015. Any construction depends on the new construction market, Rhon Ernest-Jones said.

"Detailed planning is an activity for the future," said Ernest-Jones. "We're planning for the future. Who knows when the market is going to turn around?
"We're in the process of doing the master planning for the town and county. The market will determine."

The Local Planning Agency heard Ernest-Jones staffers discuss the project at Monday's meeting. The planning group failed to fully recommend the project to the town council. A council vote is expected on Monday.

The project would include roadway infrastructure construction improvements of about $4 million, including construction of a future Grigsby Road.
The landowner would pick up the tab for road construction and, in turn, Ernest-Jones would seek an impact fee discount.

"Alan Grigsby is attempting to make a beautiful first-class community for Lake Placid," said Ernst-Jones. "He's a really good and responsible owner who has done his utmost to accommodate and work with the needs of his fellow Lake Placid residents."

Ernst-Jones said plans call for an "upscale community" with large lots with single-family estate homes on the southern portion of the tract. The planner envisioned the low-density neighborhood with open space in an area of "beautiful lakes and hills."

More conventional single-family homes, possibly consisting of four units per acre, are planned for the middle portion of the site with higher density townhouses, possibly two-storied high, on the north end of the property.

The commercial portion might include professional offices and small businesses such as a dry cleaners.

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