VIDEO WALK THROUGH: City Place, the social hub project in the works by Garber Communities, will feature 4 retail spaces, an outdoor gathering spot, and convenient parking.
City Place is a 7,000 SF adaptive reuse retail project scheduled to open soon at 1100 Orlando Avenue (MAP). The building is across from Krispy Kreme and next door to the now-shuttered Marlow's Tavern restaurant.
We told you August 2019 a new social hub would be opening there, but at the time it was known as Mills Place. The name has changed, two tenants are signed, and an opening date has been announced.
Garber Communities (Website) bought the building and has been in the process of re-imagining it for about the past year. The 1963 building formerly contained a physical device company called Hangers. The architect is C4 Architecture (Website).
City Place is scheduled to open in three to six months
"With Garber Development and Lamont, with his inspiration, he really creates something that tries to maintain the aesthetic of the building but that also appeals to today’s audience, the millennial generation," says Pete Wood, Director of Operations at Garber Communities. "The thing I really like about it is the, when you’re driving down 17-92 you see this building and it just has such beautiful frontage and it really makes a statement."
Garber completely gutted the interior from floor to ceiling, removing a maze of small offices. It divided the building into four separate retail spaces and added new skylights. The interiors have high ceilings and natural light. The developers kept the raw look of the ceilings giving all four spaces a modern industrial feel, much as they did with their other nearby property, the State Auto building.
The exterior received a complete makeover as well with a new duel covered front porch, new windows along the side, and a retro roofline topper made of breeze cinder blocks, The building will be fronted with a tall art deco style sign listing the tenants below the building's title.
The focal point of the exterior is the long narrow parklet between the parking lot and the building. A welcoming sitting area has been created there with giant palm trees, bright green sitting grass, and minimalist Brazilian walnut-topped cement block seating.
Two of the four spaces have been claimed by tenants.
The front right space facing the road which is Unit B will contain a coffee shop from Puerto Rico called Cafe Don Juan (Website | Instagram). Along with coffee, it will offer breakfast and lunch items like fresh pastries and sandwiches.The brand was created in 2012 by Juan Pablo Torres and is the largest local chain of coffee shops in Puerto Rico with 6 locations. The Winter park location will feature indoor and outdoor seating.
Unit D in the rear of the building will house Tune Up - The Manly Salon (Website). Services include haircuts, beard trims, facials, manicures, pedicures, eyebrow waxing, kids cuts, shoulder massages, and more. Customers enjoy a free beer or beverage and watch sports while waiting. Along with individual services, they offer a monthly membership program with unlimited services for one monthly price. The company is based in Woodland, Texas. This will be their first Florida location.
The two remaining spaces include the second front-facing space (Unit A) with 2,127 SF and Unit C, which is 1,412 SF. The space can be combined into one as well.
Directly behind the building is Jewett Orthopedics with 1,000 patients visiting the office per day according to Wood.
The next Garber Communities project to see activity start soon is another adaptive reuse building in Maitland. They will be breaking ground there in about 3-6 months according to Wood. Two tenants are already lined up as well.
