Daytona Beach commissioners have signed off on a sprawling new "city within a city," clearing the way for Avalon Park Daytona, a master-planned community the developer says will add roughly 8,800 homes and about 1 million square feet of commercial space over the next two decades. The approval came Thursday with a rezoning and annexation vote that kicks off a 15 to 20-year buildout, complete with promises of major road upgrades and sites for public services. Residents who packed the meeting were not exactly cheering, warning that the project could swamp State Road 40 and LPGA Boulevard, roads they say already crawl at rush hour. The developer told officials that work on Phase 1 is expected to start next year.
Commission approves rezoning and annexation
The Daytona Beach City Commission voted to rezone and annex the land so Avalon Park Daytona can move forward, according to WKMG ClickOrlando. The site sits just west of I-95, between Ormond Beach and Daytona Beach, and residents at the hearing told commissioners they fear the already busy corridors nearby will be pushed to the breaking point. The vote followed months of public hearings and came after the city's planning board recommended approval earlier in the spring.
Project size and planning board history
Public filings and local reports show the development would cover roughly 2,760 acres and allow about 8,818 homes and roughly 1,091,150 square feet of commercial space at full buildout, according to Observer Local News. The planned development request includes several code waivers, including smaller lot sizes and reduced buffers, which the planning board signed off on in April. City officials say the first phase will include about 2,032 residential units and roughly 90,000 square feet of mixed-use space, along with new internal roads meant to set up future phases.
Developer pledges $125 million for roads and services
A representative identified as Kahli told commissioners the team has committed $125 million for road infrastructure, including parallel roads along State Road 40 and a new cut through to LPGA Boulevard, in an effort to ease east-west traffic, WKMG ClickOrlando reported. The company also pledged to donate land for police and fire facilities and to build schools if the district determines they are needed. City staff told the commission that required infrastructure for each phase must be in place before the developer can move on to the next round of construction.
Jobs, timeline and developer background
Planning materials cited by Observer Local News estimate roughly 2,600 permanent jobs and as many as 27,000 construction jobs over the life of the project. The developer has publicly described the potential for thousands of permanent positions and several thousand construction roles. Avalon Park Group, the Orlando-based developer behind the original Avalon Park, has said it closed on thousands of acres for the Daytona site and envisions a compact, walkable town center that would roll out in phases over about 15 to 20 years, along with public-private infrastructure partnerships similar to ones it has promoted in other markets, according to Avalon Park Group.
Legal tangle and what's next
The massive project is still entangled in a utilities dispute with Ormond Beach. In March, Ormond Beach commissioners rejected a proposed settlement tied to water and wastewater service and invited Daytona Beach to pursue conflict resolution options, according to Ormond Beach commission minutes. With the rezoning now approved, the developer plans to seek utility permits and start pre-construction work while city and county staff refine engineering timelines and funding plans for the promised road projects. Neighbors say they intend to keep pressing officials for binding engineering schedules and clear, enforceable funding commitments before large-scale housing construction ramps up.
