Sanford officials deny request to allow 2nd developer to help finish Heritage Park project

SANFORD, Fla. — Five years after Sanford’s City Commission approved a major project downtown, the lot where it was supposed to sit remains empty.

The Heritage Park Development was meant to include new restaurants, shops, offices and housing in the heart of Downtown Sanford.

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Sanford Mayor Art Woodruff says financing and the COVID-19 pandemic have presented problems for the project, but that hasn’t stopped other projects from being completed.

“It was a very complicated plan,” Mayor Woodruff said. “Of course the pandemic came in and interrupted things.”

On Monday, Sanford City Commissioners considered whether to stay with the current developer, Sanford Waterfront Partners, or allow another developer to come in and make Heritage Park a reality, which could still take more than another four years to complete.

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Heritage Park, a new waterfront neighborhood in the heart of Historic Downtown Sanford, is making strides. Sanford Waterfront Partners have provided the City of Sanford with these new renderings and they wanted to share them with you. Heritage Park will serve as a catalyst for additional investment and redevelopment in Downtown, throughout the City of Sanford and Seminole County. Heritage Park will offer the community new places to visit, including parks, plazas, restaurants, and shops as well as new options for living on the waterfront.
Posted by City of Sanford, FL Government on Thursday, July 23, 2020

“So we’ll have a discussion about whether we want to continue with them, whether we want to see if there is a way to end the agreement now, which I don’t know if that’s possible, or if we want to go ahead and accept the Michaels Organization as one of the developers and let them try to finish the job,” Woodruff explained before the meeting.

Commissioners ultimately voted Monday evening to deny the requested amendments to the agreement with SWP.

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Heritage Park was meant to be a catalyst site in the heart of the historic district five years ago, but Woodruff says now it may not be as important as it once was.

City leaders say they still want the property to be developed.

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