DEBARY, Fla. — After years of anticipation, the city of DeBary has finally broken ground on its downtown and Main Street corridor.
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City leaders said the project has been more than twenty years in the making.
Nestled along the St. John’s River and halfway between Orlando and Daytona Beach, the city has never had an urban core.
City manager Carmen Rosamonda blames a lack of funding and not being able to get developers and land owners on board for the several years delay.
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“Most cities assemble all the properties by buying all of the properties. We didn’t have the money to do that so by doing a joint marketing agreement, we were able to sell all our properties together,” said Rosamonda.
The Main Street project promises a couple hundred townhomes and apartments, standing roughly four stories high.
The first floor will be reserved for shops, restaurants and other commercial real estate, with some business owners already in the process of relocating.
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“Right now we are in with Winn Dixie and a lot of cars take up the parking lot for Winn Dixie,” said owner of Nona Maria’s Kimberly Vivero.
The city celebrated its 30th anniversary last year and its growth has been increasing.
This development is expected to attract roughly ten thousand additional residents.
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Phase one is now underway but the city said movement on both phases will be visible by the end of this year, with the entire project done by 2027.
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