HomeMy WebLinkAboutDuda Connector-1994/1995 Oviedo looks to annex mall
Access road is key to which government gets mall tax base
By Will Wpllone request for such an qpgau mart'
OF THE ssarwd:ar/b'y Oviedo City Man alie Williford confirmed"
that annexation negotiations are under way, but he
OVIEDO — could not give a timetable for an agreement.
People are routinely stopping Tom "There are a lot of issues to work out, if they can
Morgan,former mayor and spokesman for A.Duda& be worked out at all,"Williford said.
Sons Inc.,to ask: "How is my mall doing?" Construction of a mall could be a boon for a city
Morgan cannot say publicly what will happen to that is considering raising property taxes 23 percent
the 1.2-million-square-foot mall proposed to be built later this month to pay for additional police officers
on Duda's land north of Red Bug Lake Road. The and firefighters. The mall,which could open by late
mall has been delayed ma1997 is
.while two cities and the Li expected,000 yearly yein
county fight for control erete $500,000 yearly in
of the development. taxes.
. . However,Oviedo could The Rouse Co. of Co-
emerge as the victor in There are a lot of issues to work out, if tumble, Md., is develop-
'the mall fight. In the they can be worked out at all, ins the proposed mall,which could have five
near future, Morgan may
announce that the 90- —OvlatlO City Manager Gene Williford including department stores
'acre mall site outside including Sardines, Dil-
Oviedocity limits will become lard's and would occur s.
part of the city. Asked whether the annexation would occ before
The Vera Co., a real estate arm of Duda, and the the Sept.8 city election,Williford said,"It would be a
city are negotiating to annex the land west of Oviedo miracle."
.into the city so the company can get the stalled mall If the mall land was added to the city limits,
-moving. Oviedo may have neighboring Winter Springs to
In return for joining the city, Duda wants Oviedo thank.
:W clear a path for a mall access road to Winter For months, Oviedo leaders asked for the annex-
Springs Boulevard. The Winter Springs City Com- ation.Until recently, Duda officials said they wanted
mission,which at one time expressed interest in an-
nexing the mall land, earlier this summer blocked a Please see MALL, 1.2
94(0 90/
January 19, 1995 • Toni Morgan, spokesman for
A. Duda & Sons, owners of the
Winter Springs-Oviedo land onwhichthemallwillbebuilt,
expressed discouragement."I can
talks on mall connector not believe that Winter Springs is
going to waste taxpayers' money
on an casement that is indefen-
appear to have collapsed sible,"he said.
He also said he can't believe
In a closed meeting Monday The city holds a ten-foot conser- they are going to throw away all
Winter Springs commissioners vation easement along Winter the jobs and revenue the mall
took a giant step toward bringing Springs Boulevard all the way to would bring.
the "Duda Connector" issue to SR 426, which, even though the "Residents are convinced that
court. land is in Oviedo, can not be this will be the ruination of their
Negotiations between Winter crossed without permission or a neighborhoods,"he added."That
Springs andOviedo appear to have court fight. just won't happen.
collapsed, and Winter Springs Negotiations to resolve the is- "It's like they've been telling
commissioners appear to be ready sue had been underway with ghost stories and now they're
to file suit to block Oviedo from Oviedo,but Winter Springs seems afraid of the dark.We want this to
building the road, to be headed toward breaking off be resolved, but that won't hap-
The connector, which would efforts to compromise. pen until people stop seeing
linktheproposed 1.2millionsquare Several months ago The Rouse ghosts."
foot Oviedo Crossings mall on Red Company,designer and potential
Bug Lake Road with Winter builder ofthe mall,presented sev-
Springs Boulevard, has been a eral plans for the road,including
bone of contention for almost a one suggested by its detractors.
year. All options were thrown out by
Residents in the Tuskawilla Winter Springs commissioners
area of Winter Springs fear that whena controversial traffic study Springs
neighborhoods will be inun- was presented. Winter Springs
dated by traffic if the road is built. It has been all downhill since
thew victim is
Seminole County has said that
approval of the mall is contingent punched in
on construction of the road.
Oviedo filed suit to condemn the home invasion
easement.Winter Springs sued to
block the road, but then Oviedo
agreed to negotiate. Two Spanish-speaking men
Those negotiations now appear armed with revolvers forced their
way to be off, and court battles seem Drive,Winter Springs,at about 9
likely. Drive,Winter Springs,at about 9
A Rouse spokesman said the a.m. Monday. They tied up four
company isinthedeal for the long residents and stole cash. One of
haul.If the issue goes to court,the the victims was punched in the
•
companies involved will defend it face during the incident
to the end. Investigators met with the vic-
tims Monday afternoon and Tues-
day morning. Along with police
artists,they developed composite
sketches of the suspects, which
95-0/ / , were scheduled to be released to-
day.
One suspect was described as
a whitemale,30 yearsold,6'3",140
pounds with long curly hair and a
Hispanic accent.
The second was also white,
about 25 years old, 5'4", 130
pounds with a full beard and a
Hispanic accent, ev I/rth
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