by Beth Kassab | Nov 15, 2023 | News, Uncategorized
Donna Kelce no stranger to Winter Park. Could Taylor Swift follow?
The mom of NFL stars Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce, who is dating Taylor Swift, nonchalantly promotes Winter Park on social media
Nov. 15, 2023
By Beth Kassab
Just two weeks ago, the world’s most famous mother — at least in terms of pop culture cachet — posed on the dock of the Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour and gushed, “Thank you Captain Tom … We had a fantastic time!!!”
Donna Kelce’s Oct. 29 Instagram post quickly tallied more than 11,000 likes from her nearly 360,000 followers. It was at least her second time on the tour — she also posted a serene video through one of the Winter Park Chain of Lakes canals in 2020.
“My daughter pointed it out to me,” said Tom Smith, who has led boat tours for 14 years. “She saw it on Instagram and said, ‘Hey, Dad, you had someone pretty famous on your boat!'”
Smith said he’s a big football fan and, of course, knows who Travis Kelce is, but he said Donna Kelce was unassuming and content to blend in with the crowd while she was on the tour.
Kelce, whose recognition has soared since Taylor Swift first appeared in the family box at son Travis’ Kansas City Chiefs game in September, owns a condo in Baldwin Park — the Orlando neighborhood just south of Winter Park’s border. (Full disclosure: this writer is an unabashed Swiftie, lover of all the lyrical Eras and known to have traded a friendship bracelet or two.)
And while Kelce is just like any proud mom supporting her sons and causes that are important to her, she can’t help but also promote Central Florida along the way since she appears to call the region home when she’s not traveling.
Her local presence is now gaining off-the-charts attention — a photo of her attending a showing of Swift’s The Eras Tour Film over the weekend at a local theater went viral after Swiftie and local movie-goer Danielle Sparks posted the sighting on TikTok. Every outlet from People Magazine to Entertainment Tonight carried the photo.
Sparks told the Voice in a text message that she isn’t naming the theater where she spotted Kelce to protect her privacy. This writer and Central Florida native’s best guess based on the distinctive carpet in the background, is that it wasn’t the newly-renovated Regal in Winter Park Village, but the AMC at Altamonte Mall.
By Sunday, when the photo first appeared, the whole world was swooning over Swift’s lyric change on Saturday night while performing “Karma” in Buenos Aires, Argentina with Travis Kelce in attendance. Instead of “Karma is the guy on the screen … ” she sang, “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs coming straight home to me.” A video of Swift leaving the stage and running into Travis’ arms has been shared hundreds of thousands of times since the weekend.
Kelce didn’t post about seeing the film herself, though she did confirm to People that she saw it and thought it was “awesome.”
She has, though, posted other Central Florida locales — even if by accident.
Kelce appeared in a video for Kind Snacks posted to her Instagram in October in front of what locals immediately recognized as the University of Central Florida’s football stadium.
And six months ago, she filmed a video inside the Chico’s on Park Avenue in Winter Park ahead of Mother’s Day where she answered questions about her famous sons and her personal style that was posted to the brand’s YouTube channel. Kelce said in the video that some of her favorite wardrobe pieces are from the boutique.
Winter Parkers are used to the trappings of wealth and fame.
The Central Florida enclave nestled on a chain of lakes is studded with stunning homes belonging to entrepreneurs, real estate moguls and NBA players. And plenty of well-known names claim the address, like Poet Laureate Billy Collins, comedian Carrot Top and, for a time, soccer star Alex Morgan.
“Mama Kelce,” as she is affectionately known, was already scoring name recognition and deals with brands before Swift entered the picture. She famously wore a jersey that was half Philadelphia Eagles (Jason Kelce’s team) and half Kansas City Chiefs when the brothers faced each other in the Super Bowl earlier this year.
Her connection to Swift, though, arguably launches her into another stratosphere.
The masterful songwriter’s Eras Tour and recent album releases have smashed records, earning comparisons to The Beatles. Her “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” just became her 13th No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 (tying Drake), a tally surpassed only by Jay-Z with 14 No. 1 albums and The Beatles with 19, according to Billboard.
But even The Beatles — well, one of them — was a regular around Winter Park not long ago. Paul McCartney was spotted around town with some frequency before his stepson graduated from Rollins College in 2015.
Could it one day be Swift (not in the blue dress) on a boat tour?
“That would be super fun,” said Smith, the boat captain. “I would love to do it. I don’t know if I’d do it during the day … We have these trips at night, which are really fun, and that might be better for her.”
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by Beth Kassab | Nov 10, 2023 | City Commission, News, Uncategorized
Commission tables decision on more incentives for Ravaudage
Commissioners questioned whether they should reimburse the mixed-use development for road, drainage and sidewalk improvements
Nov. 10, 2023
By Beth Kassab
Commissioners voted unanimously to table a request from the developer of Ravaudage for $300,000 in reimbursements for road, sidewalk and drainage improvements.
Mayor Phil Anderson said he did not have all the information he needed to make a decision.
“I think, normally, we use reimbursements as incentives to get something the city otherwise would not have,” Anderson said. “I’m not sure I understand the extent of the premium the city is getting in exchange for the provision being proposed.”
The Ravaudage development on the corner of U.S. 17-92 and Lee Road is already entitled to as much as $1.2 million over 10 years in city reimbursements for improvements to city right-of-way.
The new reimbursement request is tied to construction on sections of Lewis Drive and Bennett Avenue, which were annexed into the city in 2020 and so weren’t part of the original 2017 agreement with the developer.
Multimodal Transportation Impact Fees paid by businesses within Ravaudage is expected to raise more money than the reimbursement amount estimated at $301,327. Impact fees are paid by developers to cities or counties as part of the development approval process. The dollars are typically used to offset additional costs to local governments to be caused by the new homes or businesses such as police, fire, sewer or schools.
Developer Dan Bellows was in the audience, but did not address the commission.
Several commissioners cited the Whole Foods plaza and noted the developer in that case did not receive reimbursements for making road, stormwater and sidewalk improvements.
“I just think that the citizens and the government has been pretty generous toward this,” said Commissioner Todd Weaver. “If another developer came and asked for this, I don’t know if this commission would say yes to this.”
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by Beth Kassab | Nov 10, 2023 | City Commission, News, Uncategorized
Residents move commission to alter westside townhome project
Townhome developer willing to consider changes in light of residents’ concerns
Nov. 9, 2023
By Beth Kassab
In what appeared to be the brink of a victory for residents of the historically Black neighborhood in west Winter Park, a developer seeking to build 53 rental units of mostly townhomes will possibly reduce the number of units in favor of adding more single-family homes along the perimeter of the complex.
The change, requested by residents and members of the City Commission, is intended to make the development more compatible with the surrounding neighborhood.
The possible concessions from Winter Park Commons came after more than a dozen residents spoke at the City Commission meeting, complaining that the scope of the two-story units would dwarf adjacent small single-story houses and would continue to erode the character of the neighborhood.
“We’ve lost a lot through changes already done in Winter Park and we’ve done the most changing,” resident Sheila Reed told commissioners.
Brenda Martin Smith, whose family has owned homes on Webster Avenue and Comstock Avenue for more than half a century, said the west side neighborhood would be hurt by additional traffic and the imposing façade of the multi-story project.
“Every day is playing Russian Roulette trying to back out of our driveway on Webster,” she said. “And because of the construction on Comstock of mega-million-dollar homes you can’t even drive down that street. We have borne the burden of Winter Park with these multiplexes.”
At the core of the debate before the Commission, though, are the zoning entitlements on the property the Miami-based developer bought from a Seventh-Day Adventist Church in 2019. The land is zoned R-3, which allows multi-story, multi-unit developments. Other nearby properties, including some that are currently single-family homes, have the same R-3 zoning, which means they too could be developed in the future.
“We met every single code requirement you have,” said Rebecca Wilson, a Lowndes attorney who is representing the developer. “And we’re being told only single-family is compatible with R-3 around us … It just seems unfair. It doesn’t mean we may not be able to make it work, but it does seem unfair that we have to do the single-family when across the street [there are apartments].”
There are two apartment complexes near the proposed development.
The developer had already agreed to replace some townhomes with single-family homes along Capen Avenue, as well as a list of other conditions when the commission granted partial approval to the project last month.
Wilson said it’s possible the project would reduce its size by two units and build detached single-family style homes along the perimeter, but would likely need variances on setbacks and the number of parking spaces to make that work financially.
Commissioners voted to table the matter to give the developer time to consider their options. They plan to bring it back for discussion at the next meeting in December.
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by Beth Kassab | Nov 7, 2023 | Uncategorized
King statue moving forward at MLK Park
The installation known as “Ripple” by artist Andrew Luy is on track for a groundbreaking early next year
Nov. 7, 2023
By Beth Kassab
A larger-than-life-size statute of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. surrounded by concentric seating is undergoing final site design for MLK Park near the corner of Denning Drive and Morse Boulevard.
A rendering of the installation by New York artist Andrew Luy was approved by a city task force as well as an entity that represents the King family, according to a report to be provided to City Commissioners this week.
A groundbreaking is likely in early 2024. Commissioners approved the project, which will cost $450,000, in April.
The artwork known as “Ripple” is designed to show how King’s influence on movements for peace and equality continues to spread today. The bronze statue shows King’s hand outstretched in a characteristic gesture he made while speaking and is intended to “symbolize his calm, non-violent movement,” according to Luy.
Black granite memorial walls “with inscriptions of the former families that once lived on MLK Park and concentric seating is meant to be contemplative and reverberating,” according to the artist’s description.
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by Beth Kassab | Nov 3, 2023 | City Commission, News, Uncategorized
Ravaudage asking for $300k reimbursement from city
The mixed-use development is looking for a 50% reimbursement for improvements in newly annexed zones
Nov. 2, 2023
By Beth Kassab
The Ravaudage development on the corner of U.S. 17-92 and Lee Road is already entitled to as much as $1.2 million over 10 years in city reimbursements for road improvements and is now looking for an additional $300,000.
The new reimbursement, which will be up for consideration at next week’s City Commission meeting, is tied to improvements on sections of Lewis Drive and Bennett Avenue, which were annexed into the city in 2020 and so weren’t part of the original agreement with the developer.
Multimodal Transportation Impact Fees paid by businesses within Ravaudage is expected to raise more money than the reimbursement amount estimated at $301,327. Impact fees are paid by developers to cities or counties as part of the development approval process. The dollars are typically used to offset additional costs to local governments to be caused by the new homes or businesses such as police, fire, sewer or schools.
“It is anticipated that the planned fitness facility is likely to generate impact fees in excess of this amount,” stated a staff memo on the proposed agreement, apparently a reference to the newest type of development underway in Ravaudage.
The memo also stated that the agreement is the “final change” to the original 2017 agreement that specified up to $1.2 million in city reimbursements for road improvements at the development.
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by Beth Kassab | Oct 27, 2023 | City Commission, News, Uncategorized
Four-day work week for City Hall postponed
City Commission seeks more information on customer service impact
Oct. 27, 2023
By Beth Kassab
Winter Park City Hall’s plans to move to a four-day work week for many employees is on hold after Mayor Phil Anderson asked for more clarity on customer service standards.
The City Commission voted to table the change until next month.
City staff conducted a survey and 80% of employees are in favor of four 10-hour days versus the five-day traditional work week. Other cities such as Maitland and Casselberry already operate under such a schedule.
Under the new schedule, City Hall would still remain open five days with a staggered employee schedule.
The police and fire departments as well as the parks and recreation department would be excluded from the change, according to a staff memo.
The financial impact would be “minimal,” according to a staff memo.
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