Winter Park ABC Fine Wines and Spirits To Almost Double In Size

By Ken Storey

ABC Fine Wines and Spirits received approval to knock down the current 7,200 sq ft. store at 401 North Orlando Avenue, Winter Park and rebuild a store almost twice the size: 13,281 sq ft.

The new building will be two stories. Out of the 13,281 sq ft, only 8,657 will be retail. The rest will be offices and storage on a second story not visible from the road. 

ABC purchased a small building that used to be a residence and lot behind the current building's rear parking lot to expand the building's footprint. The building will be toen down. The new building wil put ABC closer to the residential area behind it, but will only feature front access for customers.

This is the back parking lot where the new building is going.

The new building also features an improved aesthetic on all sides of the building.  The current building has flat walls on all but the front facing Orlando Ave, and many commercial buildings have flat, uninteresting walls except the front.  This was a concern the Planning Department staff at City of Winter Park had. ABC addressed it before presenting their plan:

• "Staff was initially concerned that we would see flat unarticulated wall elevations for the rear and Trovillion Avenue sides of the retail building.  However, the applicant recognized the context of this building facing two streets and also residential/office to the rear.  There is architectural interest and articulation that make these facades visually appealing." 

One key feature that the city seemed pleased with on the new project is the front retention pond. Currently, only the back parking lot has storm water retention, the new site plan will feature full site retention, helping make sure the waterways in the area remain cleaner. 

• "The staff was pleased to see the new storm water retention area proposed on the corner of Orlando and Trovillion Avenues.  The corner area provides an opportunity for landscaping and ABC is supportive of making it as attractive as possible as long as there is visibility of the pylon sign and for traffic movements."  

This new front retention pond will allow for landscaping along Orlando Ave that currently is bare. This will be a great improvement over the current parking lot with its large opening along the street.