Former Pontiac Dealership Building Closer to Becoming Minor Mixed Use Project

By Mark Baratelli
Podcast & E-Newsletter 

The City's Municipal Planning Board's approval for a growth management plan amendment for the 2.73 acre property at 1100 W. Colonial  went before City Council February 12th. The ammendment will change the Future Land Use from Industrial to Mixed Use Corridor Medium Intensity and amend the zoning from I-G/T/PH to MU-1/T/PH to convert the existing building into a mixed use retail/office project by LAM Civil Engineering

Quang Lam, Principal at LAM Civil Engineering, told the City Planning Division in a letter that the current tenant, Ultimate Auto Boutique, is anticipated to relocate Spring 2018. 

Phase 1 changes will include re-striping the existing concrete parking lot and adding landscaping along the front and west side. Phase 2 will begin "as new tenant occupy a space that tenant will construct the buildout as required." 

Potential uses according to Lam include realtors office, law office, commercial retail, mini-grocery and a banquet hall.

The building is a former Pontiac dealership that was in business from the early 1960s to 2010. The property used to have a large distinct neon sign for decades. It's hidden safe within the neon storage room off limits to the public at the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art. According to Roadside Peek, the well-known-to-longtime-locals neon Pontiac sign is one of the last remaining working signs that still display the original Pontiac logo. 

What we'd build if we owned the property. Orlando always needs more overpriced apartments. "Get a roommate to afford it!" -Adam Wonus.