Oviedo Mall housing project still awaits construction despite approval 

A longstanding housing project set for development at the Oviedo Mall has seen little recent progress despite gaining approval from the city almost two years prior. 

The project, Oasis at Oviedo Marketplace, plans to make use of the mall’s former Macy’s department store property, which closed amidst a nationwide shutdown of dozens of other Macy’s locations in 2017. 

Oviedo City Council had unanimously approved the amended development agreement submitted by the project’s applicant and developer, Picerne Real Estate Group, during a public hearing on Dec. 4, 2023. But since then, the project has seen little to no development — despite the city’s go ahead.

In an email to Oviedo Community News, Oviedo’s Public Information Officer Lisa McDonald said the project appeared to be listed as under review as shown on the city’s development project tracker, which was last updated Aug. 13. The project has been in review since at least 2023.

McDonald said questions regarding the project’s current status would likely have to be directed to the developer, as the development had already been approved by the city council. 

OCN contacted Picerne’s Altamonte Springs office via phone, but was told the developer was unavailable for interview and did not have additional information about the project. 

Lowndes Law Firm attorney Hal Kantor, representing the developer, previously told city council members during their Nov. 6, 2023 meeting that the “$100 million project” would add to the city’s tax base. The gated community planned for the 15.48 acre site consists of 360 multi-family units constructed across seven buildings, in addition to a clubhouse, green space and pool. 

A now-scrapped version of the project originally called for 425 multi-family dwelling units, 175 of which at one point were intended as age-restricted units for seniors, plus a 124-room hotel and additional retail space.

It’s unclear if the project intends to move forward soon, though Oviedo Mall Development Director Kevin Hipes previously told OCN in November he hoped for the project to begin in 2025. 

At that time, the City of Oviedo had already approved the apartments, though documentation was still being filed before construction. 

But the property the project plans to develop on has seen little to no activity as of late. Wood panels cover the glass doors and windows of the former Macy’s and the parking lot remains empty, with no evidence of recent construction or signage related to the Oasis at Oviedo Marketplace.

There is, however, a posted June 6 violation notice from Oviedo’s Code Enforcement Division stating the property was not in compliance with city codes for “allowing trash, debris and high [vegetation] growth to remain.” A recent visit to the site showed those violations appeared to have been rectified, however. 

The notice was addressed to OMall Development LLLP, a group related to developer and current owner of the former Macy’s property Marc Hagle. Hagle was one of four mall property landowners ordered in 2021 by Oviedo Special Magistrate Howard Marsee to improve outside property conditions, or else face fines by the city. 

Additional housing projects planned for mall area 

The Oasis at Oviedo project isn’t the only development to bring additional housing to the mall property area. 

Located north of Oviedo Mall Boulevard and east of State Road 417 is Broad Oak Oviedo, a currently under construction luxury apartment complex set to open in 2026 for a total of 252 residential units. 

Next to that property sits Dwell Oviedo, a completed luxury apartment complex consisting of 300 units that opened March 2024, with current rent prices for available one, two and three-bedroom units ranging from $1,860 up to $3,015 a month.  

Currently, no date for the Oasis at Oviedo project’s construction start or completion have been publicly set by the developer. It’s also not the only development planned for the mall property that’s seen little recent activity. 

OCN previously reported on a separate proposed housing project that planned to develop 328 multi-family units along the northwest side of the mall property, which currently consists of empty fields. That came following the city’s Local Planning Agency Board’s unanimous approval of an amendment to the Oviedo Mall’s development plan on Jan. 31, 2023. 

The project received pushback from some residents citing concerns of how additional housing could potentially impact traffic and where children would attend school, though mall officials believed the project wouldn’t generate much of a traffic issue. 

Seminole County Public Schools facilities planner Jordan Smith also told the board during the meeting that rezoning would not be needed to accommodate the potential influx of nearly 100 students the development anticipated to hold. 

But Deputy Development Services Director Debra Pierre said in an email to OCN there’s no approved housing project for the property, currently owned by Oviedo Fund LLC. 

She added the city had approved an amendment which “allowed only” the entitlements for the additional dwelling units. 

“The applicant never applied for City development permits for approval of construction of the dwelling units,” Pierre wrote on Aug. 13. “We have no other information on this proposed development.”

With a lack of currently available updates from the city and developers, it remains unclear how or when either of the housing projects at Oviedo Mall may potentially move forward in the near future. 

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