Orlando-based Elevation Development is once again pursuing plans in Longwood with Altamonte Springs-based real estate company ContraVest.

Owais Khanani, principal at Elevation Development, told GrowthSpotter the firm has been working with several property owners in the area to secure contracts to purchase about 14 acres of land on the southwest corner of Pineda Street and Ronald Reagan Boulevard.

The property sits across the Sanford-Orlando Kennel Club that is being redeveloped into a roughly 30-acre apartment community on the east side of Ronald Reagan Boulevard.

Elevation Development has a pre-app meeting scheduled with city planners this week to discuss the feasibility of a building more than 300 apartment units, tucked behind roughly 20,000 square feet of commercial retail fronting the west side of Ronald Reagan Boulevard.

Kimley-Horn is the civil engineer. Khanani said ContraVest is interested in purchasing and developing the multifamily portion of the project.

A conceptual site plan submitted to the city shows ContraVest is proposing to develop a 266-unit multifamily community called The Hartley. The site plan, which is subject to change under review, indicates the apartment complex will feature a dog park, attached clubhouse and detached garages.

Charlan Brock Architects is the architect and designer.

The conceptual site plan also depicts two retail out-parcels fronting Ronald Reagan Boulevard. The proposed mixed-use development consists of multiple parcels at and around 1000 S. Ronald Reagan Blvd. and 250 North Street.

Elevation Development tapped Lucas Brush and Brian Wilcox with Holladay Properties to help market the proposed mixed-use development along Ronald Reagan Boulevard.

Across the street, Atlanta-based Wood Partners paid $8.5 million to purchase the 30-acre property on the east side of Ronald Reagan Boulevard in 2018. Construction is currently underway on a 342-unit apartment community that will feature a pair of dog parks and a community clubhouse.

ContraVest and Elevation have worked with each other before in Longwood.

In January, through the company Addison Longwood Owner LLC, ContraVest paid $3.4 million to purchase a roughly six-acre development site on State Road 434, just east of Ronald Reagan Boulevard, with plans to build a 277-unit apartment community. The Addison Longwood apartments are currently under construction.

The project marked the first time ContraVest utilized a software program called Revit, which allows the architect to create 3D designs needed for BIM (building integrated model) construction, as reported by GrowthSpotter.

Elevation Development originally had plans to develop a nearly 60,000-square-foot retail center called Shoppes at Longwood at the site, but plans fell through after seeing weak demand from retailers to expand in the area, Khanani said.

“A lot has changed in Longwood since then,” he said. Retailers follow rooftops, according to Khanani, and the fact that more residences are being built and planned in the area means retailers will want to consider opening up shop in Longwood, he said.

Just last month, Wood Partners opened its 263-unit Alta Longwood apartment community at 881 W. Warren Avenue. The rental complex is located behind the Orlando Health South Seminole Hospital and near Reiter Park, a newly updated seven-acre community park that includes a playground, walking paths, tennis and basketball courts, a fishing dock and amphitheater.

Nearby, Longwood-based Dounia Development Inc. plans to redevelop the old Township Plaza commercial strip at 950 and 1018 W. S.R. 434 into a vibrant lakefront city center with local shops and lakeside recreational space.

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