The Milk District has spent the last several years redefining itself, and a mixed-use tower combining ground floor retail with 300 residential units captures just how far that transformation has come. The project required a Planned Development rezoning from the City of Orlando, a process that was made considerably more straightforward by the site’s eligibility under the Live Local Act.
Layering a PD rezoning with Live Local Act benefits meant the project team had to think carefully about how the added density, height, and FAR allowances under the state law would be reflected in the city’s own rezoning documentation. Getting these two frameworks to work together cleanly, rather than in conflict, took a deliberate approach to how the entitlement request was framed from the very first submittal.
JDJ Consulting helped structure the application so the PD rezoning and the Live Local Act benefits complemented each other, giving the project the clearest possible path to approval. The finished tower now stands as one of the more visible signs of the Milk District’s growth, offering substantial new housing alongside street level retail in a part of Orlando that continues to draw residents looking for an urban, walkable lifestyle. It’s a strong illustration of how state housing policy and local planning tools can align to produce meaningful density in the right location.