New homes, shops could be added to Daytona Beach's LPGA Boulevard

(Courtesy: Elevation Development)

A development company is working to add more living and retail space in Daytona Beach.

Elevation Development’s plan would add apartments and townhomes in one area, single-family homes in another, and retail space nearby. All of that would go on LGPA Boulevard, toward the western end of the road, in the northeast corner of West International Speedway Boulevard.  

At a neighborhood meeting Monday, people had just one problem with that idea:

"LGPA, from the looks of that, is still going to be single-lane," one speaker mentioned, to the agreement of several others. "Before you can do anything, you have to make sure the infrastructure can hold all of that."

Volusia County plans to widen LPGA Boulevard west of I-95 from two lanes to four, but there’s no guarantee that’ll happen before this development breaks ground.

One attendee pointed out, though, this development has been considered in some form for decades, and Elevation Development’s plans actually use less space than the original proposal.

"We’re going to gain 40 acres of open space, 40 acres of water recharge, almost half the residents," said John Nicholson. "It’s a win-win-win for us."

All in all, most people we talked with left the meeting feeling encouraged. 

"This has been a fantastic experience," said Mike Rich, Vice President of Development for Elevation Development. "This is exactly what you want in a neighborhood meeting. You want to get input, you want to get criticism, and you want to get encouragement, and I think that’s what we got here today."

The company didn’t have an exact timeline it could provide, but hopes to get things moving within about a year.