NORTHEAST TALLAHASSEE, FL — Construction has begun on the Northside Shoppes at Velda Dairy Road, a new commercial development on Tallahassee's northeast side that will include about six retail buildings for shopping, dining and other services. But some neighbors are not happy with the development.
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Minnesota-based Doran Companies is also building a multi-story storage unit on the land, according to TLG Commercial Real Estate Broker Brad Parker.
Ghazvini Development Group announced construction on June 30 in a Facebook video.
Neighbors in the nearby Mint Hill and St. Ives neighborhoods say they were caught off guard by the construction and are concerned about how close it is to their homes.
Jaelynn Gibens, a Mint Hill resident, says the area had been peaceful before work began but says the start of construction came without notice.
"I don't like it. There was no warning. It's loud,” she said. “It came out of nowhere."
Gibens said the work has gotten close to the property line.
"They've torn down stuff super close to the fence,” she said. “I get it, like, they have to do construction, and this type of stuff happens. But at the same time, it would have been nice to have like a little bit of a warning."
Megan Pillion, a St. Ives resident, says she returned from vacation to find the land had been cleared.
“I think it's more a privacy thing. Like, people buy their homes or rent their homes over on this street to have that privacy and to not hear the loud noise of traffic every day, and now, it's a lot worse,” Pillion said.
Development concerns date back to 2024 when City of Tallahassee commissioners narrowly voted to amend the 260-acre Northampton PUD.
It changed the land's planned unit development designation from low density residential to allow commercial uses and retained Faith Lutheran Church’s use of the intersection at Thomasville Road and Kerry Forest Parkway.
At the 2024 meeting, Mayor John Dailey said the development fits the corridor.
"I actually think that this is an appropriate development,” he said. “I know this is hard for the neighborhoods to hear, but this is a major commercial corridor, and with the realignment of Ox Bottom and Velda Dairy and with traffic improvements that are going to come into play as well, this is the type of development I truly believe that we need."
Bob Holladay says about two years ago, the Tallahassee Historical Society wanted to place a historical marker in the area at the original 1820-era roadbed that led to Thomasville.
That request was denied, he says, because of expected commercial development.
Holladay, the president of the organization, says the pace of development raises concerns for historians.
"What is concerning to us as historians and members of the Historical Society, of course, is that in the hurry to do that, you know, sometimes some real historical properties get damaged," Holladay said.
He believes the new development has something to do with the proposed property tax reform and warnings local governments have issued about revenue loss.
The reform would expand non-school homestead property tax exemptions, exempting up to $250,000 of homestead value by 2028.
“Because so much of Tallahassee in particular is exempt from property taxes — because of state government and universities and so forth — if there is a piece of property that is zoned commercial that, you know, will be paying property taxes, you know, if it's developed. There is a race to develop,” he said.
Ghazvini Development addressed concerns about proximity to homes, saying the project will adhere to the outlined buffer zone defined by city staff as a “30-foot wide landscape buffer…where commercial land uses are proposed adjacent to existing single family residential.”
Its Facebook page says it will post updates on the work, including tenant announcements and construction progress.
No estimated completion date for the project has been announced.
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