Goodwill eyes Flea World site in Sanford redevelopment push

The empty Flea World property in Sanford may finally have a reuse plan with real weight behind it: Goodwill Industries of Central Florida wants to carve out a new retail and warehouse presence on part of the long-vacant 110-acre site along Ronald Reagan Boulevard and U.S. 17-92.

Goodwill has filed a pre-application for 180,000 square feet of development on 14 acres inside the larger parcel, which county officials have long treated as one of Seminole County’s most important redevelopment opportunities. The nonprofit’s pitch includes a 30,000-square-foot retail store north of the residential area and a 115,000-square-foot warehouse distribution building.

That warehouse component is where the proposal runs into trouble. County staff said industrial uses are not supported under the site’s current land-use rules, and the warehouse would need rezoning before it could move forward. The proposal is still at the beginning of the review process, but it adds a new layer to the broader Reagan Center vision the county approved on June 25, 2024.

That larger plan calls for up to 1,003 multifamily units, 1.4 million square feet of office space and nearly 300,000 square feet of retail. County records also say the development order includes utility-service conditions for each phase, a sign that infrastructure will remain central to any future buildout on the property.

The Flea World land has been in limbo for years. Flea World closed for good on August 30, 2015, after about 33 years in business as one of the nation’s largest flea markets under one roof. It had drawn millions of visitors each year, and demolition of the site began in 2016. A 2017 county proposal tied to the old property was delayed, underscoring how often redevelopment ideas at the site have stalled over infrastructure, utility capacity and financing.

For Sanford and the surrounding corridor, the stakes are larger than one project. County officials have described the U.S. Highway 17-92 corridor as a redevelopment area, and county comprehensive planning favors compact, walkable development there. Officials have also said the Flea World tract is the last large development site left in Seminole County, which gives the property outsized importance as the county grows.

Goodwill says it has served Central Florida for more than 60 years and diverted more than 25 million pounds of textiles and other materials from local landfills last year. If the Sanford proposal advances, it could bring retail activity, jobs and a new kind of economic anchor to a site that has sat empty since 2015, while also testing how far Seminole County is willing to stretch its redevelopment plans along one of its most visible corridors.