Oviedo Mall redevelopment plans 700 apartments in mixed-use district

Oviedo Mall cleared approval for a roughly 700-unit redevelopment that would put 400 market-rate apartments in the first phase and add a new mall entrance on the east side of the property. Development Director Kevin Hipes said the project is meant to turn the site into a mixed-use district where residents can live next to retail and entertainment. Construction could begin as early as late this year or in the first quarter of 2027.

The plan marks the latest turn in a long reinvention of the mall, which opened in 1998 and lost its Macy’s anchor in 2017. Oviedo city leaders approved an earlier east-end version in December 2023 as the Oasis at Oviedo Marketplace, a 360-unit project on about 15 acres at the former Macy’s site. That proposal included a clubhouse, pool, small park and pedestrian walkway, and later coverage described an expanded concept of up to 425 market-rate apartments before the current 700-unit version emerged.

Traffic was central to the earlier debate, and it is likely to remain so as the project moves forward. City officials and the developer said the apartment plan would generate about 1,670 vehicle trips a day, compared with about 10,000 daily trips when Macy’s was operating at full strength. Mayor Megan Sladek argued then that the city should compare the apartments with a successful department store use, not the closed Macy’s site. Hipes has said the mall needs density because its position between other retail centers has not produced the foot traffic a traditional regional mall needs.

The property is already shifting away from a pure retail model. Orlando Orthopedic Center, a pharmacy, Catalyst Behavior Solutions and a dog care business in the former Sears Auto Center have all taken space at the site. Hipes said in February 2025 that the mall had spent about $5 million on roof work and about $2.5 million on new air conditioning, a costly effort to stabilize the property while it changes. He has described the strategy as building a place where people can “eat, sleep, work, and play.”

The broader pressure point is growth. One projection puts Oviedo on track to add about 10,000 residents over the next decade, while another says Seminole County’s long-term growth will push demand toward more multi-story housing. Against that backdrop, the Oviedo Mall plan is more than a single redevelopment: it is a test of whether one of the county’s most visible retail corridors can trade vacant big-box space for apartments, higher activity and a stronger tax base without overwhelming roads, parking and public services.