Goodwill Eyes Former Flea World Site in Sanford — But County Staff Isn't Sold

The old Flea World property in Sanford just keeps spinning up new headlines. This time it's Goodwill Industries of Central Florida filing a pre-application for 180,000 square feet of development on 14 acres along U.S. 17/92. The proposal includes a 30,000-square-foot retail store fronting the corridor, a 115,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution building, 25,000 square feet of additional retail, and 10,000 square feet of office space. Goodwill's pitch centers on workforce development — employment training, community services, and economic access. Their vice president of real estate framed it as part of a long-term facilities planning effort that's also looking at five to six other sites across Seminole, Lake, and Volusia counties. Nothing is committed yet.

Here's the problem: the existing entitlements for the Reagan Center Planned Development — which already has approval for more than 1,000 apartments, 200 hotel rooms, and over a million square feet of commercial uses — do not cover warehouse and distribution. County staff reviewed the pre-application and said they do not support industrial uses within the planned development. That means if Goodwill moves forward, they're looking at a future land use map amendment and a planned development major amendment rezone before they can break a single piece of ground. A county commission hearing isn't even on the calendar yet.

The corridor itself raises questions too. One retail broker who reviewed the site pointed out that U.S. 17/92 in that stretch doesn't carry heavy residential density or strong traffic counts compared to other nearby corridors. "I don't think there's a traditional retail play," she said. The offsetting factor is that Seminole County is planning a $160 million administration building directly across the street, which would put a significant amount of daytime foot traffic in the area once built. Whether that's enough to move the needle for Goodwill's retail model remains to be seen. The nonprofit said it will share more information as it evaluates its other site options across the region.