Construction Starting on Brownstones at Thornton Park

Construction is kicking off this week on the Brownstones at Thornton Park, a new upscale townhome development in one of downtown Orlando’s trendy neighborhoods, which marks the first time in many years that a new for-sale product is being built in the area.

F&J Developers LLC is hosting a groundbreaking ceremony October 9 at 300 S. Summerlin Avenue in Thornton Park for the $6 million Brownstones at Thornton Park project.

The project will feature 28, three-story luxury residential units on Mariposa Street similar to urban-style, higher-end townhomes in places like Brooklyn, N.Y. The units are set to include optional elevators, summer kitchens, jacuzzis and terraces, said F&J’s Scala. The units are expected to be priced from the upper $500,000s.

The principals of the development entity are contractor F &J’s Franco Scala and Parkway Properties Inc. president and CEO Jim Heistand, who’s individually vested in this project, but is serving more as a silent partner.

“What we have here is a product that doesn’t exist in Orlando,” said Scala, who owns local general contracting firm Pioneer Construction Services Inc. “Having family in Brooklyn, I frequented the section with brownstones for 30 years. Now, this is a modernized version of those brownstones with some architectural flavor from the traditional style.”

The project has already torn down a single-family home and five duplexes built in 1952 and F&J Developers submitted construction plans to the city of Orlando back in August.

Sources: “Breaking ground: Work to start on Thornton Park brownstones” and “Construction to start on upscale Thornton Park brownstones this year,” Orlando Business Journal