Kissimmee commissioners Tuesday reconsidered a proposed 150-acre baseball complex that would be built in a residential neighborhood on the north side of Carroll Street and approved the first step in its development.

The commission voted 4-1 for what amounts to increased flexibility for the Tapestry Development of Regional Impact, originally slated for single-family homes and medium density residential. The 568 acres, formerly the Bronson property, with the change could house the 24-field baseball complex. The current owners of the property, citing a slumped housing market, hope to sell the 150 acres for the complex to Perfect Game USA, which hosts national baseball tournaments for amateur athletes and both college and professional scouting.

Mickey Grindstaff, a real estate attorney with Shutts and Bowen in Orlando, began the presentation to the commissioners by explaining some of the “confusion” that played into their decision last month. Commissioners voted under the impression that if they did not approve Perfect Game’s development of the Tapestry district, the organization might choose another site in Osceola County.

“We were told differently,” Grindstaff said. “The preferred site for Perfect Game is, in fact, the Tapestry DRI.”

The change in land use of the Tapestry district, however, first has to go to the Florida Department of Community Affairs for approval before it comes back to the City Commission for final approval, a process that could take three to four months or longer. By that time, representatives of Perfect Game USA promised to present the commission with a more specific idea of what the complex would look like, where on the Tapestry property it would be and what its economic impact to the area would be.

Commissioner Jerry Gemskie asked what sort of development the city could expect to see spring up around the complex to complement it. Whitfield suggested hotels, restaurants, retail and potentially a rehabilitation medical facility.

Gemskie said such information was important to the residents already living in the area.

“I just want the people around there to be aware of what’s going on,” he said.

Commissioner Cheryl Grieb, the sole vote against the change, said she understood the value of the project and that that amateur sports projects were “something that the county is going after heavily.”

“I still have to maintain that I feel it’s a great project, but wrong location,” she said, encouraging Perfect Game to consider the tourist corridor instead.

Commissioner Carlos Irizarry asked the developers if they would be willing to pay for a third-party study of the economic impact the complex would have on the city.
“If I give 150 acres away, where are we going to get 150 acres back, or how or when?” he asked.

He also asked if Perfect Game had a “plan B” should the city not allow the complex on the Tapestry DRI.

“The founder, Jerry Ford, has at this point made decision that the Tapestry piece gives Perfect Game the best opportunity in going forward,” Jake Whitfield, an agent for Perfect Game, said. “I think our focus right now is to proceed down the path that is in front of us with the Tapestry piece.”

Whitfield said after the meeting that his client chose the Tapestry property because of its location, specifically its proximity to Kissimmee Gateway Airport, U.S. Highway 192, The Loop and even Disney. The property itself “can be developed and developed pretty quickly,” he said.

He pointed out that land for baseball fields has to be flat, making the Tapestry property, which is “as flat as you can get,” ideal for that reason.

Commissioners who voted in favor of the land use change said they sided with the developers to allow the plans for the complex an opportunity to be fleshed out before they made a final decision.