The involvement is newsworthy since Duke-Weeks' conventionally-constructed projects rarely reach the controversy stage, in Central Florida at least.

The residents allege the Indianapolis-based REIT's project, whose estimated hard construction cost is $25 million, doesn't blend in with the 134 homes in the affluent, wooded subdivision. Critics maintain the identical 25-foot-high buildings, shown on architectural drawings, look more like retail big-box structures or industrial facilities that would be out of place in a residential neighborhood.

The 34-acre site is immediately east of the Tall Trees community at the northwest corner of International Parkway and Wilson Road.

Duke-Weeks did not respond to GlobeSt.com's request for comment but is on record as attempting to resolve the controversy with cosmetic and physical changes to the building's original design. The developer contends the architectural drawings meet or exceed all county guidelines for developments in this category.

But that argument may not hold up when the surrounding neighborhoods' activist groups begin pressuring county commissioners on a one-on-one basis, local planners who are following the issue tell GlobeSt.com. The same activists defeated a planned $12 million, 150,000-sf Wal-Mart superstore on nearby State Road 46 last year for similar aesthetic reasons.

Tall Tree residents argue they want Duke-Weeks' building to look more like professional office structures and not like retail facilities. The controversy is reaching a final decision-making stage as two separate county bodies are taking opposite views of the project.

The county's planning advisory board, made up of residents and professionals, recommend the project be given a go-ahead. The county's inhouse planning department, however, sides with the residents, noting the project's design is not aesthetically-agreeable with the neighborhood.

Instant Insights /

Duke-Weeks' Planned Five-Building Office Project Ticks Off Residents

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