A long-vacant corner at one of Seminole’s busiest intersections is closer to redevelopment.
At a June 23 workshop, the City Council unanimously authorized City Manager Ann Toney-Deal to negotiate an expanded development agreement for the property at 7405 Seminole Blvd. The revised plan would pair a previously approved PNC Bank with a Dutch Bros Coffee drive-thru.
The proposal marks a shift for the site at Seminole and Park boulevards, where developers once pitched a “Green Lane” salad concept for the northern outparcel before that tenant backed out. The project would replace the vacant, asbestos-laden former SunTrust Bank building, which has stood there since 1962.
Rather than juggle separate contracts, the applicant, Paradise Ventures, asked to fold both the bank and the coffee shop into a single development agreement. Toney-Deal endorsed the approach, saying the site is large enough for both tenants.
“They asked to combine the two instead of running two (development agreements), and that makes sense,” she told the council. “So you’ll be reviewing both of these projects in tangent with each other.”
Community Development Director Wesley Wright walked the council through the Dutch Bros site plan, which calls for a 1,200-square-foot building on the property’s northwest corner. In keeping with the brand’s model, it would have no indoor dining and no interior ordering windows, relying instead on a walk-up window and a high-volume drive-thru built to cut idling and wait times.
Project manager Cody Akers and attorney Brian Aungst Jr. told the council the layout is engineered for smooth traffic flow. Aungst said the operation has no speaker boxes or microphones, sparing neighbors from amplified noise.
“Picture when you go through the Chick-fil-A and you have someone there with an iPad, that’s exactly what this is,” Aungst said. “So they’ll take your order with an iPad. You’ll only be interacting with a human being. You won’t be hearing any kind of speakers or any kind of amplified noise.”
The drive-thru-only design still requires several variances from Seminole’s land development regulations. Wright said the code calls for 12 parking spaces for a commercial building of this type; the Dutch Bros plan provides two.
The shortfall would be covered by a shared parking agreement using surplus spaces at the neighboring Walgreens and the future PNC Bank, Wright said. The drive-thru is designed to hold up to 20 vehicles in three lanes that taper to one, so morning rushes do not spill onto nearby roads.
The developer also wants relief from a rule requiring that 30% of a building’s street-facing facade be glass. Wright said the designs fall just short of that mark, but the concessions are minor and the benefits to the city outweigh them.
In exchange for the zoning flexibility, the city stands to gain infrastructure and safety upgrades at the developer’s expense. The Florida Department of Transportation has ordered the closure of two hazardous access points on Seminole Boulevard, and the developer will build a 135-foot right-turn lane within the state right-of-way.
The project also would add a rebuilt sidewalk along Seminole Boulevard, an improved turn lane onto Lake Drive and a developer commitment to mill and resurface the stretch of Lake Drive next to the site.
Environmental gains also shaped the council’s support. The aging bank site is almost entirely impervious surface with no modern stormwater management. The new design adds landscaping buffers and swaps asphalt for pervious green space. The project would use a shared drainage easement east of the Walgreens parcel, and Wright said the engineering meets Southwest Florida Water Management District rules and is rated for a 100-year storm.
Council members were broadly enthusiastic, several citing the regional popularity of the Oregon-based chain, which recently opened locations in Largo and South Tampa. Council member Trish Springer said the project sits in her neighborhood, and another member said local teenagers are already talking up the menu’s “Rebel” energy drinks, lemonades and custom coffee blends.
With consensus reached, Toney-Deal will work to finalize the agreement. The city will then advertise two public hearings and notify property owners within 300 feet of the site before a final vote.
The coffee shop is expected to operate from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. most days, with peak traffic from 7 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 5 p.m.