Developers with Related Ross presented a detailed master‑plan workshop for Kay Park, a mixed‑use retail and hospitality project on the eastern site, and outlined a multi‑phase timeline, infrastructure commitments and financing options that will come back for council readings.

Ken Himel and the Related Ross team showed diagrams and renderings emphasizing a walkable Main Street, multiple pocket parks, diagonally parked retail streets, a six‑story hotel near the lake and a mix of one‑ to three‑story retail and office buildings with residences above. The team said the plan avoids very tall towers in Wellington — "we're not ever proposing to build 25‑story buildings in Wellington," Himel said — and described a design intent that prioritizes public realm, landscape and pedestrian engagement.

Schedule and financing: the developer said village council readings are targeted for mid‑February, with site‑plan approvals in March and site work beginning in March; the team set a retail opening target for October 2028. Off‑site improvements — roadway reconfigurations, signals and turn‑lane work — were estimated at roughly $17 million; the developer said it is also pursuing state appropriations (an $11 million utilities package was discussed) and exploring a community development district (CDD) to finance public infrastructure with tax‑exempt bonds. The team said a phased leasing program is underway with numerous letters of intent and a goal of being substantially leased at the start of vertical construction.

Council members asked about traffic impacts, shared parking with the adjacent church and the project’s effect on existing village appropriations. Related Ross said it has advanced civil engineering, traffic studies and utility plans; it described shared parking agreements with the church and school and said off‑site FDOT and municipal lane improvements will be part of the project’s mitigation and buildout.

Next steps: the Related Ross team will continue technical coordination with staff and expects to return to the council with formal MUPD/plan approvals and documentation of off‑site and funding commitments. Council members broadly praised the design and asked staff to ensure the village’s appropriation requests would not be jeopardized by the developer’s state funding requests.