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Did Fern Grove Apartments, a 138-unit senior community in Orlando, finish construction in late 2024, as its developer said?

The Roadmap Reckoner · Orlando, Florida (Fern Grove Apartments, a 138-unit senior community) · last checked 2026-10-20

Verdict	DELIVERED LATE, by about six months
Promiser	Banyan Development Group (developer of Fern Grove Apartments)
Place	Orlando, Florida (Fern Grove Apartments, a 138-unit senior community)
Promised	Late 2024 ("Fern Grove offers one and two bedroom units, and is estimated to complete construction in late 2024", Banyan's project page; read here as by December 31, 2024)
Delivered / status	July 11, 2025: the last certificate of occupancy in the City of Orlando's permit record, 192 days after December 31, 2024; the first parts have certificate dates of December 19, 20 and 23, 2024, and Banyan's page says "Completed January, 2025"
Last checked	2026-10-20

Verdict: DELIVERED LATE, by about six months. Banyan Development Group's project page said: "Fern Grove offers one and two bedroom units, and is estimated to complete construction in late 2024." [C1] This entry reads "late 2024" as by the end of 2024 [C1]. The City of Orlando's permit record shows certificate-of-occupancy dates for the first parts of the building on December 19, 20 and 23, 2024, and for the two larger parts on July 10 and 11, 2025 [C11, C12, C13]. July 11, 2025 is 192 days after December 31, 2024 [the trace]. The city's report said that "As of late December 2024, 32 of the 138 units have received a Certificate of Occupancy" [C14]. The city's notice scheduled a ribbon-cutting for January 31, 2025 "to celebrate the completion of Fern Grove Apartments" [C15], and Banyan's page now says "Completed January, 2025" [C17] while still saying "estimated to complete construction in late 2024" [C17]. This entry measures from the last certificate in the permit record, July 11, 2025. Measured from Banyan's own "Completed January, 2025", the gap is about one month [C17, the trace].

Last checked: October 20, 2026.

The promise. "late 2024", on the developer's project page [C1].
The record since. The permit record shows certificate-of-occupancy dates in December 2024 for part of the building and on July 10 and 11, 2025 for the two larger parts [C11, C12, C13].
The page. Banyan's page carries both "Completed January, 2025" and "estimated to complete construction in late 2024" [C16, C17].
The cost. Total development cost rose from $27,290,736 in the state application to $43,116,572 at final underwriting [C7]. The city's report gives a total budget of $42.2 million [C14].

The promise

Banyan's page, as the Internet Archive copied it in December 2023 [C1]:

"Fern Grove offers one and two bedroom units, and is estimated to complete construction in late 2024."

The page's text shows no date. This entry dates it by the Internet Archive's earliest copy, from December 2023 [C1, the trace]. The live page's metadata gives a publication date of April 12, 2023 and a last-modified date of August 11, 2025 [C17]; this entry does not use either to date the sentence. The same page said: "Fern Grove Apartments will be a multifamily development for seniors in Orlando, FL. 100% of the units are affordable housing with a majority set aside for households making 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI)." [C2]

The deadline. This entry reads "late 2024" as by December 31, 2024, the latest the words allow [C1].
An earlier date from the lender. Churchill Stateside Group, the permanent lender, posted "Under Construction; to be completed 2023" on its project page, in the Internet Archive's copy of April 2024 [C3]. The page, read on October 20, 2026, still says it [C4]. This entry measures against the developer's date. Against the lender's 2023, the last certificate is about 18 months later [C3, C11, the trace].

Before the promise

June 9, 2022. Florida Housing Finance Corporation's final credit underwriting report is dated June 9, 2022 [C6]. It gives total development cost as $27,290,736 in the application and $43,116,572 at the report [C7], and $1,300,000 from the City of Orlando [C7b]. It says the owner's agreement with the builder "calls for achievement of substantial completion to occur not later than 609 days from the date of commencement" [C8], and that a construction-loan term sheet says "completion is noted to be expected within 24 months from closing." [C8b]
October 5, 2022. The permit for the first part of the building was issued [C11].
November 18, 2022. Churchill Stateside Group announced a $9.57MM forward permanent loan commitment for the project [C5].

Timeline

December 2023. The Internet Archive's earliest copy of Banyan's page says "estimated to complete construction in late 2024" [C1].
April 2024. The Internet Archive's copy of the lender's page says "Under Construction; to be completed 2023" [C3].
December 19, 20 and 23, 2024. The permit record shows a temporary certificate-of-occupancy date of December 19 for the first part (65,195 square feet), a certificate-of-occupancy date of December 20 for the third part (30,656 square feet), and a temporary one of December 23 for the second part (47,456 square feet) [C11, C12, C13]. The city's permit rows name the three parts "CAH - Fern Grove - Building 1", "Fern Grove Bldg 2" and "Fern Grove" [C11, C12, C13], and the state's report counts one residential building [C19].
Late December 2024. "As of late December 2024, 32 of the 138 units have received a Certificate of Occupancy" [C14].
January 19, 2025. The city's report, dated that day, says "Construction, which began in 2023" continues, and "It is anticipated that this phase of the project will be completed in the 2025 Q1." [C14]
January 31, 2025. The city's notice for the ceremony says the mayor and others "will cut the ribbon to celebrate the completion of Fern Grove Apartments" [C15]. It says: "All 138 one- and two-bedroom units at Fern Grove are reserved for residents with incomes at or below 70% of the Area Median Income (AMI)." [C15b]
February 2025. The Internet Archive's copy of Banyan's page shows "Completed January, 2025" beside the old sentence, "estimated to complete construction in late 2024" [C16].
July 10 and 11, 2025. The permit record shows certificate-of-occupancy dates of July 10 for the second part and July 11 for the first part [C12, C11].
April 10, 2026. A permit application for a third phase, "FERN GROVE 3" at 3780 W D JUDGE DR, was filed, with an estimated cost of $28,000,000 and the application status "Open" [C18]. The city's permit data labels building and site permits of March 2026 "FERN GROVE PHASE 3 SENIOR HOUSING" [C18b]. This entry does not trace it.
October 20, 2026 (the day the pages were read). Banyan's page, read live, carries "Completed January, 2025" and "estimated to complete construction in late 2024" [C17]. The lender's page still says "to be completed 2023" [C4].

What changed, and why, in the record's own words

The developer's date. The sentence "estimated to complete construction in late 2024" is on the page in the copies of December 2023, February 2025 and May 2025 and on the live page, and "Completed January, 2025" was added by February 2025 [C1, C16, C17, the trace].
The units. The affordability wording differs and does not conflict. Banyan said "a majority set aside for households making 60%" [C2]. The state's report counts 5 units at 22% of area median income or less, 21 at 30%, 76 at 60% and 36 at 70% [C10]: "55.07% of the units (76 units) at 60% or less of AMI" and "26.09% of the units (36 units) at 70% or less of AMI." [C10] The city's notice says all 138 are at or below 70% [C15b].
Why the date moved. No record read gives a reason for the timing [the trace].
When construction began. No record read gives the commencement date that the builder's 609 days count from [C8, the trace]. The city's report says only that "Construction, which began in 2023" continues [C14].

What it cost

Total development cost. $27,290,736 in the state application and $43,116,572 at the June 9, 2022 report [C7].
The city's report. A total budget of $42.2 million, with $1.3 million in HOME funds from the City [C14].
The city's share in the state's report. $1,300,000 [C7b].

What is still open

The contract date. Without the commencement date, the 609-day contract date cannot be fixed [C8, the trace].
The third phase. "FERN GROVE 3" is an open permit application [C18].

What this entry did not check

The City of Orlando's HOME funding agreement and its dates, the state's land-use restriction agreement, the Orange County Comptroller's recorded notice of commencement, and rent listings [the trace].
The Phase II and III pages that the property manager lists [the trace].
What the city's permit record means by each date column. This entry uses the column names and dates as the city serves them [C11, C12, C13].

Sources

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