Just south of the S.R. 44 and Martin Luther King overpass, the east side of South Myrtle Avenue is still wooded land between the road and the Florida East Coast Railway tracks. A paved trail runs along the front of it. For about 1.2 miles that trail follows Myrtle from 10th Street up to S.R. 44 and Lytle Avenue, and it forms part of the St. Johns River-to-Sea Loop. This 11.37-acre strip is where the Sprouts Farmers Market and T.J. Maxx center will go.
On Oct. 27, the New Smyrna Beach City Commission approved the final site plan for Shops of New Smyrna Beach at the southeast corner of S.R. 44 and South Myrtle Avenue. The vote locks in the details of how Myrtle Avenue, the trail and the nearby side streets will change. It sets no date for the doors to open.
What the commission signed off on
The city staff report lists the address as 507 S. Myrtle Ave. The applicant is Scott Cole of Brentwood, Tennessee, and the property owner is NSB 103 Development LLC of Houston. Cole is development manager for GBT Realty Corporation, the Tennessee developer that announced the project.
The plan calls for about 63,170 square feet of commercial space, including a 23,262-square-foot Sprouts and more retail space spread over several buildings. The land has a long history. It is part of a roughly 103-acre former FEC property where the railroad once ran a locomotive repair shop and roundhouse. City environmental records list 507 South Myrtle as the FEC's "Locomotive Maintenance – South Yard," and they document cleanup work done there in the past.
For this project the usual review path changed. Normally a site plan this size goes to the Planning and Zoning Board. When the commission rezoned the land, it added a condition that the final site plan come back to the commission itself, so commissioners could check the design against promises made earlier. The Oct. 27 vote was that check. The commitments it confirmed are the ones residents will see on the street.
The turn lanes go beyond what the traffic study asked for
The traffic study estimates about 6,159 daily trips to and from the center from outside the site. About 2,604 of them, or 42 percent, come from drivers already on nearby roads. That leaves roughly 3,555 new trips a day, including about 327 in the afternoon peak hour. The study found that the project does not create a new roadway or intersection problem. It also noted a capacity issue that already exists on S.R. 44 near Mission Drive and Wallace Road. FDOT has planned and funded improvements for that stretch.
The study did not require new turn lanes at Myrtle and S.R. 44. The developer offered them anyway. Northbound Myrtle approaching S.R. 44 will get two left-turn lanes and one right-turn lane, plus new striping and pavement markings. The staff report says this goes beyond what the traffic study identified. The study also recommends working with FDOT on possible signal-safety upgrades at that intersection. No new signal has been committed.
For a baseline on Myrtle today: the study recorded average speeds of about 26 mph. The 85th percentile speed, meaning the speed 85 percent of drivers stay at or below, was about 29 to 31 mph where the posted limit is 30. The study expects the train backups at Canal Street and 10th Street to stay clear of South Myrtle.
Two driveways will cross the Myrtle Avenue trail
The center will have two driveways on South Myrtle, and both cross the existing trail. The plan commits to three treatments at each crossing:
- Crosswalks: stamped, colored concrete at both trail crossings
- Bollards: removable posts at the crossings
- Signage: trail-crossing signs that meet the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
The state has money in this trail. FDOT's SUN Trail program has put more than $4.2 million toward the Myrtle Avenue segment since 2018, covering design, right-of-way purchases and construction. A second way in comes from Endsley Lane, a private road. The staff report says the applicant provided documents showing it has the right to build the planned improvements there. Driveways inside the site connect to each other.
Speed tables are coming, but their locations aren't set
During public review, residents raised concerns about traffic volume, speeding, cut-through drivers and neighborhood safety. The traffic study found no problem created by the project that required changes in the neighborhoods. Even so, the developer agreed to pay for raised speed tables.
This is the one street change that nearby homeowners can still help shape. The approval doesn't say how many speed tables there will be, what type, or where. Those details will be worked out among representatives of the affected neighborhoods, the developer and city engineering staff, and the City Engineer must approve the result. Paying for them is condition No. 5 of the approval.
The trees have already been through a vote of their own. At the Feb. 24 commission meeting, Hometown News Volusia reported, the project asked for approval involving three historic trees. Two were described as functionally dead. The third was healthy but sat partly inside the planned stormwater system. Commissioner Jason McGuirk moved to approve on the condition that the healthy tree not be cut down or have its branches trimmed. The motion passed 4-1, with Commissioner Lisa Martin voting no because she felt the wording was too vague. The final plan keeps the historic trees in the landscaping and adds perimeter buffers, native plants and a butterfly garden. The buildings will follow a Florida Vernacular style, with coquina-style bases, lap-board siding and gabled roofs. Staff required that look specifically to keep the site from reading as a conventional strip center at a gateway into the city.
The center has grown since it was announced
The project has been revised several times on its way through review.
| Stage | Sprouts size | Total center |
|---|---|---|
| GBT announcement, Nov. 2025 | 23,273 sq ft | 55,273 sq ft |
| Rezoning plan, spring 2026 | 22,970 sq ft | Sprouts, 25,000 sq ft T.J. Maxx, plus retail and two outparcels |
| Final site plan, Oct. 27, 2026 | 23,262 sq ft | about 63,170 sq ft |
The 2026 rezoning plan allowed for two outparcels for future buildings. When GBT announced the project, the developer said the extra space would hold tenants such as fitness, restaurants, soft goods and upscale services. Hometown News Volusia quoted GBT's chief development officer, Jeff Pape:
"We are confident this specialty grocer along with the other tenants will become a favored necessity retail source for this community as well its visitors."
Sprouts and T.J. Maxx are the only tenants named so far. The rest of the space has none on record.
Summer 2027 was set before the schedule slipped
The opening date most people have heard comes from GBT's announcement. In November 2025, Shopping Center Business reported that construction would start in summer 2026 and finish in summer 2027. Here is how the approvals actually played out:
- Nov. 19, 2025: GBT Realty announces the center.
- Feb. 24, 2026: The commission settles the historic-tree question.
- May 12, 2026: The commission adopts Ordinance 24-26, rezoning the 11.37 acres to a planned unit development on a 4-1 vote. The rezoning depends on the commission later approving the site plan.
- Oct. 27, 2026: The commission approves the final site plan.
The summer 2026 start passed before step four was done, and permits are still required. Under the approval, the remaining technical review must be finished before development permits are issued. FDOT and other outside agencies must also issue their permits before work starts on anything they regulate, and if any of those agencies requires a significant change, the plan goes back to the city. The turn lanes on Myrtle face a similar step, since they still need final engineering approval from both the city and FDOT. The approval itself sets no construction or opening date. GBT, Sprouts and T.J. Maxx have not announced a new one either.
For now, the closest Sprouts is at 1591 N. Williamson Blvd. in Daytona Beach, which opened on Feb. 27, 2026.
The approval covers only the 11.37 acres. The 103-acre parcel it came from runs along the east side of South Myrtle from S.R. 44 south to 10th Street, next to the FEC rail yard. The shopping center site is being split off from that larger property. The full Oct. 27 discussion is in the commission's video replay.
If you own a home near South Myrtle and want to know how the turn lanes, trail crossings and speed tables could affect your street before construction begins, Coastal Ventures Real Estate follows projects like this one as they move from approval to permits. We're glad to go over the details with you. Schedule Your Relocation Consultation.
