Orlando, Fla., will be the next city to ride the wave of sports and entertainment districts rising up in urban centers across the country.
City officials on Monday approved plans for the redevelopment of an 8.5-acre block in downtown Orlando for a 900,000-sf mixed-use community hub named Westcourt. Adjacent to the Kia Center arena that is home to the Orlando Magic NBA franchise, the new sports entertainment district will include a 260-key hotel with a 16,000-sf meeting area; 270 residential units, a 3,500-person capacity live entertainment venue, up to 300,000 sf of Class A office space with a 17,000-sf rooftop amenity and a 6,000-sf glass-enclosed event space; and 120,000 sf of retail space, supported by a 1,140-stall parking garage and a 1.5-acre outdoor green space with a 28,000-sf “urban living room.”
Also see: 12 U.S. markets where entertainment districts are under consideration or construction.
The Orlando sports entertainment district is scheduled to begin construction later this year and to be completed by March 2027. It is being developed by a joint venture that includes the DeVos family (which owns the Magic), JMA Ventures LLC, SED Development LLC, and Machete Group, an advisory firm providing venue development, transactional, and organizational strategy services to industry-leading clients in sports, entertainment, and real estate development. Machete’s arena portfolio includes Chase Center in San Francisco and Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
At presstime, the development team had not chosen a general contractor for this project. The developers did not disclose the cost of the new district. But early-stage reports about this project—which dates back at least a decade—pegged the investment at $500 million. WESH 2 News reported that the DeVos family has owned this land for 11 years. Orlando city commissioners recently approved incentives to move this project forward, including up to $40 million in property tax refunds, called a Tax Increment Recapture; and up to $2.5 million toward an event space.
Leveraging the arena’s drawing power
San Francisco-based JMA Ventures, whose portfolio leans toward hospitality projects, is the master developer of the Orlando district. It will provide overall asset and construction management, and establish a hotel partnership with a national hotel operator.
JMA states that the district would leverage its adjacency to Kia Center, which hosts more than 200 arena events each year that attract more than 1.7 million visitors. The downtown location already has a weekday office population of 95,000, and the district’s access would benefit from its proximity to Interstate 4 and bus and light rail lines.
“Orlando Sports Entertainment District will be a catalyst for redefining downtown Orlando,” JMA states. “It will transform an empty lot into a fully activated, vibrant urban core that promotes foot traffic and collaboration.”
Editor's note: New information from the developer was added to this article on April 24.
Related Stories
| Nov 3, 2010
Rotating atriums give Riyadh’s first Hilton an unusual twist
Goettsch Partners, in collaboration with Omrania & Associates (architect of record) and David Wrenn Interiors (interior designer), is serving as design architect for the five-star, 900-key Hilton Riyadh.
| Oct 6, 2010
From grocery store to culinary school
A former West Philadelphia supermarket is moving up the food chain, transitioning from grocery store to the Center for Culinary Enterprise, a business culinary training school.
| Sep 30, 2010
Luxury hotels lead industry in green accommodations
Results from the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s 2010 Lodging Survey showed that luxury and upper-upscale hotels are most likely to feature green amenities and earn green certifications. Results were tallied from 8,800 respondents, for a very respectable 18% response rate. Questions focused on 14 green-related categories, including allergy-free rooms, water-saving programs, energy management systems, recycling programs, green certification, and green renovation.
| Sep 13, 2010
Conquering a Mountain of Construction Challenges
Brutal winter weather, shortages of materials, escalating costs, occasional visits from the local bear population-all these were joys this Building Team experienced working a new resort high up in the Sierra Nevada.
| Aug 11, 2010
Accor North America launches green hotel pilot program
Accor North America, a division of Accor Hospitality, has announced that it will pilot the Green Key Eco-Rating Program within its portfolio in the United States in 2010. Green Key is the first program of its kind to rank, certify and inspect hotels and resorts based on their commitment to sustainable "green" practices; the Accor North America pilot will involve 20 properties.
| Aug 11, 2010
CTBUH changes height criteria; Burj Dubai height increases, others decrease
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)—the international body that arbitrates on tall building height and determines the title of “The World’s Tallest Building”—has announced a change to its height criteria, as a reflection of recent developments with several super-tall buildings.
| Aug 11, 2010
Jacobs, Arup, AECOM top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 75 largest international design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 International Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
See what $3,000 a month will get you at Chicago’s Aqua Tower
Magellan Development Group has opened three display models for the rental portion of Chicago’s highly anticipated Aqua Tower, designed by Jeanne Gang. Lease rates range from $1,498 for a studio to $3,111 for a two-bedroom unit with lake views.
| Aug 11, 2010
Architecture Billings Index flat in May, according to AIA
After a slight decline in April, the Architecture Billings Index was up a tenth of a point to 42.9 in May. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. Any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings.