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| (Image from Creative Village Proposal) |
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| (Image from Creative Village Proposal) |
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| (Image from Creative Village Proposal) |
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| (Image from Creative Village Proposal) |
Orlando has a plan for a 68-acre tract downtown that is currently home to the aging Amway Arena, a handful of buildings, and the sea of parking lots surrounding them. With the Orlando Magic moving to the new Amway Center in October of this year, the large parcel of land is being reconstituted into what planners are calling the “Creative Village”. The goal, according to the City of Orlando Concept Team Report, is to build a community that is focused on technology and to attract “the lifestyle of creative people and become a supportive, business-friendly environment in which digital media and related companies can thrive”.
The village would consists of housing, retail, technology focused business, green space, as well as other amenities that would support a 20 – 40 year old demographic. Plans call for over 1,200+ housing units, 1,000,000 sf of office space, 125,000+ sf of commercial/retail, 200 hotel rooms, 325,000+ sf of educational facilities.
Craig Ustler, President of Ustler Development Inc and a well know Orlandian restaurateur turned developer has submitted the winning proposal to develop Creative Village with his extended team under the banner, Creative Village, Development, LLC. For a detailed review of their plan – see their proposal submitted to the City of Orlando.
This will be another interesting development to watch. This is one of the first concepts that I am aware of that is targeting the creative industry specifically as an anchor for redevelopment. We have seen technology components in various developments, including Southfield (see previous post here) where a $100 million film studio was incorporated into the project. Orlando obviously has a rich history of technology when you consider the innovation that exists in the numerous amusement parks located there. This could be a coup for them and a way to lure a creative class to an urban development that will redefine their downtown.
Doug. Thanks for covering this. We'll use it as inspiration for Wonderland here in Columbus. I'm on the non-profit redeveloping an old Wonder Bread factory to become a creative-class incubator. We'll have retailers, design firms, musicians, artists and small manufacturers all under one roof.
ReplyDeletecxChuck