More Shovels to Turn Near Orlando

Metro Orlando is about ready to welcome another mixed-use center to its retail directory.  We recently discussed Creative Village, an aggressive redevelopment of the Amway Arena properties in Downtown Orlando.  The city of Winter Haven has just announced a letter of intent to move forward with a project on Lake Lulu at the site of the Winter Haven Chain of Lakes Complex.  The city owned Chain of Lakes Complex is currently comprised of several baseball fields as well as an aquatic and cultural center.  The complex has been the perennial host for MLB Spring Training camps since its construction in 1966 including the Boston Red Sox and most recently the Cleveland Indians. 

The Landings WH Partners, LLC, headed by Orlando consultant Tony Benge and Birmingham Alabama’s Taylor Pursell is the team charged with redeveloping the site.  The property sits on 70 acres and is across US Highway 17 from The Landing, another project under way by the Pursell-Benge duo.  Forty of the 70 acres will be developed with the remaining acres dedicated to public space.   The development is to include retail, two hotels, restaurants, office space, a parking garage, as well as an arts center. It will also be accessible to the public use of Lake Lulu frontage and include a splash park, amphitheater, a marina and a water taxi that will shuttle people to Legoland Florida theme park, which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2011.

The current property, which has outlived its usefulness, has been considered for development for some time after the loss of the Cleveland Indians in 2009.  The current amenities are being replaced with new facilities as part of the master plan or in other areas of Winter Haven and the city has pledged to replace those services before any existing are demolished.

This would appear to be a win-win for the city of Winter Haven and their development team.  They have secured a developer that shares their vision for the city owned property, preserved the shore of Lake Lulu as a public park, and as a result, they have given the green light for a development that will create 800 jobs and $1.0 million in annual tax revenue.

See recent article from the Winter Haven News Chief:

Project Would Reshape Vast Winter Haven Property


And here is an update to this article via the The Ledger as of 12/7/2011:

Winter Haven to Apply for Rezoning for Mixed-Use 'Landings' Development