Dive Brief:
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Audit, tax, and advisory firm KPMG announced it will break ground on its $430 million training campus later this month in the Orlando, FL, community of Lake Nona, according to the Orlando Business Journal.
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The 55-acre Learning, Development and Innovation Campus will include 750,000 square feet of office space, outdoor recreation areas and dining facilities. It could also incorporate 800 guest rooms.
- Aside from the 80-plus KPMG jobs and 250 contract positions the finished center is expected to generate, the local community should also benefit from the additional 48,000 campus-related visits to the city each year. Project officials anticipate that the campus will be complete in late 2019.
Dive Insight:
Proximity to Orlando International Airport likely played a role in the firm's selection of the Lake Nona community. With the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority in the first phase of its $1.8 billion south terminal expansion, the city is preparing its infrastructure to better manage its current population growth.
The new terminal project includes runway and taxiway infrastructure, loading bridges, landscaping, lighting, concessions and additional security. Upon completion, the airport will be able to accommodate 40 million passengers each year — a significant boost from the 24 million it's currently designed to handle. The project is part of city and airport officials' plan to build a warehouse district for airport businesses and a 1,800-acre mixed-use development, both on airport property.
In addition to the terminal expansion project, Orlando is also gearing up for the addition of three hotels, offering 450 to 600 rooms each, over the next few years. However, despite hosting a record number of tourists in 2015, demand for hotels in the Orlando area could hold steady or decline in the coming years.