Dive Brief:
- Orlando developer Magic Development LLC hopes that tourists will soon have another reason to vacation in "the town that Mickey built" when it completes its $3.3-billion, 87-acre mixed-use resort complex near Walt Disney World.
- The overall luxury development consists of Magic Village 1, which is 60% complete and features short-term rentals; Magic Village 2 with short-term rentals and a timeshare condo building; and Magic Place, which will ultimately add 250,000 square feet of retail and 1,850 units of various types (residential, timeshare, hotel). Infrastructure work on Magic Place will start in July.
- Developers said their plan is to build one of the Magic Place complex’s five buildings every four or five years, meaning that the entire project will take 20 to 25 years, according to the Orlando Business Journal.
Dive Insight:
The first phase of Magic Place will include the construction of a 25-story resort tower, 40,000 square feet of retail space and a 20,000-square-foot office building. Developers said that when the office building is complete, they will move their headquarters — as well as their sales and preview center — there from downtown Orlando.
Pininfarina, an Italian company that also designed the Ferrari, created the design for the Magic Place project.
Also coming to the Orlando area in the next few years is the $500 million Skyplex Entertainment complex, which features the 570-foot "Skyscraper" roller coaster — the tallest coaster in the world. The Orange County, FL, board of commissioners granted zoning approval for the coaster in December despite Universal Studios-led opposition.
In addition to the Skyscraper, the complex, which has the support of many local residents who hope it can restore International Drive to some of its former glory, will feature two additional rides, a 350-room hotel, restaurants and stores.