2022 Big Deals: Land trades, attractions, and real estate
Apopka likely has been the biggest beneficiary in Central Florida from more from highway expansion and the near-completion of the region’s toll-road beltway — and a massive land sale in 2022 has set the stage for even more.
State Road 429 and its link to Florida’s Turnpike, Interstate 4 and the rest of metro Orlando has led to a boom in apartments, single-family homes and industrial development in the city. A hot spot is the Kelly Park Road corridor, where a $44 million sale of 200 acres at the southwest corner of Kelly Park Road and SR 429 captured plenty of attention in the real estate industry.
The judge-approved sale to Vero Beach-based developer Evans Properties subsidiary Kelly Park VB Development LLC — which closed on June 10, per Orange County records — kept the land that previous owner Rochelle Holdings XIII LLC had in bankruptcy from going to a court-ordered auction. Instead, the property sale satisfied all debtors and concerned parties.
“This settlement removes all of the complex litigation that otherwise would have ensued,” Tara Tedrow, a shareholder and land-use attorney for Lowndes law firm, told Orlando Business Journal in March, when the deal first was announced.
Now, Evans Properties’ plans for the land — which it added another 50 or so adjacent acres through subsequent purchases this year — include 2,931 apartment and multifamily units, 1.1 million square feet of office and retail space, and 1.8 million square feet of industrial uses.
The project will have a huge regional impact on several fronts, from the jobs and opportunities it will create during development to becoming an anchor for a booming corridor in northwest Orange County.
Apopka has become “a quiet boomtown,” said Tony Benge, president of Benge Development Corp., which has a neighboring mixed-use project in the pipeline off of Kelly Park Road.
The new project will benefit all of Apopka, Tedrow added. “The next chapter is going to see Kelly Park finally launching an exciting live/work/play project that generates jobs, residential and entertainment options for the entire city of Apopka and its neighboring communities.”
The Kelly Park land sale was just one of Central Florida’s 2022 big deals in commercial real estate. Here are other highlights of the year:
Main Street
DeBary taps developers to build downtown from scratch
A rendering of a bridge that will connect two phases of the DeBary Main Street project. CITY OF DEBARY
The city of DeBary is working with two developers to build a new downtown from the ground up. In February, the city approved a letter of intent from one developer for the core of DeBary Main Street on U.S. Highway 17-92 near the DeBary SunRail Station. Just north of that site, another developer plans to build a community that includes 296 live/work townhomes on Shell Road — the new main street of the project.
- Parties involved: Mosaic Development LLC, Falcone Group LLC, city of DeBary
- Cost: $100 million-plus
- Why it matters: It’s not often that a city’s downtown is built from scratch, or that one developer is responsible for such a large portion of it. Along with an ideal location across the St. John’s River from the booming Sanford/Lake Mary area, the momentum from this project and the connectivity provided by the nearby SunRail stop may lead to significant additional investment in DeBary.
“Previously, there was a lot of doubt that we’re going to build a Main Street from scratch in DeBary. When we put this plan together, the reaction was, ‘Wow, I can’t believe DeBary is going to be delivering this.’ “
— Carmen Rosamonda, city manager, city of DeBary
Tourist corridor
Unicorp lines up 1st-of-its-kind Tao resort near Disney
The company known for its upscale restaurant and entertainment concepts in big cities is coming to Orlando. TAO ASIAN BISTRO
A New York-based subsidiary of Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: MSGE) on Nov. 9 announced Orlando-based Unicorp National Developments Inc.’s $1 billion-plus O-Town West will be the site of the group’s first-ever Tao Hotel. The luxury resort will include a Tao Asian Bistro high-end restaurant. Work is expected to start in 2024 and finish in 2025.
- Parties involved: Unicorp, Tao Group Hospitality
- Cost: $175 million estimated overall project cost
- Why it matters: The resort is a first-of-its-kind concept for the well-known luxury brand. Tao, along with its high-end restaurant — known for drawing athletes, celebrities and businesspeople — may become major players in the International Drive and convention-area landscape.
“To bring a specialty brand like this to Orlando, we think it’s going to change the whole face of the city.”
— Chuck Whittall, President/CEO, Unicorp National Developments Inc.
Retail
High-profile Winter Park corner site’s sale to draw more
More retail development may be coming soon near Winter Park Village. JIM CARCHIDI
An Oviedo-based developer on Aug. 24 bought 1.82 acres at the southeast corner of Orlando Avenue and Lee Road in Winter Park. The property is close to several popular shopping-and-dining destinations, including Winter Park Village, Ravaudage and the Whole Foods Market and Nordstrom Rack-anchored Winter Park Square. The site’s new owner will be “opportunistic” in assessing potential tenants.
- Parties involved: Hill Gray Seven LLC, buyer; UP Fieldgate US Investments-Winter Park LLC, seller; CBRE Group Inc. (NYSE: CBRE), developer’s exclusive retail representative
- Cost: $8 million
- Why it matters: The per-acre sales price of roughly $4.39 million is noteworthy on its own. Because of the high value, the developers likely will do something of great significance at such a visible corner.
“It’s obviously generational real estate — that’s the way we view that site.”
— James Mitchell, executive vice president, CBRE
‘Wanderland’ comes to Orlando
Area15 Orlando will feature a mix of immersive and experiential retail, dining and entertainment concepts. AREA15
On March 10, Area15 Orlando was introduced to the region as a new 300,000-square-foot immersive entertainment concept to be built on 16.57 acres adjacent Interstate 4, north of Orlando Vineland Premium Outlets. The site — which the developer bought on Dec. 29, 2021 — will be developed into the brand’s second location, joining the original in Las Vegas.
- Cost: $24.8 million sales price; $46 million in construction costs (estimated)
- Parties involved: Area 15 Orlando LLC, buyer/developer; Kingsland Land Trust, Lake/I-4 LLC, sellers
- Why it matters: The project likely will create dozens of temporary construction jobs. Once open, Area15 Orlando is slated to attract 3 million annual visitors and employ 1,000. It also will create leasing opportunities for several local food and retail vendors.
“One of the things in the DNA of Area15 is that it adapts to the place it’s in — we’re not prescriptive about what it will be. It will be Orlando. We have notions of what it will be, but we’re still starting to think through what the curation will be and what the right mix is.”
— Michael Beneville, chief creative officer, Area15