I-Drive’s latest tall attraction raises early lighting concerns

International Drive has several tall attractions or buildings that light up the night sky.

At the Magical Midway amusement park, the 390-foot Slingshot and the 230-foot StarFlyer are visible from Interstate 4. The Slingshot’s two crane-like towers are a glowing rainbow of light. Down the road, the Hyatt Regency Orlando, formerly The Peabody, is 428 feet tall and has beacon of light on the rooftop.

The latest attraction planned for that area is the 700-foot tower anchoring the proposed Skyplex Orlando entertainment complex.

At a recent zoning hearing, Joshua Wallack, developer of the complex, had to field early questions about lighting design.

Wallack went before Orange County’s planning and zoning commission Oct. 15 for approval needed to rezone his property on I-Drive at Sand Lake Road.

The focus instead became an argument over the height of the planned Skyscraper rollercoaster and the light the tower would emit.

Commissioner Tina Demostene brought up the lighting concerns, saying she has friends who can see the Orlando Eye from their home in Keene’s Pointe, a community southwest of Windermere.

If the Orlando Eye, at 400 feet, is clearly at visible at night, Demostene asked, what does that mean for a project almost twice as tall?

“It’s just this kind of glowing,” she said at the meeting. “It loses the iconic structure and becomes more Las Vegas-y.”

Jim Ward, a county planner, said lighting should not have been questioned at the planning meeting because it’s typically discussed by the development-review committee.

“This is zoning, so we don’t have a lighting engineer in the project at this point,” said Hal Kantor, the lawyer representing Wallack, during the meeting. “When we get to the development-plan stage we will, and we’ll address it.

The planning meeting acted as the stage for an official battle between Universal Orlando and Skyplex leaders, who have been at odds for months over the proposed development.

The focus of that spat is the height of the Skyscraper. Universal leaders contend it wouldn’t fit into the neighborhood and would likely be visible from their park. Per Orlando code, Universal’s rides and attractions can only be 200 feet tall.

Outside city limits, 501 feet tall, Wallack’s roller coaster would considerably dwarf rides at Universal, which would then stand about half as tall as the “the world’s tallest roller coaster.”

Planning and zoning commissioners voted against recommending the Skyplex for further development. Ultimately, it is scheduled to go before the Board of County Commissioners in December for more discussion and approval.

Chuck Whittall, president of Unicorp Developments,said he faced similar pushback from Universal when he was working on developing I-Drive 360, home to the Orlando Eye. He’s scheduled to go before the Orange County Planning & Zoning Commission in December for his proposed 420-foot StarFlyer, a tower ride that reaches speeds of 40 mph as riders reach the top and begin spinning.

Universal’s spoken out against that project, too, said Whittall.

Orlando attorney John Morgan, who built Magical Midway but no longer owns it, said he squared off with opponents nearly a decade ago.

“You’ve got to be careful,” he said, adding he had hotels abutting his property. “They were concerned about lighting and they’re always concerned about noise.”

One concession he made was lowering music at night, to ensure hotel guests weren’t kept up too late. In terms of any lighting concerns for tall rides or buildings, those that stand above the general I-Drive skyline, Ward said the location and context of the proposed development is crucial to consider.

“You wouldn’t go to Las Vegas and complain about things like lighting,” he said.

County and I-Drive business leaders have met monthly for the last year discussing the future of the I-Drive tourism corridor. The district has been divided into subdistricts, including the Entertainment subdistrict, where the Skyplex would be built.

“I think there’s a place for everything,” said Whittall, adding concerns about dark skies is just “a silly comment.”

Morgan said I-Drive is known for the bright lights, attractions and general hum it brings to the community.

“All the way from Universal, down Kirkman, and all the way down I-Drive to SeaWorld, I see that as one giant attraction and I always have,” said Morgan. “Everyone knows what you’re getting when you get there.”

Ward says the county’s current exterior lighting ordinance may be a little out of date, having become the governing ordinance for lighting in 2003. When it was first drafted, it focused mostly on residential and standard commercial development to reflect the ongoing growth in Orange County, he said.

“It is not so sophisticated to have anticipated 420-foot-tall Ferris wheels in 2003,” he said.

When it comes to height, the ordinance only discusses parking lots or pedestrian areas.

Whittall said he worked with county leaders to properly light the Eye without creating a tacky lighting show. “It’s not obtrusive to the area,” he said.