Orlando developer Chuck Whittall aims to keep moving ahead on local construction despite pandemic-related challenges to Central Florida’s economy.

Whittall — president of Unicorp National Developments Inc. — said he expects to start construction early next year on Celebration Pointe, a $100 million-plus 127,777-square-foot, Publix-anchored shopping center near Interstate 4 and World Drive near Walt Disney World. In addition, he expects dirt to turn in early 2021 on Town Center at O-Town West — part of a $1 billion mixed-use development near Disney — which will feature retail, restaurants and 400 luxury apartments.

Meanwhile, two new-to-Orlando restaurants are expected to open in the coming months at O-Town West: Portillo’s in March and White Castle by fourth-quarter 2021. Those projects will soon join Unicorp’s Glass House apartments at O-Town, a 900-unit apartment project in O-Town West which is also under construction.

Finally, up the road, construction still continues on the 342-unit The Avenue on Oakland apartments in Oakland.

Whittall said he believes 2021 will be a brighter year for the region’s economy, which is why he continues to build locally. “I think we’ll have a super strong third quarter,” Whittall said.

Earlier this year, Unicorp felt the pandemic-related effects early when the company furloughed hundreds of employees from its restaurants and attractions in late March. However, the economy has slowly improved in recent months, and Whittall has seen business pick up on International Drive. For example, revenue from the Starflyer and The Wheel continue to improve, which Whittall said he attributes to more Floridians supporting I-Drive and the tourist corridor. “We’re pleasantly surprised by that. Not everyone is back yet but slowly people’s numbers are coming back.”

Looking ahead, Whittall wants to create more awareness of vaccination efforts in Orange County. He hopes the county can be a model to the rest of the U.S., which would assure more people that Orlando is safe to visit again. He’s also ordering black hats with the word “Vaccinated” to hand out to his restaurant employees at Slate at 8323 W. Sand Lake Road once they’re vaccinated.

“I want to get back to normal and you have to have people champion that.”