Magic Entertainment Complex - Concept 1

Bungalower has learned new details on the Orlando Magic’s plans to build a Sports and Entertainment District on the block just north of the Amway Center.

According to a City of Orlando staff report prepared for a Municipal Planning Board meeting next week, we now know the exact buildings that are being planned for the development and how they plan to phase the project in.

What’s included in the Sports and Entertainment District

The property  is bordered by Central Blvd to the north, Church St. to the south, Hughey Ave. to the east and Division Ave. to the west [GMap].

In November the Orlando City Council voted to sell the land, which currently houses the Orlando Police Department Headquarters and Church Street Garage, to the Sports and Entertainment District development company which is a subsidiary of the Orlando Magic.

The project includes parking, office space, mixed-use retail, a hotel with an expo center and an entertainment plaza.

Pine Street will be built through the middle of the property to re-establish the grid.

The area is being designed to complement the architecture of the Amway Center and will include similar large LED screens on the buildings in the district.

Project Phasing and Schedule

Phase one of the project is scheduled to begin this year and includes the buildings on the western portion of the property (currently houses a Church Street Garage, the OPD radio tower and some OPD service buildings).

The first part of phase one will be to build a new parking garage of 550 spaces in the northwest portion of the property. This garage will be just south of the Orlando Union Rescue Mission property.

Also part of phase one is the construction of a mixed-use office building. This building will include 100,000 square feet of office space and 30,000 square feet of retail. This building would be on the southwest portion of the property which currently houses the Church Street Garage.

This phase also includes the creation of Festival Plaza, the construction of Bryan Ave and the western portion of Pine St.

Phase one is scheduled to be complete by 2016 (provided the demolition work is completed on schedule).

Phase two of the project is broken into two smaller sub-phases. Phase 2A covers the hotel/expo area and phase 2B the residential area.

Phase 2A includes the hotel and expo center along with the retail and parking attached to the hotel expo center. This will be built on southeast corner of the property and will require the demolition of the OPD headquarters building.

This hotel is expected to have 250 rooms which will cover approximately 250,00 square feet, the expo area would be 40,000 square feet and the ground floor retail would be 26,00 square feet.

Parking in phase two includes garage and below grade parking for a total of 360 spaces.

This phase also includes a pedestrian bridge to connect the hotel/expo center to the parking garage. It also includes the construction of the eastern portion of Pine St.

Phase 2B is the construction of the residential complex on the northeast quadrant of the block. The complex includes a high-rise tower and dedicated parking garage with a low-rise residential liner. In total this sub-phase includes 250 residential units and 407 parking spaces. There will also be 8,000 square feet of ground floor retail.

Timing for phase two is dependent on the relocation of the OPD headquarters and demolition of the vacated buildings and therefore the exact timing is unknown.

The plan for the Sports and Entertainment District will go to the Municipal Planning Board next week and then to City Council for Approval.

Here’s a look at the overall layout, phasing plan, and other images from the plan document:

Note: The rendering above was from the original presentation on the district and is not included in the staff report on the planned development.

SED - Master Plan

SED - Phasing

SED - Access

 

SED - Street Conditions

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4 Comments

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  1. Chris, No mention in the planning doc but that doesn’t mean the won’t. And it sure looks like those are green roofs..well I can at least confirm color wise they are green 🙂

  2. I hope they are looking to incorporate green building practices and smart urban planning for this district..
    I wonder if these buildings will be LEED certified like the Amway arena? Also, is that a ‘green roof’ in the model?!?

  3. Bungalower So I guess the Rescue Mission will remain as is and not be purchased and rebuilt somewhere else as originally thought?