Construction on Orlando’s massive ‘innovation hub’ is finally starting

The 68-acre, $1 billion Creative Village project in downtown Orlando, the largest transit-oriented project in central Florida, is expected to break ground on May 14.

This mixed-use project, which had been delayed for a number of years, is already being touted as mecca for business, colleges, and residents. The Orlando Business Journal reports that the University of Central Florida has committed to anchor the Village with a $207 million downtown campus that would create 4,000 jobs. UCF has stated its intention to bring 6,000 students downtown.

Creative Village is a public/private partnership between the City of Orlando and the Master Developer, Creative Village Development; a joint venture between Banc of America Community Development Corporation, and a local developer-investment team lead by Ustler Development. Baker Barrios Architects, the project’s design architect; and Emerge Real Estate Ventures, are part of that group.

The city’s Amway Arena was demolished in 2012 to make way for Creative Village. That demolition’s debris—including 94 million pounds of concrete and 13 million pounds of steel—was recycled and/or sorted for future reuse to build Creative Village’s infrastructure.

The development expected to take 15 to 20 years to complete, and include when finished 1.2 million sf of office and creative space, 500,000 sf of education space, 1,500 housing units, and 225 hotel rooms. A PS-8 school is planned nearby. Construction will create 6,500 jobs, and the Village would offer 5,000 permanent jobs. The Building Team estimates that Creative Village would also generate between $800 million and $1 billion in new development.

Road and utility work in Phase 1 would accommodate the expansion of the Lynz Lymmo bus circulator system to Orlando’s west side, near the Parramore District. Craig Ustler, MAI, CCIM, president of Ustler Development, said that about $13 million in infrastructure work on the bus route and the building paths is already taking shape.

Vertical construction is scheduled to begin in later 2015 or early 2016.