ORLANDO, Fla.,None — On Monday, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer announced a hotel, restaurants, apartments and shops for a downtown Orlando development, all linked to a proposed Sunrail station.
The area is bordered by Orange Avenue, Amelia Street, Livingston Street and the Lynx headquarters.
Dyer said it's a sign that downtown is ready for vibrant growth.
The privately funded project calls for a $100 million first phase, with apartments, retail and a hotel. The second phase will include another $100 million in office space.
Marc Reicher of Rida Development Corporation said they've had success building other projects in tough economic times, and said the site of the future Sunrail commuter train station on North Orange Avenue will be a busy area.
"We believe we're going to recover sooner than later," Reicher said. "This is probably the best site in the community to do that in."
It's no secret that downtown Orlando has had its share of large buildings that have fallen victim to bad economic times. For example, the 55 West condo projects struggled to fill up, and is now mostly apartments.
WFTV found that apartment buildings in downtown average more than 95 percent occupancy. That's why Reicher said they're going with apartments over condos.
But WFTV also found that nearly 15 percent of office space is empty. Reicher said demand is low and that is a concern, which is why he's seeking a specific client or clients before going ahead with that phase of the project.
"That market is a little bit harder, but we're looking at that really as part of phase two," Reicher said.
The first phase will open around the same time as the Sunrail station in 2014.
No tax incentives have been requested, but the developer said they won't rule out looking for something like that as they continue planning.