KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Demolition is finally underway at a former Kmart site in Kissimmee that has stood vacant for years. The 22-acre site on Vine Street is being redeveloped and will feature approximately 630 apartments, new commercial businesses and a 70,000-square-foot indoor sports facility.
City officials say they see the project as a catalyst for future investment in the area. It is part of a city vision to transform the Vine Street corridor into a more vibrant and walkable community space.
The project includes plans for green spaces designed for community engagement, such as areas for farmers markets, food trucks and community movie nights.
Doris Rivera, a local community member, said she is eager to see the site transformed.
“Young people need to have places where they can entertain themselves, have fun, develop the skills they have. And if there are also apartments, well, we are apartment scare and so costs goes up... So, I hope they’re accessible and affordable,” said Rivera.
Matthew Rodriguez, a longtime Kissimmee resident, also noted that the community has lacked sufficient indoor space for sports and activities.
He recalled his own experience growing up in the neighborhood and the difficulty of finding places to play. “As I was a kid, yeah, it was pretty hard to find somewhere like indoor to play basketball,” Rodriguez said.
He added that the addition of new recreational spaces “especially for kids to go and play sports and stuff like that would be great.”
The developer said the project will be divided into three phases. The entire redevelopment has an estimated five-year completion timeline. According to the city, demolition is expected to be completed in a couple months.
According to the city, plans for the project are still preliminary and the Master Development Agreement negotiation has yet to get started.
The city said they expect to receive the first draft for review in the coming weeks, and then negotiation could extend for a couple of months until terms are agreed upon.
A final Master Development Agreement document would then need to brought back to the city commission.
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