1.1M-SF Festival Bay Opens Half Full

ORLANDO-Five years in the planning stage and three years in the construction mode, the $220 million, 1.1-million-sf Festival Bay shopping center opened this week at less than 50% occupancy. The ceremony also lacked the celebrity fanfare accompanying the Oct. 18, 2002 opening of the $250 million, 1.3-million-sf Mall at Millenia, four miles away in south Orlando.

About 30 retailers are waiting for their stores to be finished. Developer Belz Enterprises of Memphis, TN expects the 39-store center to be at 70% occupancy by July, according to a published report. But area brokers and consultants tell GlobeSt.com that achievement will be challenging for Festival Bay.

“To be successful in this hyper-competitive environment, Festival Bay needs to be a ‘Have to See’ project,” David W. Marks, president, Marketplace Advisors Inc., Orlando, tells GlobeSt.com. “If it doesn’t make it on the visitors’ top three list of fashion/entertainment destinations, it will have a very tough road ahead.”