Altamonte Mall's $40M Facelift Enters Final Phase

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FL-The 30-year-old, 1.2-million-sf Altamonte Mall, once the dominant regional shopping center in Central Florida, is entering the final phase of a three-year, $40-million facelift that began in 2002.

Mall owner General Growth Properties of Chicago hopes the new look will attract shoppers beyond the center’s conventional five-mile trading area, say company representatives. The mall is seven miles north of Downtown Orlando and faces intense competition from new open-air, retail ventures in the nearby suburbs of Winter Park, Sanford and Lake Mary, area brokers and industry consultants tell GlobeSt.com.

For example, in south Orange County, about five miles from Downtown Orlando, Boston-based Wilder Cos., headed by Tom Wilder, plans to break ground later this month on a 440,000-sf center. At the same time, Wilder is negotiating for land near the MetroWest community in southwest Orange County for a similar open-air venture, area brokers in a position to know tell GlobeSt.com.