(Carl Cronan is editor of Real EstateFlorida.)
ORLANDO-Rida Development Corp. has more than a million sf of mixed-use development in mind for its newly acquired 5.6-acre site at 400 N. Orange Ave. The Houston-based company bought the site for $15.1 million from Downtown Plaza LLC, says Grubb & Ellis Commercial Florida.
While Houston-based Rida Development is known primarily for hotels, it is also determined to pursue retail and office components on its newly acquired site. However, company executives admit they will already need to make adjustments based on current economic conditions.
"We will probably go back to the city with a slightly different plan," Marc Reicher, senior vice president with Rida Development in Orlando, tells GlobeSt.com. The most likely adjustments will be made to the project's office component, while the hotel and retail segments will move forward as planned, he says, adding that "we'd like to be able to do it all in one phase."
David Calcanis, vice president of Grubb & Ellis' Orlando-based Land Group, says the site is the last large parcel in the center of Downtown Orlando and has been approved for four towers housing 907,000 sf of offices, 76,000 sf of retail and restaurants, 150 residential condominium units, 150 hotel rooms, 50 residential/office lofts and a parking garage with more than 2,500 spaces. The land encompasses an entire block bordered by Amelia and Livingston streets, an exit ramp to Interstate 4 and the new Lynx Center Transit Terminal.
Rida Development is certainly no stranger to the Central Florida market, having built the 1,500-acre ChampionsGate golf community in northwest Osceola County and the 1,400-room Hilton Orlando Convention Center hotel. The firm's local investments are approaching the billion-dollar mark, with the 400 North Orange project estimated at $250 million, Reicher says.
"We like to think we have a good understanding of mixed-use development," he says. "We want to create something smart, something vibrant and something that enhances this part of the Downtown corridor."
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