Photo of Orlando by Shutterstock
ORLANDO—Group Kirkman has sold the 18-acre International Festival Shopping Center here to Intram Investments, a locally-based real estate development and restaurant investment company. The new owner will upgrade the landscaping and curb appeal of the property while the current leases are in place and will be exploring ideas for a mixed-use project.
Orlando-based Smith Equities Real Estate Investment Advisors represented Group Kirkman. Located at the Northeast corner of North International Drive and S. Kirkman Road, this site is one of the first redevelopment deals directly related to the 1.7 mile Kirkman Road Extension which will connect Universal Studios and the Epic Universe theme park currently under construction.
With AC-3 zoning, this site allows high rise buildings up to 200 units per acre. However, this 18-acre site was originally approved for a 3 phase 207,356 SF Shopping Center. Only 131,000 square feet of retail was built in the first 2 phases on 11 of the 18 acres.
In the 1990′s, the shopping center was anchored by multiple national big box retailers, including Michaels and Office Depot. Although the buildings face Kirkman, the main entrance is accessed via Grand National Drive, which until 2017 was not highly traveled. The new Grand National Interchange that opened in 2017 as part of the Ultimate I-4 project drastically improved the accessibility of the property. When Universal Studios announced that Epic Universe would be connected to Universal Studios by S. Kirkman, developer interest skyrocketed, according to Smith Equities. "Once redeveloped, it will help change the local market perception of the entire Kirkman/Universal Corridor for years to come," Robert Smith, broker at Smith Equities says.
Rashid A. Khatib, president and CEO, Intram Investments, noted that it was the new Grand National interchange that originally got him interested in the International Festival site, but then the announcement of the new Sand Lake Road/Kirkman Interchange and Universal's plan to connect the theme parks via Kirkman Rd ultimately sealed the deal. "The growth in the market, the Universal Studios expansion and the new infrastructure of improved roads made this location a strategic choice for redevelopment which may include apartment, entertainment and/or hotel."
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