"Western Way" Development To Be Named Flamingo Crossings and Other Details Announced
Disney Selling Parcels in Flamingo Crossings Project
Flamingo Crossings will be developed on resort's western edge
Scott Powers |Staff Reporter
Orlando Sentinel
November 28, 2007
Private developers and merchants will be able to build, run and own small restaurants, a grocery store, service and retail shops, and several "value"-oriented hotels and motels on the western edge of Walt Disney World later this decade as part of the giant resort's next development.
Disney World's land-development company, Buena Vista Land Co., said Tuesday it has begun offering parcels for sale and development within Flamingo Crossings, the 450-acre lodging-and-shopping district it announced last winter.
The project will rise mostly west of the State Road 429 interchange at Western Way, which connects S.R. 429 -- also known as the Western Beltway -- with Disney's theme parks and hotels. Early marketing materials declared it to be "outside the western gateway to Walt Disney World," but in fact all of the land is and will remain within the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the government agency that the Florida Legislature created specifically for Walt Disney Co. in 1967.
That prospect creates a first chance for third-party owners to buy and develop land inside Reedy Creek. Disney has previously allowed numerous private developments of hotels, stores and restaurants within Reedy Creek, but always through long-term land leases that have kept the real-estate deeds in Disney's hands.
Flamingo Crossings is to be built in phases over eight to 10 years, the company said. Infrastructure construction could start this winter, and the first private hotels or shops could break ground in a year or two, Buena Vista spokeswoman Andrea Finger said.
The district would aim for "value" hotels and motels, she said. Plans call for 4,000 to 5,000 rooms in low- to mid-rise lodges -- priced to compete with moderate hotels and motels off Disney property.
"We think there is room for expansion in that area" of the market," Finger said.
The 300,000 to 500,000 square feet of retail space at Flamingo Crossings would target merchants of practical wares and services that tourists, Disney employees and area residents might need, such as groceries, toiletries or basic clothing -- thereby competing with area shopping centers and outlet stores that draw many visitors off Disney property. The restaurants might include a mix of fast-food and casual-dining franchises not common on Disney grounds.
"Generally speaking, it's your typical shopping center that you see along the interstate," Reedy Creek Administrator Ray Maxwell said. "It's the value end of the market."
That retail concept contrasts with Disney's other major shopping and dining district, Downtown Disney, where patrons find a mix of entertainment, nightclubs, themed restaurants, Disneyana, and offbeat, niche and high-end gifts.
All of the private development would be developed under Disney's watchful eye, fitting into the project's master plan and aligning with Disney's restrictions and prior developments, Finger said. That is one reason Flamingo Crossings land will remain within the Reedy Creek district, rather than subjecting it to Orange County's development oversight.
Consequently, future landowners there will earn the rare power to vote to elect members of Reedy Creek's governing board or to decide any district-wide initiatives -- a right that has been extended to very few outside of Walt Disney Co. during the past four decades. Such votes are unlikely to change any balances of power within the district, Maxwell said, because the district's charter allows property owners one vote per acre. Flamingo Crossings could result in the sale of 450 acres to third-party owners, but Disney would still own about 17,000 acres within the district, while another 7,500 will remain under the control of the district itself or the state of Florida.
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I'm still undecided on whether I view this as a dilution of Disney or Disney just facing the facts and trying to have more control of something (ie budget hotels and shopping) that's already at their doorstep just off-property.
As Jimmy Buffett sings out in OKW: "only time will tell".
Thanks for the update Jason.
Matt
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Sounds like DTD West to me. Not sure about this either.
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Herb
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It's basically bringing I-Drive type outlets into the fold and offering something that doesn't get the consumer off Disney's actual property to quench their thirst for more pedestrian forms of entertainment in Orlando....no doubt catering to the international travelers as much if not more than US travelers....
I think they should call it, "Disney's Myrtle Beach"....
Hopefully this...along with four seasons...is an attempt to reallocate and strengthen disney's overtaxed employee pool in orlando...
I would also not be surprised if the all stars, pop, and maybe even the moderates are sold or leased to outside operators in the near future....transportation could easily follow.
something has to be done to generate an excess in the labor pool at Casting.....or we will see no significant new development.
something has to be done to generate an excess in the labor pool at Casting.....or we will see no significant new development.
Overburdened labor pool. Did not think about that. Yes, it would hinder development in the short run.
In the long run, is there enough affordable housing being built in the surrounding cities or counties to attract an expanded labor pool?
That is partly the issue at Disneyland right now. Even with the sprawling metropolis, affordable housing for casting is a problem there. The City of Anaheim wanted to build affordable housing near DLR but backed down after pressure from Disney backers.
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The name "Flamingo Crossing", makes me think of some cheap and tacky cross-roads kind of shopping mall.
I think I understand what what Disney is trying to do here; expand the on-property offerings without any significant long-term capital investment, which isn't a bad idea really, it's good businees. But, is it good for WDW? What will this do to an already (seemingly) burdened transportation network? How will crowd levels be effected? Will DIsney's resorts be effected in any way, will their prices change? Lots of pending questions here. I guess we'll just have to wait and see, but I don't have a real good feeling about it.
Selling the land, keeping some control rights but giving voting shares away. Hmmm.
I hope it does not set a precedent for "outside creep". They should not lose control and turn it into the tacky, inconsistent real world like what is outside the gates and the area around Disneyland, the very thing Walt Disney wanted to avoid in Florida.
If it can be developed like the DTD area, consistent signage, building schemes, paint, and a high scrutiny of business types that meet the Disney standards, okay. Yes, the reality of having more grocery and practical amenities makes sense. There used to be a mini-market of sorts in DTD where Earl of Sandwich is now. I missed it on our last trip 'cause it was a good place to get water, snacks for the room, and other more reasonable groceries without going outside the gates.
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