Westgate plans safari area at River Ranch Resort and Rodeo
“Our goal is to create a unique immersive and interactive experience where guests can drive through the safari on golf carts or narrated guided trams.”
Safari animals may be coming to Polk County’s Westgate River Ranch Resort and Rodeo in late 2022, based on a proposal currently under review by Polk County officials.
The animals won’t include lions or tigers, but non-aggressive animals such as water buffalo, giraffes, deer and other hooved animals will be featured in the 45- to 50-acre safari area on the grounds of the resort. The animals will be the types that can be safely contained and that interact well with their beastly cohorts and held in fenced shelters that comply with Florida Fish & Wildlife regulations.
While most of the animals will be peaceable critters, there will be an alligator exhibit contained in a set area of the safari experience because, well, this is Florida.
“Our goal is to create a unique immersive and interactive experience where guests can drive through the safari on golf carts or narrated guided trams,” said Mark Waltrip, chief operating officer of Westgate Resorts of Orlando. “The safari has been specifically designed in very large open fields to allow the animals to replicate their natural habitat with large oak canopies for natural shade.”
Waltrip said the fields would be separated from the cart paths with a double-layer barrier between the guests and the large animals. But there will also be spots where guests can interact directly with “soft”, “petting zoo”-type animals. In addition, there will be education areas focusing on the animals along with a picnic area that will have a playground.
Waltrip said plans include 10 luxury treehouses, with the ability to add more in the future.
The safari area will be located on current resort land bordered by the Kissimmee River, undevelopable tracts of land to the west, farmland to the north and the Kicco Wildlife Management area to the south, according to a document submitted by planner consultants VHB of Orlando. The attraction is not expected to increase the area population or demand for local services.
Polk County officials have reacted “very positively” to the proposal, Waltrip said. But the project must still undergo a review and approval process that will take a few months. The timeshare company is seeking to amend the resort’s master plan to convert the area that was set aside as a future golf resort into the safari area.
Miami developer files apartment plan
A Miami developer known for building luxury high-rise condo towers has been selected as the multifamily partner for an International Drive resort development south of Dezerland.
Altis Cardinal has filed a plan for a 340-unit apartment complex on the 3.7-acre site just outside the entrance of Lennar’s Storey Drive Resort community. The plan calls for a five-story building with two courtyards and an attached 6-level parking garage.
“Orlando is a very desirable market which is known both here in the U.S. and internationally as a destination point,” Altis Cardinal Principal Anthony Seijas told
GrowthSpotter. “We’re very bullish on Florida and the need for more multifamily housing as the affordability of for-sale housing continues to be an issue because of rising prices.”
Altis Cardinal has been eyeing an entry into the market for some time. In 2019, the company signed on as a joint venture partner with Mosaic Development on a 280-unit apartment community in downtown Kissimmee but backed out of the project. He estimates the project budget for the I-Drive site will be between $75 million and $80 million.
The proposed development has five unit sizes: efficiency (26); studio (14); one-bedroom (156); two-bedroom (97); and three-bedroom (15). Seijas said the smaller units were added to bring an affordable component to the market-rate community.
“We did feel it would be prudent to add a small amount of smaller studios to the unit mix to make it attainable for the individual who lives alone and works in the area and needs a rent he can afford,” he said. The development team is still working out the details of its amenity package to align with what’s been successful in the Orlando market.
“The one common theme we do seem to get back is the need for outdoor spaces where people can congregate but still feel safe from a distance standpoint,” Seijas said. “We’re still trying to figure out the details of what some of the spaces will look and feel like. We’re looking at having some outdoor fitness areas — not just a yoga lawn, but some areas where people can do cross-fit training.”
Mark Waltrip chief operating officer of Westgate Resorts of Orlando
This is a sampling of stories from GrowthSpotter, a premium subscription service from the Orlando Sentinel that focuses on the early stages of real estate development. To subscribe, go to GrowthSpotter.com