Apartments coming to land near theme park

Bainbridge Companies just bought a multifamily development site near Universal Orlando Resort’s newest theme park.

A deed recently recorded deed in Orange County shows the developer paid about $12.8 million for about 13 acres at 7575 Universal Blvd. where it’s planning to build a new 330-unit apartment complex called Bainbridge Sand Lake.

The property is near Lockheed Martin’s Sand Lake facility and Universal’s third Orlando theme park, Epic Universe, which is under construction on hundreds of acres between Sand Lake Road and Universal Boulevard.

According to Bainbridge’s website, the luxury apartment community is expected to open next year. Bob Thollander, Bainbridge’s president of development in Florida, could not be reached for comment.

Plans call for three, five-story multifamily buildings that will feature views of a large lake

The property on the southeast corner of Universal Boulevard and Carrier Drive sits across two new apartment projects under construction, including a 399-unit infill project on the former Republic Square shopping plaza planned by California-based Legacy Partners. The developer paid $11.5 million for the 11.4-acre property in 2020 and began marketing the project last summer.

Around the same time, Ohio-based apartment developer Edwards Communities and partner Silver Hills Development paid $9.1 million for 9.1 acres at 5885 Lakehurst Dr. where it’s near completing a 511-unit apartment community called Silver Hills At Universal.

All the multifamily construction is happening at the same time Universal’s parent company Comcast Corp. is building Epic Universe. The Philadelphia-based cable giant announced during its fourth-quarter earnings that the new Orlando theme park is slated to open by summer 2025.

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