Proposed I-Drive vision changes developer’s plans

Orange County planners got to put a year of visioning work to use Friday when they announced details of a new project planned for construction on Universal Boulevard.

The project, called the Destination Shoppes, would include a 370-room hotel, six residential towers and 480,000 square feet of retail, a county official said.

The project, planned for the intersection of Universal Boulevard and Destination Parkway, would be built in phases during the next decade or so, said Alberto Vargas, Orange County planner.

“The vision is working,” said Vargas during the last meeting in a yearlong effort to determine the future of International Drive.

County leaders, business owners and other I-Drive stakeholders have met monthly since January 2015 to evaluate the tourism district and figure out how it should evolve during the next 25 years.

In the last several years, the district, home to attractions such as SeaWorld Orlando, Universal Orlando Resort and the Orange County Convention Center, has undergone a bit of a renaissance.

Several new destinations, including the I-Drive 360 entertainment complex and Mango’s Tropical Café, opened last year.

Vargas said initial plans for the Destination Shoppes development called for about 112,000 square feet of retail and the construction of a gated residential community off the main road.

That did not fit the county’s revamped vision of I-Drive.

Vargas and his team approached the developer, seeking more of an urbanized development.

After several months of conversation, Destination Shoppes leaders reworked their plans.

The original I-Drive 2040 Strategic Vision, submitted last year to the Orange County Board of County Commissioners, requires final board approval.

Vargas said he is hoping the document will go into effect in August.