Whittall finds west coast inspiration for Fashion Square Mall redux
Orlando developer Chuck Whittall is trying to buy Orlando Fashion Square, the city’s oldest mall, and tear most of it down.
Whittall says the mall needs a complete redo. For his inspiration, he has in mind two open-air developments in Southern California — Fashion Island in Newport Beach and the Irvine Spectrum Center. Those mixed-use centers combine shopping, restaurants and entertainment.
Whittall says he has a deal to buy the nearly 50 acres of land under Fashion Square. Crucial to his plan will be successful negotiations with the major retailers on the property — Macy’s, J.C. Penney and Dillard’s. All of them have long-term leases on their stores.
His deal differs from Tampa-based mall owner DeBartolo Development. It has been in talks with The Bancorp, which holds the lease interest in the mall itself as part of a bankruptcy settlement with the former owner. in the late 1960s and permits usages including retail, hotel or dealerships in addition to the current office use, CBRE Capital Markets Executive Vice President Ron Rogg told GrowthSpotter on Wednesday.
“That was intentional,” he said of letting the property become vacant with a possible highest and best use in mind. When two buildings emptied as Everest University closed its doors amid a bankruptcy case and reported sales of some of its campuses, the Clayton family that owns the property employed a counterintuitive way of thinking.
“They didn’t try to aggressively backfill the space. It’s more valuable and more marketable as existing redevelopment or for some kind of alternaThe tive use,” Rogg said.
The City of Orlando wants to hire two or more architecture and engineering firms to help design a variety of capital projects and infrastructure in 2019 and beyond, according to Requests for Qualifications (RFQ) issued this week.
The city currently has three engineering firms on continuing services contracts but just one architecture firm: KMF Architects, which has been tasked with such projects as designing the solar canopy at City Hall and the feasibility study for the CNG Conversion. That contract expires Feb. 28, 2019.
design work could include public facilities, parks, sports facilities, office buildings, recreation centers, parking lots or maintenance facilities. Selected engineering firms could be tasked with jobs related to utility services, road and intersection improvements, hydraulic analysis, design of stormwater treatment facilities, plans and permitting review and permit coordination with state and other agencies.
Park Square Homes has redesigned and renamed its proposed apartment complex next to the Valencia College Osceola Campus in Kissimmee.
Senior Project Manager Robert Mick and his development team met Tuesday with the city’s Development Review Committee to review the new site plan, which adds density from 350 to potentially 384 units. The developers renamed the project, formerly Oxbow Crossing, to The Neo.
The 17-acre site is just north of the NeoCity high tech district. Park Square Homes hopes to break ground in March.
The new site plan maintains the two 5,000-square-foot commercial buildings along E192 but the apartment complex has been completely redesigned with four residential buildings, a clubhouse and pool that overlook a pond.