A brand new Nickelodeon Hotel and condo project looks set to open in Orlando, Florida as part of a billion-dollar, mixed-use resort project in northwest Osceola County!
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| Credit: IGH Hotels |
Update (11/19/23) - Jennifer Castro, director of Karisma hotels for Latin America, has confirmed that the new Nickelodeon Orlando hotel will be a Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts property, run by Karisma Hotels & Resorts, and will offer amenities and entertainment similar to Nickelodeon's two existing resorts in the Dominican Republic and Mexico.
Site-clearing and pre-construction work is ongoing for the $1 billion Everest Place development, a project helmed by Canada-based Everest Development Group, reports Orlando Business Journal.
The mixed-use project will include luxury hotels, condos, apartments, shops, medical and office space, and a water park.
It will rise on on 217 acres at the southwest corner of U.S. Highway 192 and State Road 429, near Disney.
"The whole project is moving very quickly," said Zafir Rashid, president and CEO of Everest Group of Cos. "In terms of starting construction, everything is going."
It has been a busy week for Rashid and the project’s team, as a pre-construction meeting was held Aug. 30 with Osceola County officials and Everest Place was also a gold sponsor for the ICSC@Florida retail conference that took place Aug. 28-30 at the Orange County Convention Center.
Everest Place had a booth at the conference, showcasing its updated plans and opportunities and sought to spread the word about the project’s momentum. Rashid told Orlando Business Journal there still are investment opportunities related to Everest Place. "We have opportunities available to investors with each sub-project."
The large development will be home to a pair of signature hotel and condo projects: the Nickelodeon-branded hotel and condo project and the Mysk Orlando Hotel & Residences.
The Nickelodeon-themed hotel and condo project will be geared toward families with children, and will feature design influenced by the brand's popular cartoon characters such as SpongeBob SquarePants. It will have 209 hotel rooms and 196 condo hotel units.
The Mysk hotel and condo project is related to the Mysk by Shaza luxury hotel brand and is a joint venture with Dubai-based Shaza Hotels. It will be the brand's first location in North America. It will have 272 condo hotel units and 190 hotel rooms, Rashid said.
The project will feature an alcohol-free environment and is described as "conservative lifestyle" destination — something its development teams believes will meet a need in Orlando's busy tourism sector.
"A lot of people are looking for this type of product," Rashid said, referencing travelers both from within North America and from overseas, particularly the Middle East and Dubai.
Rashid said there are plans for a third hotel by luxury operator Kempinski Hotels.
Everest Place's 200-plus acres are broken into districts, with a retail district fronting U.S. 192 on the property's northern end, in addition to the Everest Place Town Center and a hotel district. Multifamily developments also are planned and will be part of the project's first phase, along with the retail and medical center components.
The property also features a stormwater pond that will run alongside the town center and hotel district and function as a water feature. Further, a waterpark recently was added to the plans, replacing prior plans for a lagoon.
"We decided the waterpark would serve the project a little bit better and was a better use of the land," Rashid said.
As the project moves forward, leasing for its roughly 200,000 square feet of retail is heating up.
The leasing efforts, which include outparcels available for ground lease along U.S. 192, is being handled by a LandQwest Commercial team led by senior associate Eva Royal. Rashid said letters of intent have been signed for some of the space and tenant announcements could be forthcoming in the next few months.
The Everest Place project in its entirety is seeking a more upscale vibe in comparison to the successful Margaritaville Resort Orlando that is just across S.R. 429, he said. The hope is to have most or all of the project's developable land completed within five years.
Everest Development Group bought the land through a subsidiary named GMR Development Orlando I LP in 2019 for $34 million.
A project of this size and scale can be good for the local economy, as its phased construction will create hundreds of temporary jobs in addition to the new jobs created to operate the hotels and commercial businesses that will be present onsite.
When it breaks ground, Everest Place will join a robust environment for construction starts in the metro.
According to a report by Dodge Construction Network, Orlando has had $2.55 billion in commercial and multifamily construction starts value through June of this year — ranking 14th among metros in the nation.
This will be Nickelodeon's second hotel in Orlando. Nickelodeon previously partnered with Holiday Inn to operate a 777-room Nickelodeon Suites Orlando, The Nick, on Continental Gateway Drive from 2005-2017. The resort then shut down and embarked on a $30 million renovation to rebrand it as Holiday Inn Resort Orlando Suites. The hotel eventually filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 18, 2021.
Although the hotel has been closed for several years, it is still in the hearts of many fans who have nostalgic feelings towards their stays there.
Following the closure of Nickelodeon Suites Orlando, Nickelodeon International entered a long-term partnership with Karisma Hotels & Resorts, which has seen Nickelodeon Hotels and Resorts open destinations in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic and in Riviera Maya, Mexico in June 2021.
The new Nickelodeon Florida Hotel was first reported in February 2021.
Update (11/28) - Official Everest Group Of Companies press release, via Newswire:
Groundbreaking at the Everest Place Development in Orlando, FL
Construction has commenced at Everest Place, the latest master-planned community and hospitality development in the heart of Orlando. Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts and Shaza Hotels to Be Featured Brands at Everest Place.
ORLANDO, Fla., November 18, 2022 - Everest Group Of Companies broke ground at the Everest Place site earlier this summer. As part of Phase One of construction, the master plan includes a mix of retail and commercial spaces, medical offices, four resort hotels, residential units, and multi-family apartments.
The $1-billion development recently received approval for the Site Development Plan from Osceola County, which means construction is now full steam ahead.
Everest Place is strategically located along US-192, parallel to State Road 429, and will accommodate 783 condos, 793 hotel rooms, 900 rental apartments, 20 acres of land for commercial & retail space, and 12 acres for a recreational water park.
Everest Group, along with Dubai based Shaza Hotels, will develop The Mysk Hotel & Residences, a resort that will cater to the Arabian lifestyle crowd, and intends on featuring halal, vegan and international cuisine, plus a luxurious all ladies' spa. Additionally, in partnership with Paramount and Nickelodeon, the development will also feature a 4-Star Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts, where families will enjoy world-class entertainment amenities and have the opportunity to interact with the brand's globally beloved franchises, including SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and many more from the expansive Nickelodeon portfolio.
Information on both hotels can be found at https://www.nickresorts.com and https://myskhotels.com/en.
Residential opportunities are anticipated for the project within the next two years, and details can be found at https://everestplace.com/residences. This phase of Everest Place is expected to be developed by the first quarter of 2025.
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Originally published: September 03, 2022.
Additional source: Digital Journal.
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