The upcoming May 22 opening of Epic Universe, which is serving as a catalyst for new hotel development in Orlando’s tourism corridor, is having the dual effect of transforming I-Drive into one of Central Florida’s top multifamily markets.
“Multifamily developers are trying to satisfy the needs…of the people that live here. We’ve got Epic Universe. Everybody focuses on the number of visitors it’s going to generate, but according to Universal, they’re hiring 14,000 people. Those employees need places to live,” Paul Sexton, Managing Director of HREC, said during a discussion Thursday on the development impact of Epic Universe. ULI organized the event, which took place at LRK‘s Orlando office.
Hotels continue to dominate the I-Drive corridor, but multifamily is catching up. In 2000, there were 4,457 multifamily units, a number equivalent to 13.5% of the submarket’s 33,128 hotel rooms. By 2024, the number of multifamily units nearly quadrupled to 16,571, which is equivalent to about a third of the corridor’s more than 51,000 hotel rooms.
“I think that shows a lot of momentum. It shows a need for hotel rooms, but it also shows a lot of momentum with regards to multifamily,” Sexton said.
“I think [I-Drive] is unique in that is the sole renter-by-choice apartment pocket in Greater Orlando,” Wood Partners’ Bryan Borland said. “That’s not the case if you get up into places like Seminole County, where leases are much stickier, and the folks that are there may be there for the school system or they’re planning to move into a single-family home, or even move out of a single-family home into a multi-family community. You see a lot more of that there, whereas folks [on I-Drive] are here because of…a very diverse employment base that goes well beyond hospitality and tourism.”
Borland pointed to tourism and hospitality as a “stabilizing force” for the I-Drive multifamily market. “It’s not just the theme parks, but all those ancillary businesses, all the hotels, the convention center, the restaurants, etc.,” he said, pointing out that employees in those industries tend to be multifamily renters.
Companies in many other industries are drawn to the I-Drive corridor as well. Lockheed Martin, for example, was the largest employer for tenants moving into Wood Partners’ initial lease-up of the 328-unit Luma Headwaters, formerly known as Alta Headwaters, in 2020.
Universal and Wendover Housing Partners already broke ground on a 1,000-unit mixed-income apartment complex just south of Epic Universe called Catchlight Crossings. Orange County is also “stress testing” a pair of county-owned properties east of the convention center. The county is exploring the possibility of delivering 2,678 multifamily units on the two properties, including 1,008 units and 54,000 square feet of commercial space on a 14.4-acre parcel at 5980 Destination Pkwy and 1,670 units on a 29-acre property at 10191 International Dr.
Jason Sorenson, Senior Planner at Orange County, said that the county envisions the area around Epic Universe and the convention center to ultimately have the feel of a downtown. However, Borland said that building large apartment towers with structured parking isn’t feasible in today’s market.
“A structured parking garage in this part of the world is cost-prohibitive,” he said. “We can put it on these site plans and say we’re going to build these, but it’s not going to happen in the next several years. It may not happen in the next decade because ultimately we need a [favorable] cost environment, or we need rents that will substantiate the economics to go out and capitalize those projects.”
Epic Universe, which is expected to draw millions of visitors annually, has been a major boon to I-Drive’s hotel market. The theme park, in combination with the nearby convention center, is creating one of the nation’s most dynamic hospitality submarkets. The convention center will undergo a $560 million expansion with a 100,000-square-foot flexible ballroom and an additional 44,000 square feet of meeting space, with construction set to begin in 2026.
Yosung Chang, Senior Director for Capital Investments & Transactions at IHG Hotels & Resorts, said that conventions and theme parks are two demand segments that balance each other out well. He explained that conventions typically bring higher occupancy during the spring and fall, while theme parks usually have more visitors during summer and winter when children are on break from school.
“Because of Epic Universe coming in, now these two demand generators will combine. This is the only area in Orlando that will have both demand generators,” Chang said.
IHG expects to open a 700-room InterContinental Resort hotel in 2028 as part of a $1.5 billion redevelopment of the former Wyndham Resort and Convention Center at 8001 International Dr. That project is being co-developed by Unicorp National Developments and Flag Luxury Group, which have owned the property since 2011. IHG also expects to open a 288-room, dual-branded EVEN and Staybridge Suites hotel next to Epic Universe in June 2026.
Dave Pollin of Maryland-based Buccini/Pollin Group told GrowthSpotter that he hopes to break ground later this year on the 22-story, 400-room W Hotel & Music Venue at 9875 Universal Blvd near the entrance to Epic Universe. The tower is set to include a 2,000-seat concert venue, a 700-car parking garage, and five bars and restaurants.
Last year, a joint venture between Houston-based RIDA Development and Los Angeles-based Ares Management paid $1.07 billion for the 1,641-room Hyatt Regency Orlando and announced plans to build as many as 2,500 additional hotel rooms on vacant land to the north of the existing hotel, which is across the street from the convention center. The expansion plans would include a new Grand Hyatt hotel, although there is no official timeline yet.
Universal also built three hotels with a combined 2,000 rooms in or adjacent to Epic Universe. The Stella Nova Resort and Terra Luna Resort both opened earlier this year with 750 rooms, while the 500-room Helios Grand Hotel is set to open on April 16.
EDITOR’s NOTE: This article was updated on 04/11 to clarify that Catchlight Crossings will be a mixed-income community.
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