$1.2B Mixed-Use Development Breaks Ground Near Orlando

On Friday, developers broke ground on Wyld Oaks, a 215-acre mixed-use project in Apopka, Fla., in northwest metro Orlando.

The master developer is Kelly Park VB Development LLC, a subsidiary of Vero Beach-based Evans Properties. Joseph Beninati serves as development coordinator.

The project reportedly represents an approximately $1.2 billion total investment.

Sited at 4105 Golden Gem Road, the development is just off the newly completed 429 Beltway and W. Kelly Park Road Interchange, about 27 miles from downtown Orlando.

At full build-out, Wyld Oaks will include:

•  Up to 200,000 square feet of retail and 11 outparcels

•  Two hotels, possibly one each of budget-friendly and boutique options

•  3,000 to 4,000 multifamily and condominium residences

•  Up to 200,000 square feet of office space at two sites

•  An “expansive outdoor entertainment venue,” according to the developer

•  Two green spaces: Yonder, a 10-acre park and preserve with a dog park, and Wyld Green, which will include an extensive multi-use trail network.

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A Wyld Oaks spokesperson told Commercial Property Executive that under the current timeline, initial construction on the retail and multifamily components will begin in the fourth quarter, while roads, water, electric, communications, sidewalks and water retention areas are scheduled to be complete in the first quarter of 2025.

Currently, Colliers is slated to handle retail and multifamily leasing, and CBRE will handle office leasing.

Beninati is formerly of the Bauhouse Group and more recently backed a stillborn project at 3 Sutton Place in Manhattan.

Employment growth helps

Leasing activity in the Orlando office market slowed a bit at the end of this past year, leaving overall vacancy at 15.5 percent, according to a fourth-quarter report from Cushman & Wakefield. “Prolonged negotiations between landlords and tenants have extended duration of deal closures, which has contributed to the slowdown in leasing volume, especially in larger spaces,” the report stated.

Metro Orlando’s retail space market, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s research, is doing comparatively better, driven by tourism and ongoing regional job growth. There was 1.9 million square feet of net absorption in the first nine months of 2023, pushing overall vacancy down to 3.3 percent.

In December 2022, CP Group brought its Resource Square I and III, two Class A office buildings in Orlando, to 90 percent occupancy by securing three tenants for a total of 23,000 square feet at the 245,111-square-foot campus. JLL Managing Director Darryl Hoffman represented CP Group in all leases.