Documents filed May 29 by Universal City Development Partners Ltd., a subsidiary of Universal Orlando Resort, show the original plan to include 700 acres in the planned development of the Epic Universe district has now expanded to over 2,000 acres.
What’s Happening:
- The Orlando Business Journal has revealed that documents filed late last month in Orange County show that the footprint of Universal’s Epic Universe expansion area (which is more than just the new theme park), has grown to over 2,000 acres from an originally planned 700.
- According to the report, the Orange County Development Review Committee approved the plan on June 7th.
- The plans call for change of use to accommodate whatever Universal intends to develop around the new theme park opening next year. This is because the properties in the expansion are all part of a county-sanctioned Major Economic Development Project (MEDP) called Shingle Creek Transit & Utility Community Development District.
- The MEDP and the benefits therein would be something that Universal would like the parcels to be included in, as some local developers have pointed out the similarities to Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District, as originally conceived, prior to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.
- The district created for these parcels will streamline the development process and reduce many of the bureaucratic hurdles, and move things around the development as needed and more quickly.
- Please note, this does NOT mean that Universal’s new theme park, Universal Epic Universe, will expand into each of these new acres. As previously stated, the original plan for the land included 700 acres, only approximately 110 of those were for the new park, according to reports. The land is also home to three hotels – Universal’s Terra Nova and Stella Luna Resorts, as well as the Universal Helios Grand Hotel.
- The newly included acreage could potentially include further hotels, another CItyWalk-style district, and even an additional theme park.
- SunRail has expansion plans in the works which also includes a Brightline stop in Universal’s acreage near the Orange County Convention Center. Once built, Universal could decide to put a hotel there and make their on-site location more appealing as that would theoretically be the only hotel with an adjacent Brightline spot aside from the Hyatt Regency at the Orlando International Airport.
- Universal Orlando has made no comment on plans for the new acreage at this time. Universal Epic Universe is slated to open in 2025.
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