NEWS: Universal Orlando Shares New Details For Affordable Housing Project

Late last year, Universal announced intentions to set aside property for affordable housing near the Orange County Convention Center and their now-delayed Epic Universe theme park.

Universal Orlando

According to BizJournal, Univeral Parks & Resorts plans to choose a developer by the first-quarter of 2021 to create an affordable, high-quality 1,000-unit housing complex on their own acreage near Universal Boulevard in Orange County.

The plan is that Univeral will donate the land to a nonprofit created by their own company in order to guarantee its use for their intended purposes and that would both own and manage the housing.

Universal Orlando Universal’s Epic Universe Concept Art ©Universal/Comcast

According to Universal, they will cover the development plan costs while their nonprofit would lease the land to the developer of their choosing for $10 a year as part of a long-term lease.

©Orange County

In turn, John Sprouls, executive vice president, and chief administration officer at Univeral Parks & Resorts, told the Orlando Business Journal, that the developer would pay for construction but save millions of dollars by building on the land that they’re donating and make a profit through future rent income.

BizJournal reports that Univeral will release its RFQ on October 2nd for interested developers. In turn, developers would have until November 2nd to submit their own documentation. The developer will then work with Univeral to finalize a plan in conjunction with Orange County in the second half of next year.

The goal is for the project to break ground in early 2022. If all goes according to plan, initial occupancy is planned for later that year. We’ll continue to keep you updated on any further developments!