The rendering provided by Universal Parks & Resorts shows its development plans in Orange County, Fla., including affordable housing.
Universal Parks & Resorts
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Universal Parks & Resorts
The rendering provided by Universal Parks & Resorts shows its development plans in Orange County, Fla., including affordable housing.
Universal Parks & Resorts
Anyone looking for affordable housing in central or southern Florida can take a wild ride – and that’s why two theme parks in Florida committed to spending around 100 acres land to alleviate the housing crisis.
In places like Orlando and Tampa, rents have grown faster than most other parts of the United States. Average rent in Orlando up 21% in just one year, from 2020 to 2021.
Walt Disney World plans to build more than 1,300 housing units on nearly 80 acres of land in Orange County (including Orlando), but the studio added that the plan is still in the early stages and needs to be approved by agencies approval management.
“The development will offer residents more affordable and achievable housing options,” speak Rena Langley, Walt Disney World Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs said. The new units will be near schools and Disney’s new Flamingo Crossings retail and dining complex, she added.
Universal Parks & Resorts speak it has “committed 20 acres of prime land in the heart of Orlando’s tourist corridor to be used for 1,000 affordable/mixed-income housing units.”
Universal’s plan lists a number of amenities, from a tuition-free preschool, community garden and swimming pool to on-site medical offices and transportation hubs.
Like Disney’s plan, Universal’s proposal still needs approval from the county government. Both companies are working with developers on their projects.
Walt Disney World and Universal Parks & Resorts are setting aside land for affordable housing developments, hoping to defuse the housing crisis in central Florida. Here, visitors drive past a sign welcoming them to Walt Disney World in the summer of 2020.
Gregg Newton / AFP via Getty Images
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Gregg Newton / AFP via Getty Images
Walt Disney World and Universal Parks & Resorts are setting aside land for affordable housing developments, hoping to defuse the housing crisis in central Florida. Here, visitors drive past a sign welcoming them to Walt Disney World in the summer of 2020.
Gregg Newton / AFP via Getty Images
The nation’s affordable housing crisis has been particularly acute in central and southern Florida in recent years, and the state’s housing supply has not kept pace with population growth. The pandemic has made the situation worse, as house prices and rents have skyrocketed far beyond any income levels.
Florida housing market expert Andrew Ross said: “We’ve seen a bottleneck in housing supply and a rise in renters over the last decade – which has been quite pronounced indeed – and the corresponding decrease in house ownership”. member station WLRN previous November. “The factors that have stabilized in the housing market for decades have become unremarkable and unresolved.”
