Last year, Walt Disney World announced the plans of building a large-scale residential project to the south of Flamingo Crossings Town Center. 324,000 square metres will be designated for the development with affordable residences. The candidates for such accommodation will supposedly have to meet the income level requirements. These tenants will include cast members who participate in Disney’s famous parades.
Disney partnered with The Michaels Organization, a developer with a long track record of construction and maintenance of inexpensive residential complexes and utilities. John O’Donnel, CEO at The Michaels, shared that he was inspired by the prospect to work with an iconic brand like Disney on creating affordable housing in Central Florida. He also emphasised that he would strive to create a repeatable model that will subsequently inspire other enterprises and municipalities to create high-quality and low-cost residences in their communities.
This week, Disney made several important announcements concerning the fate of the project. The start of construction was rescheduled to next year. First residences are planned for completion in 2026. The new development will comprise 1,400, not 1,300 units, so that more people could benefit from the project.