Encore Capital Management is seeking entitlements for a 240-bed hospital and 96,000 square feet of office space as part of its mixed-use Reunion Village development at the I-4/ChampionsGate interchange.
“Orlando Health is continuing to plan for the expansion of healthcare services in Osceola County, the tourist corridor and surrounding communities,” hospital spokesman Desmond Jordan said Monday. “This is an initial step towards that service goal.”
The healthcare system has pending applications with the state for new hospitals in Lake Mary and Orlando but has not applied yet for the Reunion site.
Encore, the resort’s master developer, also filed a Preliminary Subdivision plan carving out five commercial lots fronting on C.R. 532 and the 276 homesites to be built in later phases of the 106-acre site.
Osceola County planners have already recommended approval of the plan, and it’s expected to sail through the Development Review Committee on Wednesday.
The development program calls for over 440,000 square feet of commercial and retail entitlements on the five lots in Phase 1. LandQwest Commercial is marketing those sites.
The first two lots may already be spoken for. A Texas-based consultant for Darden Corporation has requested a meeting this week with Osceola County’s DRC to discuss building a restaurant duo at Reunion Village. The applicant filed preliminary plans by Consolidated Development Services for a 5,460-square-foot Longhorn Steakhouse on Lot 1 and a 7,757-square-foot Olive Garden on Lot 2.
Darden is currently building an identical restaurant duo at Orlando Fashion Square mall. The company also has permits to build a Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen on W192 near Encore’s Margaritaville Resort.
Orlando Health signed on as the anchor in July with a contract to buy 25 acres slated for the project Phase 2. The nonprofit healthcare company is wrapping up construction on a new Free-Standing Emergency Department (FSED) across from the Tupperware SunRail station in Kissimmee, and it filed plans in August with City of Orlando for a multi-phased, hospital-anchored health campus at Randal Park.
The residential portion of the project is slated for Phases 3-5, with the first 62 lots in Phase 3. That’s the only section requesting 30-foot lots for a detached single-family product. Phases 4 and 5 would have a mix of 35- and 40-foot lots.
While Encore Homes specializes in vacation-home resorts, it’s not clear if the new sections would be an extension of the resort or if it’s slated to be primary residential. The PS also shows a 5.44-acre recreation site, as well as 28 acres of passive recreation and conservation areas.
The northern tip of Reunion Village would have a road connection with Encore’s new condo resort, Spectrum Villas at Reunion. Encore is currently building the 4-unit model for what will eventually be a 288-unit short-term rental condo resort.
Luxury multifamily developer Watermark Residential is planning a Class A, 326-unit complex called “Thrive” at Blackwater Crossings, directly across from Reunion Village.
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