The 150-acre Lake Mary Wellness and Technology Park, where Orlando Health plans to build a $500 million health campus, is taking shape bit by bit with the latest plans for a new hotel entering the permitting process and a luxury apartment community nearly complete.
Highgate, a real estate investment and hospitality management company, is planning a 71,764-square-foot hotel just north of The Helix at Lake Mary apartment complex at 962 Bentstation Lane. According to a recently submitted St. Johns River Water Management District application, the hospitality development will be a 4-story, 122-room Home2 Suites by Hilton hotel.
Amenities mentioned in the plans include a pool area and conference room. The Hilton flagship brand typically offers suites with separate sleeping and living areas as well as kitchens with full-sized appliances. The Home2 Suites brand is known to be pet-friendly and designed for extended stays and cost-conscious guests. Newer Home2 Suites hotels feature saline-based pools, lounge areas and fitness stations.
Dustin Brinkman, at KPM Franklin, is the project manager. Representatives at Highgate did not respond to requests for comment.
Other Home2 Suites developments down the pike include hotels planned by the ChampionsGate interchange in Davenport, as well as in Winter Garden and Mount Dora. The brand is often seen near health centers.
Records show Highgate purchased the Seminole County 2.78-acre parcel in August for $2.1 million. The land was sold by Lake Mary Wellness and Technology Park developer Richard Toomey, a real estate consultant and development partner at Parkway Property Investments.
Roughly seven years ago, Toomey purchased the property where the Wellness and Technology park is today. The large chunk of land stretches about a mile along I-4 and had to undergo a significant entitlement process to eventually land Orlando Health as one of its anchors, Toomey said.
Today, the nonprofit health system is planning a $500 million hospital campus at the park, which includes building a 134-bed hospital with obstetrics and NICU services, as well as a structured parking garage, energy plant and a large wellness garden. So far, Orlando Health has built a 20,000-square-foot emergency center and a 60,000-square-foot medical office complex. Both developments have the capability to add additional stories to their buildings.
The mixed-use development is also where Sonata Senior Living and capital partner, Berkshire Residential Investments, recently broke ground on a $62 million, 193-unit assisted living facility. Part of the 175 acres he prepped long ago, is now the 225,000-square-foot Edison at Primera office complex at 730 Primera Boulevard.
Toomey told GrowthSpotter he has a single 2.2-acre commercial lot left at the park to sell. Though he’d like to see the lot filled by a daycare service center, he said it features a range of general commercial uses.
“I did the whole thing from A to Z,” Toomey said, referring to the 1 million cubic yards of fill he had to relocate off the site to prep the land for development. as well as the branding of the park, infrastructure work and the construction of the apartments. “We launched [the sale of leases] in July and we’re about 35% leased.”
Further north, Altamonte Springs-based AdventHealth is planning a 58,270-square-foot medical office building next to its emergency room hospital at 950 Rinehart Road. The 3-story commercial building, designed by HuntonBrady Architects, will include primary and specialty care practices, imaging, outpatient sports medicine and rehab, and lab services, Jeff Grainger, a spokesperson for AdventHealth’s Central Florida Division said. Construction is expected to be complete in late 2022.
Meanwhile, another medical office commercial center, called Bent’s Station, is being planned at 430 Rinehart Rd., next to the Lake Mary Wellness and Technology Park. Verax Lake Mary LLC, led by developer and medical neurosurgeon Dr. Ravi Gandhi, plans to build two new medical offices and an urban-style retail center that will feature a large courtyard area for patrons.
Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at arabines@GrowthSpotter.com or (407) 491-3357, or tweet me at @amanda_rabines. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
