A top franchisee company is planning a Popeyes in Orlando’s I-Drive tourism corridor

Multi-unit franchisee organization Sun Holdings LLC just bought a prominent corner in Orlando’s I-Drive tourism corridor, with plans to develop a Popeyes fast food restaurant.

The company paid $3.15 million for a 3.5-acre lot at 12615 International Dr. South. The property sits on the southeast corner where International Drive South and Daryl Carter Parkway intersect.

The seller is a private investment group from Kissimmee called Westwood Vista Corp. Records show the entity paid $1.7 million for the property in 2001.

Andy Slowik and Margery Johnson of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller. Slowik told GrowthSpotter the project is one of several developments planned along the new Daryl Carter Parkway, which will eventually extend to Apopka-Vineland Road.

“When the new signalized section came in, it made it obvious the frontage will go retail, Slowik said.

In June, the fast-food chain, most famous in recent days for its spicy chicken sandwich, announced it will upgrading its stores and logo as part of its strategy to modify its image. Sun Holdings will likely develop the company’s new prototype store, which launched in Los-Angeles, according to the fast-food chain.

Slowik said Central Florida is a top tourist destination with millions of visitors every year, “whoever was going to land that spot will always have a high traffic count.”

The Cushman & Wakefield business partners also helped sell the lot immediately south of the site. Orlando Self Storage LLC paid $2.12 million for the $3.3-acre property in 2019 with plans to develop a new self-storage facility.

The property lies just less than a half mile away from the Vineland Avenue entrance into the Orlando Vineland Premium Outlets.

Once complete, the Daryl Carter Parkway project will run through Unicorp National Developments Inc.'s billion-dollar O-Town West mixed-use project and a new $115 million high school at 7725 Palm Parkway. The school scheduled to be completed by April 2022 and will relieve Dr. Phillips and Freedom high schools.

Sun Holdings LLC is led by Guillermo Perales. The company ranked as the fourth largest multi-unit franchisee organizations in the county in 2019 with 995 units, according to franchise market research and consulting firm, FRANdata.

In 2016, GrowthSpotter reported Sun Holdings began plans to open a 66-seat Popeyes restaurant on the outskirts of Sanford, at 4958 W S.R. 46.

More recently, the company secured contracts to buy and develop a Burger King and Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen in outparcels within the Publix-anchored Pleasant Hill Commons shopping center in Kissimmee.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated to correct the address of the new high school.

Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at arabines@GrowthSpotter.com or (407) 420-5427, or tweet me at @amanda_rabines. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.