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Orlando Magic moves forward with entertainment complex plans

NBA basketball team the Orlando Magic has provided an update on the $200m-plus sports and entertainment development it plans on building next to its Amway Center home arena.

The team announced yesterday (Wednesday) that it is continuing to make progress on the design of the complex in an effort to continue the revitalisation of downtown Orlando and Parramore.

The complex will feature class A office space, multi-family residences, a first-class hotel with meeting and event space, dining options, and a central events plaza with the latest in Wi-Fi, lighting, audio and digital experiences.

The office building would form part of the Magic’s headquarters and would feature approximately seven levels of office space. The tenant experience would include what the Magic described as “tomorrow’s tech”, with companies in the renewable utilities, security, transportation, digital infrastructure, and health and wellness sectors.

Magic chief executive Alex Martins said: “Like with the Amway Center, this has been several years of planning and working with the city to find the right avenue to add another iconic destination that will add to the core of downtown. We look forward to entering this new stage as we work with our partners to make Orlando a great place to live, work and play.”

On Parramore, Martins added: “It’s our neighbourhood and it’s important to us that we continue to help revitalise it. We think this is another significant step. Like the great addition of Orlando City Soccer’s stadium, hopefully this is a spark for others to invest in that part of downtown. Downtown really stretches from Orange Avenue to Camping World Stadium. So, this is an opportunity to spark the western side of that stretch.”

The development will complement Amway Center and the nearby Orlando City Stadium, home of the city’s Major League Soccer franchise.

The project will now enter the phase of procuring tenants for the office and retail components of the development. Foundry Commercial, a full-service real estate services and investment company, will assist in securing qualified marquee office tenants. Retail specialist JLL will assist in securing qualified marquee retail tenants.

Amway Center, which opened in 2010, is owned by the city and was designed by the Magic.

Image: Orlando Magic