BIG NEWS

By Kathryn Deen

Entertainment options are exploding in Lake Nona, the innovative master-planned community in Southeast Orlando perhaps best known for its colloquially named Medical City, a high-tech cluster of hospitals, athletic training complexes and research facilities.

Tavistock Development Company is tackling some immense projects to bring more leisure-time options to the burgeoning health-centered community of 17 square miles.

“We want to have the complete community,” says Ralph Ireland, vice president of development operations. “It’s about trying to be as current and as forward thinking as possible to continue the next great American community.”

Tavistock is prioritizing Lake Nona residents while also seeking to position the community as a regional destination. Either way, entertainment is the focus of the $780 million, 3.8-million-square-foot Lake Nona Town Center, which is blossoming at the southwest corner of S.R. 417 and Lake Nona Boulevard.

The Town Center’s $300-million, 1.2-million-square-foot second phase is set to begin construction later this year. Plans include a brewery, a bowling alley, a comedy club, an upscale cinema and plenty of shopping and dining options — all within walking distance for many residents.

“It’s going to be a game changer,” Ireland adds. “We see it as a framework for additional development.”

The Town Center’s first phase includes two Marriott brands under the same roof — a Marriott Residence Inn and a Courtyard by Marriott — as well as the Chroma Modern Bar + Kitchen and an eye-popping, 60-foot structural steel sculpture alongside the parking garage. 

Indeed, the attention that developers paid to the garage — often the crudest type of building — may provide hints of what’s to come. The sculpture, called the Beacon, is wrapped with high-definition video projections that bring it to life at night.

A “Code Wall” on the garage’s facade is “perforated” with the 0’s and 1’s of binary code, choreographed LED lights and glass panels that reflect sunlight. Also occupying the Town Center is Bosphorous Turkish Cuisine and an array of offices. Jacq & Jack, a salon, is coming this winter.

The Town Center is expected to be a popular gathering spot for a drink, a bite and a fun time out with family and friends.

“The retail environment is changing quite a bit, and people want an experiential environment,” Ireland says. “It’s a very walkable environment —measured to the inch so you don’t feel overwhelmed or underwhelmed by the space.”

Walkability, of course, is healthy for residents. But it also helps reduce the community’s carbon footprint and mitigates a proliferation of automobiles.

Looking for another hangout option? Drive Shack is scheduled to open its first U.S. location in early 2018 on the northwest corner of S.R. 417 and Lake Nona Boulevard. A three-story, 57,000-square-foot driving range — with 90 outdoor driving bays — will be accompanied by a lounge, meeting rooms and a restaurant.

Drive Shack is part of a golf entertainment company, Drive Shack Holdings LLC, founded by partners Newcastle Investment Corporation and TaylorMade Golf Company Incorporated. It will be part of Lake Nona’s 300-acre Sports & Performance District.

And for those gorgeous days when you’re craving adventure on the water, you’ll want to check this out in one of two new community parks Tavistock plans to build in Lake Nona.

There’ll be a floating water park just south of the Orlando VA Medical Center. The company is partnering with Wibit Sports to install the unusual attraction on a man-made lake.

Wibit water parks usually feature a series of interconnected floating walkways with climbing walls, slides, monkey bars and other activities. The Lake Nona park will include a five-story climbing tower as well as a cable-supported wakeboarding facility.

An opening date hasn’t yet been announced. But you can be sure that more fun is on the way.