Here’s a video of the new vacation villas and Crystal Lagoon on the northern part of the property:
Exclusive: Dart Interests plans vacation rental resort and hotel at Grand Cypress
By Richard Bilbao and Jack Witthaus – Orlando Business Journal
Jan 12, 2021, 8:20am EST
Dart Interests has a major project in the works at the 1,100-acre Grand Cypress Resort complex near Walt Disney World.
The Dallas-based owner of the Grand Cypress property announced plans for a new $1 billion-plus vacation rental resort and a 433-room luxury Hilton-brand hotel set to open in summer 2023. Dubbed Evermore Orlando Resort, the property will include 10,000 bedrooms spread among homes, villas, flats and the hotel, alongside other amenities.
Here’s what’s included in the $500 million-plus first phase:
- 69 vacation rental homes with five to 11 bedrooms
- 76 four-bedroom vacation rental flats
- 41 two- and four-bedroom vacation rental villas
- The 443-room Conrad Orlando at Evermore hotel by Hilton
- Recreational amenities including water features, restaurants, meeting space and more
The following phases of the project will be built over the next six to eight years, executives told Orlando Business Journal. The make up of the future units and amenities will depend on market condition at the time of design.
Vertical construction on the project is expected to begin in February. The company began doing infrastructure work to prepare the land in 2018. In 2019, Orlando Business Journal first reported a Conrad hotel was in the works at the Grand Cypress Resort property.
“We are creating the first-ever wholly owned, large-scale community of purpose-built vacation rental homes and operating them with hotel-quality standards and world-class resort amenities,” said Christopher Kelsey, president of Dart Interests, in a prepared statement.
The Conrad hotel will come with 51 suites and 10 family suites, 40,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, a spa and multiple dining options including a signature rooftop experience. The Evermore resort will boast more than 150,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor event space.
Other amenities include a 20-acre tropical beach complex with the Evermore Bay, an eight-acre water amenity from Crystal Lagoon, zero-entry swim area, bars, cabanas, fire pits, a water play area and rope swing. Dining amenities include a food hall and gourmet market, a casual resort restaurant, a two-story wedding and events venue called Boathouse, and a new 18-hole course from Nicklaus Design, the golf course design/builder founded by pro golfer Jack Nicklaus.
The types of dining still are being considered, but likely will include a mixture of poolside bars with food options, an Italian-themed restaurant in the hotel, a tavern-style eatery and more, David Pace, president of Dart Interests Florida, the local office of Dart Interests, told OBJ. He said the rooftop restaurant is still in early design, but his vote is for a Mexican-style dining experience.
The development team includes:
- Dallas-based HKS Architects Inc. as the architect for the hotel
- Little Rock, Arkansas-based Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects as architect for the amenity buildings, restaurants and food hall
- Memphis, Tennessee-based LRK Inc. as architects for the homes.
- EDSA Inc. in Orlando and Dix.Hite + Partners Inc. in Longwood as the landscape architects
- San Francisco-based BAMO Inc. and Concord, Massachusetts-based Andersen-Miller Design Inc. providing interior design
- Orlando-based Evans Engineering Inc. as the civil engineer, and EXP in Maitland as the lighting consultant, based on documents filed during infrastructure/site work.
- No general contractor has been chosen yet.
Coming to light
The hotel segment of Dart’s project has been in the works over several years, and Dart officially filed paperwork with the state last year that included a site plan for the hotel plus supporting roadways and parking.
The Conrad flag is among Hilton’s higher-tiered products, with more than 40 locations worldwide. It’s often compared to the Waldorf Astoria brands of the company that are also luxury.
A U.S. News article described Conrad properties with upscale, state-of-the-art amenities such as fitness facilities and fine dining. “The brand even provides guests with custom (and sustainable) bath products, not to mention impeccable customer service,” said the article.
Much-needed construction
New construction creates jobs, making it an important regional economic driver.
That said, hotel construction has been softening in Central Florida since the start of the pandemic, which has driven down occupancy rates for hospitality properties. Through November, nonresidential construction, which includes hotels, was down 44%, according to a Dec. 22 New York-based Dodge Data & Analytics report.
Still, developers plan to build more hotels in Central Florida and the tourist corridor despite the challenges. However, that hasn’t translated to new construction starts, said Bill Finfrock, president of Apopka-based builder Finfrock, who isn’t involved in the Dart deal. Finfrock is Central Florida’s largest locally based general contractor.
“I don’t think people are chomping at the bit to do hotel construction,” Finfrock said. “But a year from now, this could be a very different story. I’m not seeing projects abandoned — just kicked down the road.”
In addition, there’s still demand for land for high-end hotel projects in Orlando, said Robbie McEwan, senior vice president of CBRE Group Inc. (NYSE: CBRE), who isn’t involved in the Dart deal. That said, McEwan has been involved in many high-profile hotel land deals in the Disney area, including the Hilton Orlando-Bonnet Creek Resort-Waldorf Astoria Orlando; the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Disney Springs Resort Area; and the JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort & Spa.
“It was doom and gloom six months ago from a lot of hotel people,” McEwan said. “But now things are on a much more positive note. We see people who have put development interest on hold who now are coming back and showing interest.”
