ORLANDO, Fla. — Two companies that have been instrumental in creating the mixed-use development adjacent to Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, the Chase Center and Thrive City in San Francisco and TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, have been selected to spearhead the sports and entertainment district adjacent to Amway Center, the Orlando Magic and SED Development  LLC announced Monday.

The project, which will be built on the 8.43-acre site at the corner of West Church Street and Hughey Avenue, is expected to include a 260-room full-service hotel with 16,000 square feet of meeting and conference space, 270 residential units, 200,000 square feet of office space, 125,000 square feet of retail space, a 3,500-capacity live-event venue, an urban town square, and more than 1,100 parking spaces. 

“JMA Ventures and Machete Group are simply the best of the best," Magic Chief Executive Officer Alex Martins said. "We are thrilled to have them take the reins and guide the sports and entertainment district into something Orlando will be proud to have in the heart of downtown,” said Alex Martins, chief executive officer of the Orlando Magic.

A start date, timeline for construction and completion date have not been announced. In late 2022, the Magic had indicated that the project would begin in late 2023. Once plans are finalized, those types of details will be more clear, Martins said.

The Magic have discussed plans for a sports and entertainment district across from the Amway Center for about a decade. During that time, the parking lot and police department headquarters on the site were demolished, the lot sat vacant for a time, and it has been used for restricted parking for the past few years. Over that period, I-4 Ultimate was under construction in that vicinity, and the COVID-19 pandemic slowed business throughout the country.

JMA Ventures is a commercial real estate development and investment firm with a portfolio of hospitality, resort, residential, retail, office, and commercial projects. One of those projects, the mixed-use Downtown Commons adjacent to Golden 1 Center, home of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, is credited with helping to revitalize downtown Sacramento.

“Central Florida is a fantastic market for this type of mixed-use development, and this project will further energize downtown Orlando," said Todd Chapman, CEO of JMA Ventures. "We look forward to working with the Orlando community to bring the sports and entertainment district to life."

Machete Group was key to the development of the Amway Center, Chase Center and the adjacent Thrive City mixed-use district in San Francisco and TQL Stadium.

“As downtown Orlando continues its dynamic growth, we are excited to bring the sports and entertainment district to life,” said David Carlock, founder and principal of Machete Group. “We would like to thank the DeVos family for the opportunity to work on this project together.” 

While the traffic on foot and by car can be a nightmare during event nights, local business owners say that’s a good thing. Casey Preston, who owns The District Gastrobar along Church Street, said he is hopeful that the plan will bring stability to surrounding businesses.

“Hopefully it brings a lot more traffic, outside of just the soccer stadium and Amway," he said. "Our business fluctuates based on what’s going on there, I mean they get that going we should see a consistent flow of traffic. That will be good for all the businesses."

While fluctuation is a normal part of business, Preston said the stability could change the culture of the downtown area. and make it a place people will want to frequent more often — even if there isn’t an event happening that night.

But for some, though, the thought of establishing a new entertainment district when there is still a homeless issue that the city needs to deal with, is worrisome. Preston said he hopes the new district will help with that as well.

“I won't say problem, but we do get a lot of transients that come in and out of the restaurant. We have a time controlling it,” he said, “Hopefully, they can fix that too once the plans start.”