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80 x April 6 - 19, 2017 x www.SouthwestOrlandoBulletin.com<br />
Changes are underway on<br />
International Drive, the tourist corridor in<br />
Southwest Orlando. On a positive note,<br />
the Orange County Board of County<br />
Commissioners approved the I-Drive<br />
2040 Vision Plan zoning. But more disappointing<br />
was the closure of Artegon<br />
Marketplace, a little more than two<br />
years after its debut.<br />
New Zoning for I-Drive<br />
Aiming to develop a shared vision for<br />
the International Drive area, Orange<br />
County Mayor Teresa Jacobs appointed<br />
a Steering Review Group of I-Drive<br />
stakeholders committed to keeping the<br />
corridor as a global tourism destination.<br />
The county commissioners accepted the<br />
vision plan in November 2015.<br />
“The vision is highlighting an important<br />
district for Orange County,” said<br />
Alberto Vargas, manager of the<br />
Orange County Planning Division. “It’s a<br />
world destination.”<br />
Vargas said the hope is that local residents,<br />
who now avoid the area because<br />
of traffic, will come and live near there<br />
GROWING<br />
for reasons of convenience. It could become<br />
the downtown of Orange County.<br />
He explained that millennials are more<br />
interested in living in an urban environment<br />
and not the suburban setting.<br />
They prefer Uber and bike riding to car<br />
ownership.<br />
GAINS & PAINS<br />
I-Drive to Undergo Changes<br />
From Millenial-Friendly Developments to Business Changes<br />
by Debra Wood<br />
Artegon<br />
Marketplace<br />
on International<br />
Drive has<br />
closed. A few<br />
surrounding<br />
businesses<br />
remain open.<br />
“The code will create predictability,<br />
which the development community likes,”<br />
Vargas said.<br />
In February, the commissioners approved<br />
the I-Drive District Overlay<br />
Zone. Different parts of the 3,500-acre<br />
International Drive district in Orange<br />
County will have eight subdistricts with<br />
different zoning going forward.<br />
“The idea behind the International<br />
Drive’s new code format is turning it into<br />
an urban-form, better scaled for pedestrian<br />
environment and equipped for interconnectivity,<br />
and, more importantly, more<br />
predictability of what happens where,”<br />
Vargas said. “That thriving urban environment<br />
is almost nonexistent right now.”<br />
New buildings will be built closer to<br />
the street. Existing businesses may be in<br />
noncompliance but will be allowed to<br />
continue operations. Same with helicopter<br />
tour businesses. The current ones can<br />
stay, but no new ones will be allowed.<br />
The county expects some redevelopment.<br />
There are hotel properties currently<br />
in planning. When redevelopment<br />
occurs or any new construction, businesses<br />
will have to build closer to the<br />
street. Currently, property in the district<br />
is selling for $1 million per acre, and on<br />
I-Drive it’s $2 million per acre, according<br />
to Vargas.<br />
“Property is almost not available,”<br />
Vargas said.<br />
I-Drive is not being widened. County<br />
officials analyzed what was failing with
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