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Festival Bay Mall I-Drive

Dec 1, 2009
487
19
Orlando
So i was over at Festival Bay Mall on I-Drive the other day two things I wanted to bring up about it one is in the back of the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World there is a huge hanging shark just like outside Jaws (sorry forgot to take photo) 2nd is I can't recall but people were saying the mall is going to close soon and anyway the birds have told me Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, Cinemark 20 Theatres, Universal Orlando store, Putting Edge Fun Center, and Ron Jon Surf Shop and going to stay but the rest of the mall is going to be torn down and remade into like a strip mall
 
The redevelopment of the mall is going to be designed by Paragon Outlets (link), and apparently it will be completely open-air. Their plan is to "turn this enclosed mall inside-out and give it a brand-new format and façade." Below is a conceptual drawing they have posted on their site. I think it looks chic enough to finally be a legitimate competitor against Millenia, and perhaps it will entail with it some new developments around that area.

orlando2.jpg
 
So i was over at Festival Bay Mall on I-Drive the other day two things I wanted to bring up about it one is in the back of the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World there is a huge hanging shark just like outside Jaws (sorry forgot to take photo) 2nd is I can't recall but people were saying the mall is going to close soon and anyway the birds have told me Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, Cinemark 20 Theatres, Universal Orlando store, Putting Edge Fun Center, and Ron Jon Surf Shop and going to stay but the rest of the mall is going to be torn down and remade into like a strip mall

A large retailer has already been looking into this area to open a high volume prototype store. The 1.5 mile stretch from Sand Lake Rd to the outlet malls entrance is going to be a huge area of redevelopement over the next few years.
 
I was a big fan of Putting Edge when it first opened. Hopefully this new project will encourage them to renovate some things themselves.
 
what happened to this place?
I stopped by Bass Pro last night (Saturday night, St.Patricks day and Spring break) and ventured into the mall. There were maybe 15 open stores. The universal store was pretty dead, it didn't look well stocked (just a few t-shirt racks and stuffed animals that covered maybe 1/3 the store). There were more people in Bass Pro than in the rest of the mall (though I didn't go in Ron Jon or the Cinemark).
I hadn't been there in like 5 years (or whenever sharkboy and Lavagirl came out (don't ask)) and it was fairly crowded back then and all the stores were open. Last night was the exact opposite.
 
It's been dead for the past several years I've been here with more stores closing each year. The Universal Store is closing soon.

I haven't been in a while myself, but when I would see a movie it was here cause they have very cheap tix for the early showtimes.
 
Oh please speed this up! I can't tell you how much it COULD effect me.
 
I went to the mall for the first time last month to see the Universal Store and it was so f-ing creepy. I will post a pic I have dubbed as "Dawn of the Dead." This was on a Sunday in the middle of the day.

395802_10150608964784223_626244222_8753436_1207381475_n.jpg
 
Yes the Universal Store is closing inside the mall most store are while they get ready to tear it down and build again to more of an outside mall
 
A lot of malls in the Central Florida area seem to be like this. I was at the Florida Mall recently and while it wasn't as bad as that picture seems to indicate, I was surprised by how many empty stores there were. I guess one day, we won't have shopping malls at all.
 
I like that we're moving towards open air shopping centers. For whatever reason I greatly prefer them over malls. As well they seemed to fair better in the recession. The Winter Garden Village not only grew during the recession but opened up new stores. While the Fla Mall, Festival Bay, and West Oaks had tenants leaving in droves.
 
From Orlando Sentinel

Festival Bay plans $70M artists' marketplace

Festival Bay, already Orlando's most unusual mall, is about to become something unique to Central Florida.

The International Drive shopping complex will transform into Artegon Orlando, a $70 million bazaar, farmers market and beer hall. A grand opening is expected in November.

The interior will be gutted and made over into a market reminiscent of Istanbul's Grand Bazaar and New York City's Chelsea Market
, said Nick King, a principal with Paragon Outlet Partners, which is redeveloping the property.

About 200 artisans will create and sell their work in kiosks, stands and stores, Paragon said. Items for sale will range from jams to blown glass. There will be some traditional retail goods such as clothing as well.

"This is not going to be solely an artisan market, but we feel that artisans in there creating their product or their artwork and selling it gives the market a very real and unique feel," King said.

The 1.1-million-square-foot mall's anchor stores, which include Bass Pro Shop, Ron Jon Surf Shop and Putting Edge, will remain. A 45,000-square-foot indoor farmers market, open seven days a week, will take the space where Steve & Barry's University Sportswear once was.

There also will be a new German-themed restaurant and beer hall with on-site brewing. It will be opened by Berghoff Catering and Restaurant Group, a century-old Chicago institution.

Radbourne Skatepark, slated to open in the old Vans skating rink space this month, has run into some delays and should open later this year, King said.


The new concept for Festival Bay might be difficult to pull off, said Ray Hayhurst, senior director of retail-capital markets for Cushman & Wakefield in Orlando. It could be especially difficult for a farmers market to attract much business in a tourist area such as I-Drive. Festival Bay started a farmers market a few years ago, but it didn't last long.

Still, Hayhurst said, "It's interesting to see they're thinking outside the box from a traditional retail center. I think they need to do that."

Paragon said it already has seen a lot of interest from local artists. Steve Sless, a Paragon leasing partner, said the company is working with experts including a USDA architect who designs farmers markets. Sless said it can attract many locals, along with tourists staying in time shares and hotels that have kitchens.

"A lot of those people do not go out every single night," he said. "They do cook meals."

Artegon Orlando's hours have not been set but likely will be different from a traditional mall, Paragon said.

The makeover will bring an end to many of the mall's signature features.

The pond and fountains will be removed, as will the colorful mosaic poles spelling out Festival Bay's name. The pastel facades also will be gone, replaced by a more industrial look with glass, concrete and exposed steel.

This is new territory for Paragon, made up of executives who previously worked for outlet operator Prime Retail. In 2008 that group revamped an aging group of outlet strip centers across the street into a Mediterranean-style open-air plaza now called Orlando Premium Outlets — International Drive.

At least 12 million people annually visited that center by the time it was sold in 2010, King said. Still, surrounding properties, including Festival Bay, have had a tough time capitalizing on that traffic.

Paragon is part of the Lightstone Group, Prime Retail's former owner, which bought Festival Bay in 2010 for $20.4 million.

Festival Bay is one of several struggling malls to come under new ownership, including Orlando Fashion Square and West Oaks Mall in Ocoee.

Orlando Fashion Square recently posted renderings of a redeveloped mall with an Aloft hotel, but owner UP Development said through a spokesman plans depicted in those pictures are not set in stone. No deal has been reached with Aloft, which already plans a hotel in nearby downtown Orlando.
 
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