Universal Expansion Plan??? Project LUPA???

[shiekra38]

I just don't see how Universal could make the parcel feel like it was part of the rest of the resort..they would have to do major construction on Universal BLVD and spend a whole lot of money to make it cohesive...not sure if it is worth it

 

[Felipe]

Very interesting info, ccfmioa! Thanks for the insight! :thumbs:

 

[Swiminn6]

What is Citywalk 2?

 

[natespf]

What is Citywalk 2?

Nothing... yet. Some people believe that IF Uni builds a detached 3rd gate it would also include a CityWalk type area as well as resort space.

 

[Frank Drackman]

Thanks ccfmioa! Very informative.

 

[Disneyhead]

What is Citywalk 2?

Nothing... yet. Some people believe that IF Uni builds a detached 3rd gate it would also include a CityWalk type area as well as resort space.

Since Universal has already bought the WnW real estate and has a plan in place to develop it with 2 large hotels and shopping/dining that will most likely happen before the 3rd gate/hotel/shopping/dining. CityWalk 2 would be on the WnW land. But it most likely would be called something other than CityWalk 2.

 

[natespf]

Most of the information available is old, but here is some art from Thomas Ent.

Master Plan.

Universal Pavilion.

Harbor Square site plan.

Harbor Square rendering.

Hotel rendering.

 

[Hockeyman55]

Where is that from and anyway to get a zoomed in view?

 

[natespf]

Where is that from and anyway to get a zoomed in view?

It was from their website http://www.thomasent.com but I have been trying to find a better version without any luck :doh:

 

[ParkRumors]

That's the same development that was proposed in 2007, from this article:

http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2007/08/13/story1.html?page=all

On Thomas Enterprises site you can see "The Boulevard Orlando" and "Sand Lake Pavilion" are the same project. The master plan is basically the same as the documents in the first post of this thread, just colorized to show potential developments.

 

[natespf]

That's the same development that was proposed in 2007, from this article:

http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2007/08/13/story1.html?page=all

On Thomas Enterprises site you can see "The Boulevard Orlando" and "Sand Lake Pavilion" are the same project, and the only part Thomas Enterprises was developing was the section outlined in red. The master plan is basically the same as the documents in the first post of this thread, just colorized to show potential developments.

Yes, it's all old stuff.

 

[ParkRumors]

Ah, I see you edited your initial post pointing out it's old information. Initially all that was posted was the small master plan image and I was attempting to clarify. Carry on then.

 

[natespf]

Ah, I see you edited your initial post pointing out it's old information. Initially all that was posted was the small master plan image and I was attempting to clarify. Carry on then.

Sorry, I was having troubles with the copying and the pasting... it's all so confusing :bang:

 

[ccfmioa]

Nothing really better to see in that picture, I've done what I can and the main things I see are the 2nd golf course squeezed in between Univ Blvd to the west and south, Lockheed to the north and the new Kirkman to the east. The other major portion that's undeveloped at this time looks to have initially been planned Single family housing with maybe some neighborhood commercial, think Celebration. But that will not occur on that same site now, with the new zoning conditions.

The Universal Pavilion is a different project than the Sand Lake Pavilion. That project is showing on what is still Lockheed property in that upper left hand corner. And since the picture shows Universal Boulevard still labeled Republic its quite old.

 

[SkipperGarrett]

Most of the information available is old, but here is some art from Thomas Ent.

Harbor Square rendering.

The Harbor Square complex is now The District Universal Blvd. -- these were the original plans for it. I was in the elevator at The District the other day and the license for the elevator is made out to "Harbor Square".

 

[natespf]

The Harbor Square complex is now The District Universal Blvd. -- these were the original plans for it. I was in the elevator at The District the other day and the license for the elevator is made out to "Harbor Square".

Hum, they are very similar too. If this is the original location for that project they mixed up East and West on the site plan, makes it look to be on the North side of Universal Blvd instead of South. I was looking for it to fit across the street

Included with those was Lake Kay down the street (also not on the old LM land)

 

[Thatguyoverwhere]

So.... I may be having a total ADD moment here, but how exactly do these things relate to the possibility of UOR re-acquiring the unused land across International Drive for theme park-related purposes? Do any concepts exist for possible attractions in these plots of land? Or for that matter, does anybody want to talk about what they would want to see in a possible third park?

 

[natespf]

So.... I may be having a total ADD moment here, but how exactly do these things relate to the possibility of UOR re-acquiring the unused land across International Drive for theme park-related purposes? Do any concepts exist for possible attractions in these plots of land? Or for that matter, does anybody want to talk about what they would want to see in a possible third park?

Sorry I got sidetracked with the surrounding area

But it seems there is no new information for the area other than the rezone earlier this year. All the previous projects fell through, so I don't know if they are getting something going or just trying to maximize the value of the property before selling.

Originally Universal had high hopes of 2 more gates, 2 golf courses, and 10,000 additional rooms in resorts on the land. So you could really let your imagination go wild with that one :thumbs:

 

[TylerDurden]

Any ideas on what the second two gates would have been? I'd have to think that it would be kind of hard to come up with fresh ideas for not just one, but two whole separate parks. Maybe some people who were following Universal's development pre-2001 know?

I would think that when Islands of Adventure was originally planned to be Cartoon World, Universal left a lot of potential themes un-tapped. That essentially left anything non-cartoon related to fill in the extra parks they were supposedly planning on. But Islands of Adventure isn't Cartoon World--it's themed to several different things all being vaguely tied into adventure and/or literature. Those just happen to be about the two broadest themes you could come up with--lots of IP's/theme park-friendly ideas happen to be based on ideas of adventure or literature.

For example, let's say they wanted a jungle-themed third-park (a la Animal Kingdom...makes sense to reflect the competition a little bit). This would have been neat and non-redundant with The Studios and Cartoon World adjacent. However, since Cartoons got the axe in favor of IOA, jungles are repetitive (since IOA has Jurassic Park). They could've also done a more realistic, DisneySea-type park, themed to exaggerated versions of real places--however, with IOA next door, that's now become repetitive due to Port of Entry and (more or less) Lost Continent (which wouldn't have existed in Cartoon World).

I feel like the wide variety of theming found in IOA kind of puts them in a corner. Obviously, the massive resort plans got cut around the time of construction since almost none of the original hotels made it to the final product. Maybe budgets got severely cut during the actual planning period and that's what led to putting everything on the table into IOA? Obviously nobody saw the success of Potter coming, and maybe they thought that whatever concepts for additional parks wouldn't be needed.

In any case, I don't see a third park coming any time soon. There's a lot that needs to be done to their existing parks first. But even if IOA and Universal were absolutely perfect and a third gate was to begin construction tomorrow, I don't know what kind of theme it would possibly implement. Maybe you guys have ideas.

 

[SpyderDan]

This looks to have been one giant red herring. Perhaps shame on us for getting excited prematurely?