Last night, the Planning Division of the Orange County Government held a community meeting for Horizon West area residents for Disney’s affordable housing project. This was the second community meeting held for the project. Typically, there is only one community meeting during the conventional rezoning process, but Disney agreed to a second community meeting following resident opposition at the February 15th Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.
The community meeting was broken down into two segments. The first 35 minutes of the planned 60-minute meeting was an informational session to provide background on the project. From there, attendees were invited to ask questions at information stations, with experts from various areas of the project in attendance to answer questions. Information Stations ranged from the design of the community to the management of the housing project, traffic infrastructure to public safety, and schools. Representatives from Walt Disney World also had a table where they were available to residents throughout the entire duration of the community meeting to talk about the project.
In speaking with Orange County officials, this type of format is not common for community meetings, but the county finds the format helpful in situations where there is a large group of attendees who are opposed to a project and have strong opinions. Officials said that it helps to keep a calm and productive meeting.
Indeed, during the informational session, a number of restless residents shouted out questions to the various presenters as tensions started to rise a bit in the room. Orange County officials reminded the residents of the format of the meeting while reminding them that they had an opportunity to learn more at the Information Stations, as well as voice their concerns at an upcoming Board of County Commissioners meeting.
A handful of residents showed up with signs that they wore around their necks saying “No thanks we’re full. No more apartments in Horizon West”. It seemed like the majority of residents in attendance were against the affordable housing project.
According to Disney, the affordable housing initiative has been in the works for several years, and the current project is “the right opportunity and the right time to take action” to support those who live and work in Central Florida. A recent study revealed that there is a record-high number of renters who are cost-burdened, including an all-time high of renters who are spending more than 50% of their income on housing. In order to avoid being rent-burdened, a household would need to bring in roughly $100,000 annually to afford housing in Orlando, according to February 2024 data from Zillow.
Back in 2019, Disney was a member of the Orange County Housing for All Task Force put together by Mayor Jerry Demings. The task force identified a need to create more than 30,000 new housing units that were either labeled as affordable or attainable based on household income metrics.
Going back to the project itself, multiple pieces of concept art showcasing the design and details of the project were on display. In total, plans call for 1,410 units in the development, with 1,000 units dedicated to the affordable housing project. Of those 1,000 units, the majority will be dedicated to families in the 80% Area Median Income range, which could be a household income of $49,150 up to nearly $90,000. Only 11% of the housing affordable housing units would be allocated for families at the lowest allowable AMI range.
The community will feature two entrances along Hartzog Road and one on Avalon Road. In speaking with representatives for traffic infrastructure, adjustments to the Avalon Road entrance are already in the works based on community feedback. Improvements to Avalon Road will more than support the increase in expected traffic from the community, according to officials. There are no planned widening projects for Hartzog Road.
The development will have two amenity buildings and open spaces totaling more than 20 acres. If approved, the project is anticipated to begin construction this fall, open the first units in 2026, and take around 5 years to be fully built out. Disney’s role in the project has been to help with the design and donation of the property. Disney does not stand to directly benefit financially from the project.
Within the community, there will be many small and medium-sized parks for residents to enjoy and a large north-to-south-oriented green space where food trucks, festivals, and art events can be held.
There will be multiple building concepts and designs. As far as living spaces, there will be everything from junior 1-bedroom spaces up to 4-bedroom offerings mixed across housing types such as apartments, flats, and townhome-style layouts. More than 80% of the units will be will be 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom apartments. The junior 1-bedroom suite is proposed to be 576 sqft, and the largest 4-bedroom/3-bath unit would be about 1,900 sqft.
Central Florida community leaders have voiced support for Disney’s affordable housing initiative.
As we work to address the housing crisis as a community, collaboration among public, private, and non-profit leaders is critical to develop innovative solutions and drive broad impact for our residents. The affordable housing project on Hartzog Road epitomizes this dynamic.
The commitment by Walt Disney World to the Hartzog Road Attainable Housing Community will have a tremendous impact on many of the people and organizations we serve, relieving the burden of residents who spend most of their paychecks on rent.
Currently many of the businesses we represent are struggling to recruit and retain workers due to the limited supply of affordable and attainable housing in Orange County. […] Ensuring affordable housing is available for West Orange residents is critical to the success of our County and will help grow small businesses and bring long-awaited amenities to the residents of Horizon West.
Disney’s commitment to this much needed project will increase and diversify the housing supply creating a positive impact on our region’s socioeconomic mobility. This also creates a unique opportunity for our region to serve as a model for other communities across the country who are also facing affordable housing challenges.
Walt Disney World Resort released the following statement after the meeting:
We thank the residents who were able to attend tonight’s community meeting, and we also appreciate the many individuals who have told us how excited they are about this initiative. We know that affordable housing is a top priority for leaders in Orange County, and we take great pride in contributing this land to make a lasting impact.
The next steps for the project include a Board of County Commissioners meeting on March 26th where the Board will vote to advance the project through to the state for comments before the plans return to the county and Planning & Zoning Board for final votes. The community meeting last night marked the end of the planned community meeting phase.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!