Walt Disney World’s affordable housing project is heading back to the Orange County Board of County Commissioners. Last week, Walt Disney World was notified that its Conservation Area Impact application for its affordable housing project was completed. The project will have proposed impacts on Class 1 wetlands, requiring a return to the Orange County Board of County Commissioners for final approval or denial. No work on the proposed site is allowed until the final approval.
According to the Orange County website and August 13th communication, a hearing date has not yet been scheduled. Disney had to file additional documents throughout the process to answer questions from the Orange County Environmental Protection Division. Those questions have been satisfactorily answered, and the application is considered complete as far as the OCEPD is concerned.
There has been strong resident opposition to the project, including some tense moments at the March 2024 meeting where residents felt that Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings forced a premature vote on the project.
Disney does not stand to benefit financially from the project, instead saying that they’re answering the call from the county for more affordable and attainable housing. Disney hopes that their efforts can inspire other companies and organizations in Central Florida and beyond.
We are responding to Orange County leadership’s call to bring more positive change to our community and have a plan that will make a meaningful impact. We are pleased with tonight’s vote and look forward to continuing our efforts to bring affordable housing to Central Florida.
The affordable housing project is privately funded, with the developer committing to pay millions of dollars in impact fees after agreeing to forego all eligible fee waivers.
Going back to the project itself, plans call for 1,410 units in the development, with 1,000 units dedicated to affordable housing. 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. Adjustments to the Avalon Road entrance are already being worked on 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.
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!