Leasing and development materials reviewed by ENR describe the project as fully entitled and designed, with groundbreaking targeted for the second quarter of 2026 and opening projected for late 2028.

“JMA Ventures has a clear vision for what Westcourt Orlando can become, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to help bring it to life,” Jeff Justen, Turner vice president and general manager, said in the company’s announcement.

“A project like this demands coordination across dozens of trades working simultaneously on very different building types—that’s the challenge we’re built for,” Justen added.

Construction Sequencing Will Drive Delivery

Overlapping hospitality, residential, office, entertainment and structured parking components are expected to require tightly phased procurement and trade coordination adjacent to an operating arena and an active downtown event district.

Early enabling work includes utility mapping, surveying and test piles for the deep foundation program. The contractor said work packages will be organized to promote broad participation across multiple components, creating opportunities for local subcontractors and trade partners.

The developer team is led by JMA Ventures, with Machete Group Inc., a sports and entertainment venue advisory firm, and the DeVos family, owners of the Orlando Magic. Baker Barrios is the project’s architecture, planning and urban design firm.

Plans call for an 11-story, 265-key Kimpton-branded hotel, 269 high-rise residential units, a 3,500-capacity Live Nation-operated venue, 125,000 sq ft of entertainment and dining-focused retail space, up to 310,000 sq ft of Class A office space, 1.5 acres of landscaped open space and a seven-story, 1,140-stall parking structure.

Project materials describe 45,000 sq ft of meeting and conference space distributed across the development, including 16,000 sq ft within the Kimpton-branded hotel and a 6,000-sq-ft glass-enclosed sports court and event space atop the office building.

Additional event capacity would come from a planned 3,500-capacity Live Nation-operated venue. A separate International Council of Shopping Centers case study describes a 65,000-sq-ft event venue and festival plaza tied to the broader entertainment district.

The office tower includes a 17,000-sq-ft rooftop amenity level with a fitness facility, tenant lounge, conference room, coworking space, outdoor terrace and other features, according to leasing materials.

---

RELATED

San Antonio Voters Approve Plans for $1.5B Downtown Spurs Arena

---

Public Funding Helped Move Project Forward

Public-sector participation has been central to the project’s advancement. Orlando’s Community Redevelopment Agency, under an updated developers’ agreement reviewed by ENR, increased its funding from $1.7 million to $2.5 million to support building the meeting space and address rising construction costs.

In exchange, the joint venture must commence construction of the event space within three years of the agreement’s effective date. The city will be able to host as many as 10 government- or civic-related events annually without paying a facility rental fee—seven at the hotel space and three at the 65,000-sq-ft venue—according to the case study.

The tax-increment structure allows the city to reimburse SED Partners for property taxes collected on the development site. For the first four years, 100% of the tax-increment revenue generated by the project would be recaptured, then transition to 80% recapture until Jan. 1, 2042, with a total cap of $40 million. The cap would fall to $35 million if the office component is not built, and payments would begin after the first project component is completed, the case study outlines.

---

RELATED

Mortenson Picked to Build $1.3B Tampa Bay Baseball Stadium

---

Housing and Retail Add Civic Commitments

A cost-benefit analysis projects the development will generate more than $860 million in economic output and support about 800 workers on site at peak—roughly 1,600 direct construction jobs over full buildout—before adding 3,000 permanent jobs annually upon delivery.

The development includes 10 attainable housing units for at least 10 years for households earning 80% or less of area median income, set at $69,500 for a three-person household in Orange County under HUD's 2024 income limits.