Hilton to build in Bonnet Creek area

[goofy4dvc]

I just received this daily update from the Orlando Business Journal. Traffic will certainly increase at the junction of I-4 and Buena Vista!


Hilton to build 1,500-room hotel complex near Disney World
Orlando Business Journal - 2:21 PM EDT Wednesday
Hilton Hotels Corp. has big plans for a new complex near the Walt Disney World resort.

Using a design concept similar to Marriott's Grande Lakes Resort and Starwood's Walt Disney World Dolphin and Swan, Hilton said Wednesday it plans to build a combination complex that includes a 1,000-room Hilton and a 500-room Waldorf-Astoria, a hotel brand new to Central Florida.

The hotels will target the upscale meetings market, offering 145,000 square feet of meeting space, most of which -- 115,000 square feet -- will be located in a separate conference facility, along with an 18-hole Rees Jones golf course and a 25,000-square-foot spa and fitness center. The golf course will open prior to the hotels.

Each hotel will have its own meeting space, 25,000 square feet in the Hilton and 11,000 square feet in the Waldorf-Astoria. The largest ballroom will be 36,000 square feet.

Groundbreaking is set for late 2006, and an opening scheduled for summer 2009. No price for the project was announced.

GEM Realty Capital, Inc., a Chicago-based real estate investment company that invests in private-market and publicly traded real estate, along with Merrill Lynch Global Principal Investments and an unnamed private investment company will partner with Bonnet Creek Venture Ltd. and Hilton (NYSE: HLT) to develop and own the resort.

Bonnet Creek Venture, a joint venture between Brooksville Development Corp. and the estate of the original owner of the property, will oversee construction and ensure delivery of the project.

The properties will be managed by Hilton Hotels Corp.

Hilton's Waldorf-Astoria Collection was created earlier this year to extend the brand and cachet of the historic New York hotel of the same name. Created with an art deco design, the new hotel, Hilton's first since the original, will include legendary names such as Peacock Alley, the Bull & Bear, Sir Harry's Bar and Oscar's, all signature food and beverage locations found in the original.

Bonnet Creek, a 482-acre, mixed-use resort development that sits within Orange County, will have a total of 2,400 hotel rooms, 1,600 time share units and a Rees Jones-designed golf course. Bordered by Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort to the west and Interstate 4 to the east, access to the property is through Buena Vista Drive, a main artery connecting the Walt Disney World attractions.

[Blue&Gold]

Now we really need Disney to open a "fifth gate."

[Muushka]

Very interesting. And I didn't realize that Bonnet Creek was also going to have hotel rooms. I thought it was a TS only.

[jdvm]

The Bonnet Creek piece of property is very, very large. Fairfield's Bonnett Creek Resort is just a small piece of it. Not sure whether there will be any other timeshare/vacation clubs built back there.
john

[Blue&Gold]

It will be interesting to see how the infrastructure handles the additional guests on Buena Vista Drive... Can't see Disney extending Disney bus service to these hotels because the will be a threat to the on-site hotels. But, then again, if Hilton ponies up enough $$$, Disney may put them in the bus routes to keep the cars off the roads.

[carolina_yankee]

That's defnitely going to be a huge load of cars, but I suspect the Disney roadways can handle it. After all, there's probably what, 100,000 people on property on a moderate to heavy day? Maybe, 125,000 counting employees.

It's not much different than a major resort being built just off site. Look how close the Marriott World Center is. It feeds into the same roadways. Ultimately, I wouldn't be surprised of Bonnett Creek got their own buses, like the Downtown Disney resorts, but they definitely won't have the Disney name on them. Disney seems to have bent over backwards to do nothing for the property other than what the law requires. Don't blame 'em, either!

Dirk

[tjkraz]

I don't see how this would create any big traffic concerns.

People go to Disney to visit Disney--not to visit a Waldorf Astoria. This is just another lodging choice for guests. Some guests will opt for these new destinations instead of the Grand Floridian, Yacht Club or some other off-site option.

Sure there will probably be some moderate increase in guest traffic given the stated convention marketplace, but nothing substantial. Mostly you're just shifting pre-destined customers from one hotel to another.

Besides, Disney already has about 30,000 resort rooms on-site, and that doesn't include the DTD resorts. 1500 new rooms is less than a 5% increase property-wide.

[soozaay]

just wanted to add this article I just read on Mouseplanet:

Bonnet Creek property to grow with two new Hilton resorts
That large parcel of property that Disney was never able to buy is pushing another thorn into Disney's side. The Bonnet Creek Resort—482 acres bounded by I-4, Buena Vista Drive, the Caribbean Beach Resort and the Osceola Parkway—will be the site of two new high-rise hotels slated to open in the summer of 2009.

Last Wednesday, Hilton Hotels Corporation announced plans to build a 1,000-room Hilton and a 500-room Waldorf-Astoria at the resort, co-owned by Brooksville Development Corp. and the estate of the late Taiwanese investor Ling Kai Kung. The two new resorts would join a 58-acre Fairfield Resorts timeshare property with 1,100 rooms on the site. Hilton hopes to break ground on the hotels by the end of the year.

A 115,000-square-foot conference facility, to be located between the hotels, will be shared by both in addition to having 25,000 (Hilton) and 11,000 (Waldorf) square feet of meeting space within the hotels themselves. The hotels will also share a 25,000 square foot spa and fitness center ant 5,000 square feet of specialty retail.

Both resorts will feature swimming pools overlooking the Bonnet Creek Resort's Rees Jones-designed golf course, which is expected to open before the hotels.

The Waldorf will include editions of many of the well-known restaurants and bars from the original in New York, such as Peacock Alley, the Bull & Bear, Sir Harry's Bar and Oscar's.

The resort is expected to max out at 2,400 hotel rooms and 1,600 time share units, which means that 900 hotel rooms and 500 time share units are yet to be spoken for.

While Disney does not own the Bonnet Creek Resort, the only way into and out of the resort is through Disney property. The access road to the property connects to Buena Vista Drive east of the Caribbean Beach Resort. Because the property is landlocked, the Reedy Creek Improvement District, Disney's governmental arm, which is responsible for public facilities on the property, must provide access and signage. However, since they're a governmental entity, they're not allowed to show favoritism toward one constituent over another. They have to provide equal access and equal signage. While they did make the Bonnet Creek signage a different color than the Disney signage, that's about the only differentiation that they could have made without jeopardizing their standing as a governmental body.

[Blue&Gold]

Besides, Disney already has about 30,000 resort rooms on-site, and that doesn't include the DTD resorts. 1500 new rooms is less than a 5% increase property-wide.

I still want them to open another park!:dancingba

[soozaay]

I still want them to open another park!:dancingba
THAT would be awesome! :clappingh

[Rozzie]

Susie--scary word popped up in the article you posted.

Highrise-----I just hope it doesn't take away some magic.......

I wonder the story with the timeshare units??

[carolina_yankee]

Susie--scary word popped up in the article you posted.

Highrise-----I just hope it doesn't take away some magic.......

I think we'll have to wait and see, but there are concerns among WDW fans that the buidlings might be visible from inside Epcot, like ToT is behind Morocco.

I don't think it will be too much of a problem, though - they will be a mile or so away. Besides, the Swan and Dolphin already obliterate France and Morocco at night, as these photo shows, so Disney can't complain too much!! (We can, though.)

http://carolinayankee.smugmug.com/photos/53289089-S.jpg

http://carolinayankee.smugmug.com/photos/53289126-S.jpg

Dirk

[soozaay]

Susie--scary word popped up in the article you posted.

Highrise-----I just hope it doesn't take away some magic.......

I wonder the story with the timeshare units??

I was concerned about the same this Robyn. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. :scary:

[Blue&Gold]

I think "highrise" in Central Florida has a different meaning than other places :)

[Rozzie]

I think we'll have to wait and see, but there are concerns among WDW fans that the buidlings might be visible from inside Epcot, like ToT is behind Morocco.

I don't think it will be too much of a problem, though - they will be a mile or so away. Besides, the Swan and Dolphin already obliterate France and Morocco at night, as these photo shows, so Disney can't complain too much!! (We can, though.)

http://carolinayankee.smugmug.com/photos/53289089-S.jpg

http://carolinayankee.smugmug.com/photos/53289126-S.jpg

Dirk

Hey Dirk, you brought up something intresting. I remember on one of our tours, (was it Segway? a guide book perhaps, who knows, old age ;) ) that the imagineers designed the ToT to blend in with the Morocco style---as they knew it would be visible. Close up, of course, they are different styles, but the color palette compliments each other from a distance. Now the Swan and Dolphin, well I am on the "what were they thinking" side of the fence.:tilt:

thanks for the pics!

[carolina_yankee]

Hey Dirk, you brought up something intresting. I remember on one of our tours, (was it Segway? a guide book perhaps, who knows, old age ;) ) that the imagineers designed the ToT to blend in with the Morocco style---as they knew it would be visible. Close up, of course, they are different styles, but the color palette compliments each other from a distance. Now the Swan and Dolphin, well I am on the "what were they thinking" side of the fence.:tilt:

thanks for the pics!
I think it's more like "What was Eisner thinking?" As I understand it, that whole S/D thing was his idea. I like the hotels, but they overwhelm the whole property. You can see them on the approach, and they just don't say "Disney."

You're right about ToT and Morocco. I never noticed it until I stood on the path by the Odyssey building. It's almost a perfect line-up and the color matches perfectly. I have a pic,

http://carolinayankee.smugmug.com/photos/74380255-S-1.jpg

Dirk