The Creative Village team regularly interfaces with an active group of digital media and creative class companies that already call Orlando home, brainstorming about how we can make Creative Village the ideal “hub and home” for the creative class and give Orlando a competitive advantage in retaining and attracting talent.

For more information, please contact Sherry Gutch at sherry.gutch@cityoforlando.net.

Phase One at Creative Village was completed in 2022 and represents more than $700 million in development activity, including 350,000 square feet of higher education space, 176,000 square foot Electronic Arts Orlando Studio, 640 student housing beds, 957 mixed-income and market-rate apartments and 2.3-acre Luminary Green park.   Phase One represents almost 8,000 students, 700-1,000 high-wage jobs and approximately 2,100 residents. Between UCF, Valencia and the Electronic Arts Orlando Studio, 2,000 game developers (professionals and students) are concentrated at Creative Village in downtown Orlando.

Full build-out of Creative Village is planned to take 15-20 years.

The master redevelopment of Creative Village represents several core principles and best practices of responsible and sustainable development.  This urban infill site was formerly used as a sports arena with large surface parking lots.  Through master redevelopment efforts, the former Amway Arena was demolished using environmentally conscious methods and the land has been repurposed into an urban, walkable, mixed-use, mixed-income and transit oriented district.  Creative Village is a dense and diverse urban environment.  The urban design and development program help address key social and economic factors including health and wellness, a variety of housing types, access to public education, parks and open space, mobility and transportation choices, economic development, environmental sustainability and smart city initiatives.  Master planning efforts, including the Mobility Plan, Infrastructure Master Plan and Parks and Open Space Master Plan, set forth a long term framework for responsible and sustainable development.  For example, the Creative Village Mobility Plan is keenly focused on transit oriented development and reducing reliance on the automobile by facilitating convenient transportation choices such as walking, biking, ride sharing, bus rapid transit and commuter rail.  Vertical development of new buildings at Creative Village provides opportunities for many sustainable features including energy efficient construction materials, energy saving appliances, efficient building systems, EV charging stations, LED lighting, low-E glass, low irrigation landscaping and recycling.

The job creation study for Creative Village estimates an additional 6,500 jobs in the local economy during the construction period. Upon full build-out, Creative Village will represent more than $2 billion in new development and will have created close to 5,000 permanent jobs, with more than 8,000 total Creative Village related jobs in the local economy.

More than $20 million was secured for Phase I infrastructure, including federal grants and CVD equity investment. The majority of this work was funded by a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery II (TIGER II) grant. The Creative Village TIGER II grant award represented an important vote of confidence in the project from the federal government. Construction on the LYNX LYMMO Lime Line and related infrastructure was completed in 2017.

Proximity to SunRail and LYNX Central Station will provide Creative Village and Parramore with improved regional access to jobs, education, social services, government facilities, entertainment, civic and cultural assets, and many other opportunities. The expansion of the LYNX LYMMO bus circulator system was completed in 2017 and serves Creative Village, Parramore and the west side of Downtown Orlando.