With the new year come new and renovated venues scheduled to open around Orlando. Here's a look at six upcoming properties.
1. The Orlando Magic’s new home, the 19,700-seat Amway Center, is scheduled to open this October. The downtown venue will include six club areas that can be booked during basketball games and other events. The 31,000-square-foot arena floor will also be available for meetings and trade shows.
2. The Peabody Orlando is slated to complete a $420 million expansion in October. The renovated 1,641-room hotel will feature 250,000 square feet of meeting space, including more than 99 meeting rooms and a nearly 55,000-square-foot ballroom. The property will also add 13 new dining and entertainment options throughout the hotel, convention space, and pool area.
3. Outdoor entertainment complex Pointe Orlando is planning to add Improv Comedy Club and Fat Fish Blue restaurant to its property this spring. The joint venture will span 14,000 square feet and be able to accommodate more than 700 guests. There will be a 300-seat theater, three private rooms, and an outdoor patio for 120. The New Orleans-themed restaurant will serve specialty items like jambalaya and gumbo, as well as burgers and salads.
4. Fusion Bistro Sushi & Sake Bar is an alfresco dining concept opening in Universal’s CityWalk in February. The casual 1,500-square-foot eatery will have a 10-person bar and seating for about 25. A robotic sushi-roll-making machine can be used for off-site catering and serves as many as 80 for receptions.
5. International Drive’s new Coco Key Hotel and Water Resort will be the first outdoor version of the national water park chain. The resort, slated for a May opening, will take over the space from a failed condo-hotel venture and reduce the room count from 400 to 373. Developers will also convert the on-site meeting space into an arcade and add 20,000 square feet to the pool area to create a 70,000-square-foot water park. Dining options and catering will be available.
6. Residential area 55 West is scheduled to open Heat, an upscale restaurant and lounge, on the ground level of its north tower this spring. The 5,797-square-foot former TGI Fridays will begin renovations later this month and once completed will be able to accommodate about 150 people. A centrally located clay oven will churn out a variety of fusion dishes ranging from Indian to French.
