Plans Overview for NeoCity Town Center from New Developers

NeoCity’s upcoming performing arts center will be anchored by prominent architecture in the waterfront entertainment zone.

Frank Sciame, the founder of Sciame Construction, gave Osceola commissioners a preview of his plans for the $1 billion NeoCity town center on Monday. He also revealed for the first time that he has partnered with a co-developer who has decades of know-how and a career portfolio that surpasses 30 million square feet.

Institutional-grade real estate in large urban areas is owned and managed by Edward J. Minskoff Equities or EJME. The developer and Sciame have collaborated to produce prestigious office buildings and mixed-use projects such as 51 Astor Place, which includes the IBM Watson headquarters, and 101 Avenue of the Americas.

He selected Minskoff because the developers shared a vision for a vibrant project that would bring housing, offices, retail, and performing arts to the tech district and both saw NeoCity as a blank canvas. Edward Minskoff was impressed by Osceola County’s commitment to luring high-paying tech jobs to NeoCity by making investments in the NeoCity Academy stem school, the Center for NeoVation, and the county’s first Class-A office building.

*Three additional renderings from SHoP Architects were unveiled by Sciame, and they expand upon the framework laid out in the original NeoCity concept by Perkins+Will.*

Energy-saving measures like solar panels and green roofs are some of the characteristics they kept. The waterfront plaza would be anchored by the performing arts center and the nearby hotel, and a pedestrian bridge would cross the lake to connect the cultural hub to the mixed-use neighborhood. As per Senior VP Steve Colletta, smart technology will play a significant role but will be incorporated in a way that allows for development and flexibility in the future.

“You don’t plan it for today, right?” he said. You design the infrastructure that will support future developments. NeoCity will therefore have the necessary infrastructure in place to handle the rapid advancement of technology.

As an illustration, parking garages with vertiports will be built to enable high-speed, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to fly between NeoCity and Lake Nona.

The country's development deal with DSUS, which was created by Korean tech tycoon Young-Hwa Song and sold to Sciame, will need to be modified in order to accommodate the new developer, though.

The original transfer agreement's conceptual development plan for Phase 1 included 1,150 residences with almost 400,000 square feet of amenities and common area as well as a 1.4 million square foot retail and entertainment complex along Neocity's lakefront. The town center would have a commercial office tower, a dining and shopping area with a movie theater, a 200-room conference hotel with around 100,000 square feet of convention and exhibition space, and an entertainment venue with a 700-seat event center.

According to Sciame, the master plan must be revised in order to reflect the post-pandemic market conditions. That probably means there will be fewer homes and office space.

While the hotel and office towers may be taller, the first phase would comprise three mixed-use residential structures with a maximum height of 85 feet. A primary thoroughfare will be built by the developer along NeoCity Way that will connect to the cultural center, where the performing arts complex will serve as an architectural landmark for the waterfront.

Colletta stated that the initial 25 acres of Phase One were very substantially focused on work-live-play community, centered on the public experience.” There will be a wide range of food and drink options, shopping, shaded plazas, public art, and access to lake amenities, in addition to shops and shaded plazas for people to enjoy performing arts. And it’s the kind of neighborhood that, in their opinion, will foster a sense of place that will encourage investment and job growth in Osceola County.

They envision some of the performing arts programs spilling onto the public plaza after a succession of restaurants, retail stores, and grocery stores line the edge of the sea. Additionally, there are hotel and office components, as well as, of course, access to the lake.

-In its lobbies and outdoor areas, Minskoff is reputed for displaying substantial pieces of public art.

Due to the transfer of ownership from Song to Sciame, the Board of County Commissioners decided to grant DSUS a 120-day extension in April. The exclusivity period was changed in the conveyance agreement on Monday by a board modification that aligns it with the Project Milestones specified in the Original Agreement.

Board Chairman Brandon Arrington remarked, “these world-class developers design, develop, maintain, and refurbish some of the most recognizable buildings around the world, and for them to be leading the efforts to develop NeoCity’s City Center is further confirmation that NeoCity is a regional game-changer.”

“It’s the right place, the right position, the right time, and the right state,” Colletta continued. And as you may know, we have high hopes for the future.