Orlando timeshare giant David Siegel’s Central Florida Investments Inc. has sold another prime local property — this time to an apartment developer.
The Orlando-based entity, which is the parent company of Westgate Resorts, sold a 5.66-acre property at 5905 Caravan Court in Orlando for $10 million, Orange County records show. Westgate, with nearly $1 billion in annual revenue and 4,000 local employees, is one of the region’s largest privately held firms and one of its largest employers.
The buyer in the transaction was Grand National Apartments Owner LP, an entity related to Wellington-based developer Bainbridge Cos.
The parcel is just east of the Kirkman Road entrance to Universal Studios Orlando and a short distance to the interchange of Interstate 4 and Kirkman Road. It contains a parking lot and cluster of buildings that formerly housed the Mystery Fun House attraction and the Florida Visitors Bureau.
Central Florida Investments Inc. bought the parcel in 1983 for $800,000.
“The sale of the Mystery Funhouse property represents the end of a very special era in our company’s history in Central Florida. I opened this property in 1976, and I am extremely proud of the joy we brought to countless families over the decades while we operated this family-friendly attraction,” Siegel told Orlando Business Journal. “We wish Bainbridge well in their endeavors to build a luxury residential project on this site.”
Bainbridge Cos. executives were unavailable for comment.
Bainbridge Cos. has been an active developer of multifamily properties in the Orlando metro, including a five-story, 367-unit apartment complex at 7575 Universal Blvd. near its newly acquired property and several in the Lake Nona region.
Meanwhile, the property is not the first that Siegel’s company and its related entities have flipped in recent months in favor of new development.
Siegel previously told OBJ in September 2021 that he’s selling some of his Central Florida properties in a market that’s “definitely hotter” now than it was in 2005, a time that’s considered a high-water mark for Orlando real estate prices.
Siegel said he owns thousands of acres outside of his timeshare empire.
Recent transactions or deals under contract include:
If Bainbridge ultimately should develop the property as apartments, it would join an Orlando marketplace where that product type continues to be in demand.
Marcus & Millichap in its second-quarter 2022 Orlando multifamily report said the area is expected to add 250,000 residents in the next five years, and the market has continued to be a destination for relocations.
“Looking ahead, there is little reason to expect demand will slow in the near term, even as rent growth remains in double digits. Orlando will outpace most major metros in job growth this year, and in-migration is projected to accelerate even further during the next five years, suggesting tight conditions will remain for the foreseeable future.”
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