jjcollins
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 26, 1999
- Messages
- 1,394
Hi neighbours some breaking news from TCPALM news stand.
MickeyÂs resort is going to stay mini.
Disney officials have decided not to expand DisneyÂs Vero Beach Resort beyond the already completed first phase of the project and have put up for sale about 35 acres of undeveloped property, including 10 acres on the ocean.
Disney officials said Monday the company plans to concentrate its growth plans on its Orlando-based Walt Disney World complex, rather than its off-site vacation clubs in Vero Beach and Hilton Head, S.C.
"WeÂre looking to continue our efforts in our core businesses at Walt Disney World where the greatest demand for growth is, as told to us by our customers," said Mariska Elia, spokesperson for DisneyÂs vacation clubs.
The decision, she said, has nothing to do with the countryÂs economic downturn, a fall-off that prompted Disney earlier this year to announce 4,000 layoffs, including 1,400 salaried employees at Disney World.
In fact, Elia said, the Vero Beach resort has done "very well" and the company plans to finish selling its time-share units in about two years.
"There will be no downscaling in Vero Beach and nothing is going to change weÂre there for the long-term," Elia said. "This was simply the time to decide if we were going to expand there and we decided not to."
Disney opened the resort in October 1995 with a 115-room inn and 60 vacation villas. Company officials at the time had in mind two more phases that included another 91 units on 10 beachfront acres it owns contiguous to the southern edge of the existing resort, plus 170 units on 33 acres it owns across the street to the west of the resort. Some of the westside property has been developed for parking and recreational pursuits, though no units.
The company never put a time frame on when it would start the other phases and Elia noted it had just become time to make the decision to either move forward or keep things as they are.
Penny Chandler, executive director of the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce, said she was "disappointed" Disney does not plan to expand locally, particularly in light of the fact the county has been losing beachfront hotel accommodations in recent years.
"We can always use additional beachside accommodations as they fill up quickly and weÂve been losing our net beachside accommodations," she said. "Anything that might have added to that would have helped us, so we are disappointed. Still, weÂre glad Disney is here because they add a level of quality to the rest of the resorts and the credibility of the Disney name is great for the community."
The 17-unit Beach Vue Motel on Ocean Drive, closed since 1997, is being torn down to make way for an upscale office/retail building.
The 28-unit Aquarius North Motel, at 3544 Ocean Drive, is being torn down to make way for a clubhouse for the new private golf course, Quail Valley.
Disney officials declined to disclose how much they are asking for the undeveloped portions of the property.
However, county Property Appraiser David Nolte said that as of January 2000, the 25 acres on the west side had a market value of more than $5.2 million, while the 10-acre oceanfront property had a market value of $2.2 million.
Those undeveloped portions have a residential/multi-family zoning of six units per acre.
The resort, which employs 300 people, was the first resort Disney built outside its theme parks. The Hilton Head resort was finished a couple of years later and was built as a one-phase, 102-unit project.
jj.........................
MickeyÂs resort is going to stay mini.
Disney officials have decided not to expand DisneyÂs Vero Beach Resort beyond the already completed first phase of the project and have put up for sale about 35 acres of undeveloped property, including 10 acres on the ocean.
Disney officials said Monday the company plans to concentrate its growth plans on its Orlando-based Walt Disney World complex, rather than its off-site vacation clubs in Vero Beach and Hilton Head, S.C.
"WeÂre looking to continue our efforts in our core businesses at Walt Disney World where the greatest demand for growth is, as told to us by our customers," said Mariska Elia, spokesperson for DisneyÂs vacation clubs.
The decision, she said, has nothing to do with the countryÂs economic downturn, a fall-off that prompted Disney earlier this year to announce 4,000 layoffs, including 1,400 salaried employees at Disney World.
In fact, Elia said, the Vero Beach resort has done "very well" and the company plans to finish selling its time-share units in about two years.
"There will be no downscaling in Vero Beach and nothing is going to change weÂre there for the long-term," Elia said. "This was simply the time to decide if we were going to expand there and we decided not to."
Disney opened the resort in October 1995 with a 115-room inn and 60 vacation villas. Company officials at the time had in mind two more phases that included another 91 units on 10 beachfront acres it owns contiguous to the southern edge of the existing resort, plus 170 units on 33 acres it owns across the street to the west of the resort. Some of the westside property has been developed for parking and recreational pursuits, though no units.
The company never put a time frame on when it would start the other phases and Elia noted it had just become time to make the decision to either move forward or keep things as they are.
Penny Chandler, executive director of the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce, said she was "disappointed" Disney does not plan to expand locally, particularly in light of the fact the county has been losing beachfront hotel accommodations in recent years.
"We can always use additional beachside accommodations as they fill up quickly and weÂve been losing our net beachside accommodations," she said. "Anything that might have added to that would have helped us, so we are disappointed. Still, weÂre glad Disney is here because they add a level of quality to the rest of the resorts and the credibility of the Disney name is great for the community."
The 17-unit Beach Vue Motel on Ocean Drive, closed since 1997, is being torn down to make way for an upscale office/retail building.
The 28-unit Aquarius North Motel, at 3544 Ocean Drive, is being torn down to make way for a clubhouse for the new private golf course, Quail Valley.
Disney officials declined to disclose how much they are asking for the undeveloped portions of the property.
However, county Property Appraiser David Nolte said that as of January 2000, the 25 acres on the west side had a market value of more than $5.2 million, while the 10-acre oceanfront property had a market value of $2.2 million.
Those undeveloped portions have a residential/multi-family zoning of six units per acre.
The resort, which employs 300 people, was the first resort Disney built outside its theme parks. The Hilton Head resort was finished a couple of years later and was built as a one-phase, 102-unit project.
jj.........................
I wonder if they'll be keeping the parking and tennis on the other side or if that's part of the package. Anybody have further details?
