Universal Orlando buys 450 acres, according to seller's attorney

I suspect the primary piece of land is nearly the size of their existing site, and if they can get some of the others nearby, it'll be huge. They probably won't get the Westin, and certainly not the new apartments closer to Destination Pwky., but it's a clear start. I can only imagine what the Lockheed property will be worth if Universal builds something substantial there.

That area is one of my favorites in Orlando. I usually exit on Universal Blvd (off 528) and take it all the way into the Universal property. I'm excited for whatever plans they have up their sleeves - a huge family park, more hotels, another waterpark,

So is this the same property that Vivendi sold because they thought they would never use it?

Yes, most of it. There are still some lots that weren't included in the foreclosure and subsequent sale which led to Universal getting these lots back.

Once they do develop it into... something, it will crowd a corridor that us locals use to circumvent I-Drive, which is a bummer. That said, it's mostly three lanes in each direction, but it sure would be nice if they could widen it all the way up to UO proper.

It will be interesting to see how they develop the land and the traffic patterns. Universal Blvd seems to be a likely choice, but Kirkman towards Lockheed would be a much better choice. Less traffic lights, wider lanes and if they purchase some of the Lockheed Land they could theoretically cross a bridge over Sandlake verse an intersection. Sandlake can be very congested during rush due to Sandlake I-4 interchange. Agreed as a local, I do everything I can to stay off International Drive. Universal Blvd has been a life saver to avoid traffic.

The Westin property could also be very interesting, With Marriott purchasing Starwood, this could lead to a situation where the hotel owner may not want to join the Marriott chain and seek other options which could be Loews or it could just stay with Marriott.

I see several points for future intersections and points of entry on the south side of the property. That is probably the way they'll go if for no other reason than it being less of a cost... sorry guys.

Sorry for that? I don't think you have any idea what you're talking about.

I don't have any idea what they are going to do, but neither does anyone else on here... That's besides the point.

I think they are going to have an entrance on Universal rather than create an off-ramp from Kirkman. That is all that I am saying is that this is what I think they will do and I am sorry that it will inconvenience you Florida Folk.

Its interesting to me its the seller's attorney who is going public with the info about the land purchase. If I am Universal, I want to control the timing of the announcement (and the plans for the land). I would have included a confidentiality provision in the purchase agreement barring the seller or any of its agents from disclosing the info before Universal went public with it. Though maybe Universal didn't care? Or the seller's attorney didn't care.

a_hoffman50 said:

I think they are going to have an entrance on Universal rather than create an off-ramp from Kirkman. That is all that I am saying is that this is what I think they will do and I am sorry that it will inconvenience you Florida Folk.

Eh? Universal Blvd flows right into the property.

Right... I am saying that it makes the most sense for them to use Universal instead of Kirkwood.

Well no ****. Kirkman dead-ends in the Lockheed property where you will be greeted by men with guns.

To be fair, this is FL. Virtually every dead-end road has men with guns...

True Story...I saw one today...