The Orlando City Council yesterday agreed to "sell the Orlando police station and a public garage" to the Magic, "clearing the way for the development of an entertainment complex that could cost" as much as $200M, according to Mark Schlueb of the ORLANDO SENTINEL. Magic sister company SED Development under terms of the deal "would pay the city" $12.7M for the property "across the street from the Amway Center." SED would "bring 650,000 square feet of new development: an office building that would become the team's corporate headquarters ... as well as a hotel and conference center, apartments or condos, restaurants and bars." Demolition of the public parking garage could take place "as early as next summer, allowing construction to start on the office building and a new garage." The project would "likely take at least five years." In the meantime, the city would "pay the Magic $100,000 a year in rent so the police could continue to work in their building once it's sold." Magic execs "want to pattern their project after similar entertainment developments that have sprung up around arenas" in Charlotte, K.C. and Columbus. The team hired RTKL Associates, which designed L.A. Live, to "produce early conceptual plans for the development" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 11/5).
