Magic Get City's Preliminary Approval To Move Forward With Entertainment Complex

The city of Orlando's planning board yesterday "approved a zoning change" for the Magic's planned $200M entertainment complex "amid questions about whether the project ultimately would force the closing of one of the city's oldest homeless shelters," according to Mark Schlueb of the ORLANDO SENTINEL. The panel's recommendation, which "still must be ratified by the City Council, sets the stage for the Magic to move ahead with what would be the biggest private development in Parramore." The project "includes an office building, a hotel and conference center, an 18-story residential tower, parking garage and space for restaurants, bars, shopping and other entertainment." It would "cover most of a city block at the corner of Church Street and Hughey Avenue." The property "wraps around the Orlando Union Rescue Mission's Men's Shelter" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 1/22).