New details released for I-Drive shipping-container food hall
Developer Micah Bass shared more insight into his proposed Steel Chef ’s Market, a food hall along I-Drive made up of 26 shipping containers being planned in Orlando’s tourism corridor.
The project would front the Heart of I-Drive boutique hotel on 7200 International Drive and feature around 20 artisanal retailers and restaurants— one of which will be a sushi bar located within a shipping container cantilevered over the driveway, Bass told GrowthSpotter.
If approved, it would be the first time in I-Drive’s history that a lego-like fortress of shipping containers is used to create a food hall experience.
Building permits are in, but the developer has yet to receive site plan approvals from Orange County’s planning staff. Without the approvals, building permits cannot be reviewed, according to Olan Hill, a manager in the county’s planning division.
As proposed, Steel Chef ’s Market can support about 53,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. Features include rooftop and patio space, outdoor dining areas and an event area for live music.
The bathrooms, elevator, beer garden, and walking areas will be shipping containers and put together similarly to ways developers are stacking projects through the use of modular construction, Bass said. Containers will come from a utility trailer dealer in Apopka.
Bass said the name Steel Chef ’s Market takes its influence from the steel containers and quality of food. “Whether it’s food or goods [the vendor] must fit in. I’m looking for the healthy, local, farm vibe,” he said.
Incorporating shipping containers into the architectural design of real estate is a trend playing out in most urban communities.
Near Orlando’s Ivanhoe Village, a development team led by Joseph Norwood is proposing to build a 10,000-square-foot cigar lounge with a possible hospitality component made out of shipping containers.
Boxi Park in Lake Nona is another example, where two levels of shipping containers host an array of food trucks, restaurants, live entertainment and bars. The Yard at Ivanhoe also utilized the shipping container design to some of its retail space.
55 homesites set for Winter Garden
M/I Homes started developing 55 homesites in Tilden Place at Winter Garden, a gated community situated between Winter Garden Vineland Road and County Road 429.
M/I Homes paid nearly $4.7 million last November for the two parcels with a combined 28.3 acres across from Emerald Ridge and west of West Orange Country Club.
As one of the last home-buying opportunities on Tilden Road, sales of new construction homes on sites with pond views and those backing to private conservation area will begin in June, according to David Byrnes, M/I Homes’ Area President.
“We’re building two distinct product lines in Tilden Place at Winter Garden, with prices from the mid $400,000s to high $700,000s,” Byrnes said.
M/I Homes’ Grand Series, built on 80-foot wide homesites, will allow homebuyers to choose from seven floor plans that range from 2,818 to more 4,500 square feet and boast from three to six bedrooms, three to five baths and either three- or four-car garages.
M/I Homes will offer its Eco Series, featuring six floor plans, which start at 1,857 square feet, that are comprised of three to five bedrooms, two to four baths and both twoand three-car tandem garages constructed on 50-foot-wide lots.
Many of the builder’s single-level floor plans offer optional bonus rooms, and homebuyers can choose to have the owner’s suite either up or downstairs in some two-story plans, Byrnes said. “Or, you can build your dream home with two full owners’ suites.”
“The architectural style here is a combination of craftsman and traditional Florida design,” Byrnes said, adding that multiple elevations offer front porches, and spacious lanais and balconies.