Osceola County Commissioners have been introduced to the proposed 50-year NeoCity technology campus masterplan by Perkins + Will’s Stephen Coulston.
The Austin, TX-based architect and planner says the site could become a “significant and comprehensive global center for smart sensor, photonics, and nano-technology research and development, big data/predictive analytics, and workforce talent concentration” with a long-term economic output between $25.3 and $28.5 billion.”
The report presented on July 10 offers early renderings, outlines local partners to source ideas for the project and details how much land will be used for office space, residential space, research, parking and more. It also estimates jobs creation, economic impact and full build-out costs — all information that would be useful for construction teams, developers, general contractors, designers and more. Overall, Perkins + Will predicts NeoCity will be a 50-year project.
Perkins + Will’s report outlines options that Osceola County for NeoCity’s design — such as an office-focused schematic with more commercial and residential space, and less industrial space; or for more industrial space and less commercial and residential space.
One of NeoCity’s main goals is to create high paying technology based jobs and to bring opportunity for those who are focusing on technology based career paths. The School District of Osceola County, Valencia College and the University of Central Florida are all heavily focused on careers based on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, (STEM) making NeoCity a natural part of the vision and the local community.
“We are building the kind of world-class infrastructure that will attract the jobs of tomorrow to Osceola County,” said commission chairman Brandon Arrington. “This investment and the resulting workforce that it will create is going to open up new avenues for fiscal success. The masterplan helps us chart a course toward a better future. I’m proud that we have crafted a road map that has received so much input from our partners in this life-changing journey.”
Here’s a breakdown as reported in Orlando Business Journal of how much space Perkins + Will recommends for each building type, covering 10.9 million sq. ft.:
Commercial: 8.5 million sq. ft.
Industrial: 691,000 sq. ft.
Residential: 1.7 million sq. ft.
The report predicts total tax revenue for NeoCity’s full 50-year build out at between $781 million and $831.2 million.
The development starting timeline is still in the works.
For the masterplan and the presentation go to http://www.osceola.org/neocity/ and click on resources.