I-Drive Live Project Approved, Work to Start Soon

Very good news coming from International Drive! After weeks and weeks of delays and debates, the I-DRIVE LIVE project has finally been officially approved by the Orange County Commissioners. This means that work will start very soon in the once-abandoned Mercado area. Here's what the Orlando Sentinel said:

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Giant I-Drive Wheel Approved After Owner Backs Off from Huge Sign

A project to build a giant wheel on International Drive got the go-ahead from county commissioners Tuesday, after developers dropped plans to put a giant advertising logo in the middle of it.

Unicorp National Developments, the company behind the I-Drive Live project, said it would forego efforts to put the sign on the wheel, after it came up against opposition from some area businesses. Company president Chuck Whittall, who early on in the process said corporate sponsorship of the $70 million wheel was essential to the project's financial success, said Tuesday he hopes to offset some of the lost revenue through job-creation incentives that he is discussing with the county. (...)

The project is slated to be anchored by a 450-foot tall observation wheel, as well as a Sea Life aquarium and a Madame Tussauds wax museum. It will also include restaurants and shopping. (...)

Unicorp promised to break ground immediately on the $250 million project, located at the site of the former Mercado shopping-and-dining complex on International Drive. The giant lot in the midst of International Drive has remained vacant for years. Now that construction is slated to start, Unicorp said it expects the project to open in 24 months or less. When it first announced the project last year, Unicorp said it planned to open the entertainment complex in 2013.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE >

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This is something that we were looking forward to hear as the project was put on hold some time ago due to special requests - known as "variances" - made by the developer that were not accepted (namely, the possibility of putting up a giant advertisement on the new Orlando Eye).

What do you think? Are you looking forward to this project? If you want to learn more and see multiple artworks of how this new area will look like, CLICK HERE.

ARTICLE CITED: Copyright © 2012, Orlando Sentinel. All rights reserved.