Dezerland Park Orlando (formerly known as the Festival Bay and Artegon Marketplace) is an enclosed shopping mall and amusement park located on International Drive in Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened in 2002 as a property of the Belz Factory Outlets, it is owned and managed by Dezer Development. As Festival Bay Marketplace, the complex was 860,000 square feet (80,000 m2) in size with Bass Pro Shops, Boot Barn, Book Warehouse, Gods & Monsters, and Ron Jon Surf Shop as anchor stores. It also comprised several entertainment venues, including a Cinemark movie theater, Sky Zone Trampoline Park, Sky Trail Ropes Course, and a Putting Edge glow-in-the-dark miniature golf course. Having failed twice as a shopping mall, the complex reopened in 2020 as Dezerland Park Orlando.
 Artegon Marketplace in 2016 | |
 | |
| Location | Orlando, Florida |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 28°28′07″N 81°26′52″W / 28.4685°N 81.447867°W |
| Address | 5250 International Drive |
| Opening date | 2002 (as Festival Bay Mall) 2014 (as Artegon Marketplace) 2020 (as Dezerland Park Orlando) |
| Developer | Belz Enterprises |
| Management | Paragon Outlet Partners LLC |
| Owner | Dezer Development |
| No. of stores and services | 65 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 5 |
| Total retail floor area | 865,000 square feet (80,400 m2)[1] |
| No. of floors | 1 (2 in former Vans Skatepark and Bass Pro Shops) |
History
editFestival Bay Mall
editThe mall was planned and developed by Belz Enterprises. It was originally planned to open in 2000, but the opening was delayed until 2002.[2] Initial plans called for the mall to be 1,100,000 square feet (100,000 m2) in size,[3] but it was scaled back to 865,000 square feet (80,400 m2).
In 2004, plans were announced for a surfing park, named Ron Jon Surfpark, to be built inside the mall.[4] This project was never opened.
In January 2012, Vans Skatepark, one of the mall's anchors, closed. While it was one of the most popular attractions at the mall, no reason was given for the closure. It is stated that after two years, the mall is expected to reopen most likely as a newly named, open-air complex with shops, entertainment and maybe even hotels.[5]
Artegon Marketplace
editIn early 2011, the mall was acquired by a division of The Lightstone Group, which announced plans to redevelop the mall. Festival Bay was re-opened as Artegon Marketplace on November 20, 2014.[6]
The $70 million renovation removed the mall's signature lake and tile-mosaic signage in favor of a modernized theme. The renovation also converted two-thirds of Festival Bay's original space into small storefronts (40–300 square feet (3.7–27.9 m2) in size), which were rented out to local artisanal vendors.[6] The mall's anchor stores were retained.
Artegon Marketplace closed on January 26, 2017. The closure was announced to tenants only two weeks prior, which led to larger tenants filing a lawsuit against Lightstone. As with the closure of Festival Bay, the mall's anchors, such as Bass Pro Shops and Cinemark, remained open.[7]
Dezerland Park Orlando
editIn January 2018, Dezer Development of Miami acquired the property, encompassing its 104 acres and 865,000-square-foot (80,400 m2) mall, for $23.7 million. The complex, now known as Dezerland Park, officially reopened in 2021. One of the site's focal points is the Orlando Auto Museum, which contains a collection of automobiles and automotive memorabilia previously located at the Miami Auto Museum at the Dezer Collection in North Miami, Florida. Dezerland Park contains Florida's largest indoor karting track, as well as a 25,000-square-foot (2,300 m2) trampoline park, bowling, laser tag, bumper cars, and arcade.[8]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "GGP Mall Directory". General Growth Properties. Archived from the original on 2008-10-17. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
- ^ Pack, Todd (2002-08-18). "Mall to Open in Orlando, Fla., in 2002". The Florida Sentinel. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
- ^ Pack, Todd (2000-11-27). "The Orlando Sentinel, Fla., Retail Column". The Florida Sentinel. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
- ^ Wahid, Zaheera (2004-05-14). "Surf Park May Emerge as Next Wave or Be Waved Off". The Orange County Register. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
- ^ Pedicini, Sandra. "Vans Skatepark, one of Festival Bay Mall's anchors, will close". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
- ^ a b Arnold, Kyle (2014-08-20). "Artegon Marketplace nears opening date". Orlando Sentinel. Tribune Publishing. pp. A10 – via NewsBank.
- ^ Cordeiro, Monivette (2017-02-22). "After the dramatic shutdown of Orlando's Artegon 'anti-mall,' the artists and vendors wonder how it all went wrong". Orlando Weekly. Euclid Media Group. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
- ^ "Dezerland Park Orlando planning to open 'in time'". 10 June 2020.
External links
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