Over the years Walt Disney Co. has expanded in various fields. One of which is the real estate market. Come Wednesday, Walt Disney Co. will unveil its first foray in residential real estate in more than a decade. The residential project is a vacation-home development in Florida’s Walt Disney World. The proposed 980-acre Golden Oak development, which is being developed on two golf courses, is expected to encompass 450 homes and a 445-room Four Seasons hotel eventually. Plans also include a clubhouse, parks, and pedestrian walkways, with wetlands and other conservation areas. The hotel will sit in the center of the development. The luxury homes are priced between $1.5 million and $8 million, and Disney is confident it will find buyers.
However, less than 30 lots will be available for sale this year, with the first homes expected to be ready by 2011. And interested buyers will be required to deposit $25,000 to be placed on a sales reservation-list.
Buyers will have choices in sizes ranging from a quarter to three-quarters of an acre. Although the buyers will be allowed to hire their own architects, they will be expected to hire builders, choose from exterior building material and adhere to architectural styles that Disney has approved.
Discussions for a luxury-home project began around 2005 when planners for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts began to discuss whether the two golf courses might be better off being redeveloped. A wise decision? We will only know when the project is complete, which Disney expects will take around eight to ten years.
[WSJ]
