Developer Cameron Kuhn said Monday he expects to get city approval this week for businesses to occupy the two office-condo towers at Premiere Trade Plaza in the heart of downtown Orlando.
The giant plaza, moving toward completion, includes nearly 400,000 square feet of offices, 306 residential condos in a separate tower, a 1,625-space parking garage and 105,000 square feet of retail space, including a 12-screen movie theater.
Kuhn and Chuck Whittall, co-founder of Unicorp National Developments Inc., both said Orlando-based Unicorp will close on its $20 million purchase of the plaza’s retail space today.
Whittall said the retail space — which he said is more than 90 percent leased — would begin opening during the first quarter of next year.
The movie theater, which Kuhn had hoped would open for the year-end holidays, now will probably open around April 1, Kuhn said. Design issues caused the delay, he said.
Kuhn said the office towers are being completed three months early. More than 90 percent of the office space has been sold, he said.
About $20 million worth of office sales have closed; the rest will be completed quickly, Kuhn said. The anchor tenant, Premiere Trade LLC, has not yet completed its $12 million purchase of 61,000 square feet. The financial services and software products company has 60 days to complete the purchase, Kuhn said.
The company must occupy space in the building to retain the plaza’s naming rights, he said.
“We have a contract and are working on closing that contract,” James Dicks, Premiere Trade LLC’s president, said Monday. He added he has had recent offers to sell Premiere Trade LLC, which could influence what he does.
Kuhn said Dicks has more than $1 million at risk in the form of a nonrefundable deposit.
The residential-condominium portion of the development, called Solaire at The Plaza, is expecting its first residents to move in by mid-January, said Charles Barrus, development director for Wood Partners, the residential tower’s Atlanta-based developer.
Twenty-one floors of condos have been built atop a nine-story parking garage, creating a 30-story tower.
Kuhn has planned a grand-opening week for the project that kicks off Wednesday with an unveiling of statuary to be permanently displayed throughout the plaza. Kuhn has purchased seven statues by artist Tuan Nguyen that depict people in activities such as dancing and making music.
On Saturday, Kuhn will host a reception in the plaza, with ticket-sale proceeds benefiting the Mid Florida Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
