A New York development firm began work earlier this month on a six-story, 246-unit apartment complex on North Orange Avenue in downtown Orlando.Hawthorne, N.Y.-based GDC Properties LLC held a groundbreaking ceremony on Nov. 27 for its estimated $35.9 million project, the new eco-friendly NORA luxury apartments. The project also features a 400-space parking garage, a 15,000-square-foot resort-style interior courtyard with a zero-entry pool, 10,000 square feet of retail — including a restaurant and a health club — and a photovoltaic rooftop system to convert sunlight into energy, said a news release.
The city of Orlando approved the project’s master plan last year, as previously reported by Orlando Business Journal. PCL Construction Services Inc. is the project’s general contractor, and Baker Barrios was the designer.
The apartments are expected to be completed in spring 2014.
GDC Properties also is developing the 119-room Aloft Orlando Downtown hotel, which is a renovation of the former Orlando Utilities Commission headquarters. The hotel is slated to open Aug. 13, 2013.
