The Pizzuti Companies expect to start work next week on The Sevens — a nine-story apartment complex that will further cement North Orange Avenue as downtown Orlando’s newest residential hub.
With 333 units, public spaces, a restaurant and shops, The Sevens will be constructed on one of the last vacant parcels along North Orange. The site, with about 2.5 acres, is north of Colonial Drive and south of Citrus Restaurant.
The Sevens, which had been planned as an office building near the peak of the market in 2008, is the latest in a lineup of sleek, highly amenitized apartments that have opened in Orlando’s central business district during recent years.
NORA is just being completed on North Orange with 246 units. Steelhouse opened last year with 326 units north of Colonial Drive and SkyHouse opened just south of the Orange County Courthouse in 2013 with 320 units. In addition, Artisan 420 is expected to bring an additional 299 units to the area south of Lake Eola.
Joel Pizzuti, president of the Ohio-based development company, said the rental market in downtown Orlando is becoming more competitive for developers but room remains for well-positioned products.
“There’s always the risk that we’ll overbuild, but we really believe in downtown Orlando for the long term and we’re offering a very unique product,” Pizzuti said. “Pizzuti is very thoughtful about rents. We’re in this for the long term.”
Plans call for three indoor/outdoor gathering places; a private dog park; and a rooftop pool, deck and workout facility. One of the spaces will be a bocce ball court.
To underscore the uniqueness of The Sevens, Pizzuti has planned to roll a Silver Bullet Airstream Trailer to the site before the end of the year for preleasing. Typically, developers open a conventional office for pre-leasing.
“It’s a mobile, but really interesting, opportunity to get exposure in a really fun, cool environment,” Pizzuti said Friday.
Brasfield & Gorrie are the contractors and Charlan Brock & Associates is the architect. The project, which includes about 8,000 square feet of retail space, is expected to be completed by May 2016.
