to talk about the progress being made and the plans for the future. Joshua Wallack, owner and operator of Mango’s Tropical Cafe, sat down with us on News 6 at 9 a.m. – There are now hundreds of new places to park in the tourist district of Orlando as developers see their vision for International Drive become a reality. “Quite frankly a lot of what we hear in here when it comes to new development and bring change is negative by nature.To see so many people saying ‘Hey, I-Drive is the place for this’ is really exciting.ORLANDO, Fla. “I think this is the first critical piece of getting that started,” she said. Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs said that she thinks Skyplex will help to bring more tourists to the area. Its Sky Tower observation deck is 400 feet tall. Like Skyplex, SeaWorld falls under county jurisdiction, but Orange County planning administrator John Smogor told commissioners that the park probably would have gotten a larger height allowance simply by asking for it. The Orlando city code restricts Universal’s roller coasters to a 200-foot height limit because the park is bordered by a residential neighborhood. The denial came even though Skyplex got a positive recommendation from county support staff and Federal Aviation Administration approval. Last month, the Orange County’s advisory planning and zoning commission denied Skyplex’s request that its nearly 12 acres be rezoned. In addition, it must follow a plan it worked out with officials regarding its impact on traffic and easing any potential light pollution. Since it is yet unclear exactly how high the roller coaster will eventually be, it agreed that it won’t exceed 600 feet. Skyplex did agree to some conditions as part of its zoning approval. “It has to fit into the community, and height is the issue,” McReynolds said. Universal vice president of external affairs John McReynolds told commissioners that Universal’s opposition was not about fears of competition, but did still have concerns about Skyplex’s impact on the area. Opposition led by neighboring Universal Orlando argued the coaster, which would have a 450-foot drop, would be too tall and adversely change the culture of the tourist corridor. The support included residents of some of International Drive’s closest residential neighborhoods, as well as business owners who said Skyplex would help revitalize the area. Several dozen people voiced opinions about the project during Tuesday’s standing room-only public hearing. The current tallest roller coaster is the 450-foot “Kingda Ka” at New Jersey’s Six Flags Great Adventure. The Skyplex complex, scheduled to open in 2018, would include two other rides, a 350-room hotel, restaurants and stores. Hopefully they’ve sort of seen the public sentiment is for Skyplex and for the rebirth of I-Drive, for prosperity and the renaissance of this year.” “We want to build the world’s tallest rollercoaster as our anchor and, of course, Universal didn’t want us to have such a competitive ride. International Drive, located about 20 miles outside of downtown Orlando, is an 11-mile strip of shops, restaurants and hotels situated between Universal and SeaWorld Orlando. It had been decaying and shabby for the last 20 years.” “Central Florida really needed a renaissance of North I-Drive. “We couldn’t be happier with the board’s decision,” Wallack said. The unanimous vote means that developer Joshua Wallack and his family can move to the planning and construction phase on their project to build the 570-foot “Skyscraper” coaster and surrounding entertainment complex on Orlando’s International Drive. Orange County’s board of commissioners granted zoning approval Tuesday night for the $500 million Skyplex Orlando project. Orlando’s hope of having the world’s tallest roller coaster is one step closer to becoming reality.
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