21-04-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
Prime I-Drive property near Epic Universe up for sale
A prime piece of real estate on Orlando's International Drive is hitting the market, and its owner believes the timing couldn't be better with a major new theme park on the horizon.
Story Highlights Wallack Holdings lists part of Mango's Tropical Cafe complex for sale.
Empty 7,000-square-foot building has potential for 5,000-square-foot mezzanine addition.
Universal's Epic Universe opening expected to increase property demand.
A building in a popular spot in Orlando's tourist corridor is up for sale.
The northmost third of the Mango's Tropical Cafe complex at 8102 International Drive was put on the market this month by Mango's owner Wallack Holdings LLC.
Formerly the home of the Visit Orlando Official Visitor Center, the 7,000-square-foot building is empty with 30-foot ceilings.
"It's basically a shell," said Josh Wallack, CEO of Wallack Holdings. The building also has the option of adding a 5,000-square-foot mezzanine on the roof.
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Josh Wallack of Wallack Holdings LLC
Jim Carchidi
The building abuts Kali Ultra Lounge, a dance club which is also used for overflow seating for upscale Argentinian restaurant Corazón by Baires. Wallack said he had the walls between the two spaces reinforced with concrete and steel to eliminate noise.
The property has been listed without a price. Wallack bought the entire 2.9-acre property in 2012 for $10.4 million.
Joe Ramsberger, vice president of retail services in Orlando for brokerage CBRE, is handling the listing. Ramsberger could not be reached for comment.
The opening of Universal's Epic Universe theme park in May, which is expected to draw in 5-7 million visitors in its first year, will make this property highly sought after, Wallack said. "Everyone's waiting for Epic."
I-Drive has more than $5 billion in announced redevelopment projects outside of Epic Universe, according to Maria Triscari, president and CEO of International Drive Resort Area Chamber of Commerce.
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Maria Triscari is the President and CEO of the International Drive Resort Area Chamber of Commerce
International Drive Resort Area Chamber of Commerce
"We have right now a tremendous transformation happening of I-Drive," Triscari previously told Orlando Business Journal. "It's exactly what needs to happen so that we stay competitive in the future."
In addition to 7,393 new or renovated hotel rooms and vacation units in the works, the traditional tourist sector also has nearly 4,000 residential units from apartments to single-family homes in development. The Orange County Convention Center is also slated to start its $560 million expansion in 2026.
Meanwhile, tourist activity is predicted to be slower than usual due to international travelers avoiding the U.S. over President Trump's tariff policies. According to recent data from the International Trade Administration, non-U.S. citizen international air travel arrivals to this country were down 9% year-over-year in March — and that was before full details of the tariff policy were known.
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