Orlando’s SoDo Neighborhood to Get Pickleball Facility
Three years ago, the Hughes family and SC Advisors won approval for a massive mixed-use project in Orlando’s SoDo neighborhood. The project was originally planned to anchor a brewery, but the developer is now seeking a conditional use permit to allow a pickleball facility to lease the newly constructed 18,900-square-foot flex industrial building at 215 W. Grant St.
The proposed tenant envisions an indoor-outdoor recreation facility with four indoor courts, four outdoor courts with stadium seating, men’s and women’s locker rooms, a retail area, a restaurant and bar, offices, and a conference room. The outdoor courts are situated on the west side of the building, closer to the train tracks and away from the residences.
The pickleball facility is part of a larger master plan for the SoDo district, which calls for up to five buildings encompassing a total of 80,000 square feet. The developer plans to break ground in early 2024 on the next building, a 12,600-square-foot commercial building fronting Grant Street that will be designed to allow for offices and a restaurant.
The growing popularity of pickleball has made it an attractive tenant for second-generation retail space. Earlier this year, Crush Yard Pickleball Club signed a lease for the former 50,000-square-foot Winn Dixie store at Formosa Gardens on Osceola County’s W192 corridor.