Paradise Cove seeks to build indoor venue near Lake Bryan

A wedding venue in southwest Orange County could be getting some upgrades.

Orange County leaders hosted a community meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 9,  regarding the rezoning of a 9.8-acre property located at 13245 Lake Bryan Drive, which is east of State Road 535 and south of Ski Holiday Drive. The applicant is requesting to rezone the property from A-2 farmland rural district to Planned Development to allow for the construction of a wedding/banquet venue and water-sport rental facility. The future land-use designation of the property is Activity Center Mixed Use.

The property is currently the site of Buena Vista Watersports — a business where individuals can rent various watercrafts — and Paradise Cove, an outdoor wedding and event venue. The applicant is requesting to rezone the property to construct an indoor venue for weddings and banquets on the southern part of the property.

“They’re currently holding (outdoor) weddings on-site,”  applicant Darcy Unroe said. “They want to have the ability to put those (wedding events) into a room. … The idea is that it’s a wedding reception hall.”

Many of the guests of Paradise Cove stay at one of the hotels near the property, which is off a private road. Some of those hotels even offer shuttle services by bus or boat for guests who are attending weddings at Paradise Cove. Because of this, traffic impacts from the venue are expected to be minimal. The property is located near the Holiday Inn Resort Orlando — Lake Buena Vista and Sabal Palm at Lake Buena Vista.

“It’s pretty well-hidden,” Unroe said. “The idea is this is more of a destination-type wedding (venue). A lot of the people would end up being (guests) at the surrounding hotels. We try and provide (them) transportation — limo services to hotels (and) shuttle services. … The idea is to try and reduce the amount of car traffic. We’re really trying to reduce that impact.”