Unicorp announces plans for The Mark shopping center

A grocer, restaurants and many other retailers are potentially coming to a new shopping center in Horizon West’s Village F.

Plans for a grocery-anchored retail center, called The Mark, include more than 112,000 square feet of in-line and outparcel space. It is located off Seidel Road and Seton Creek Boulevard. The Mark is also just a mile away from the intersection of Seidel Road and State Road 429, as well as the future relief high school and elementary school sites.

“It’s been an approved project for some time, and it was previously owned by Disney, but we just acquired the property from them maybe two months ago at the most,” said Alexie Fonseca, leasing director with Unicorp National Developments Inc. “We’re just starting our leasing efforts and working on the designs. It’s going to be all retail/restaurant use. 

“It’s a great property, it’s off the 429 there, and it’s a growing community with over 10,000 homes in a one-mile radius,” she said. “The need for retail space like this is there, the community is asking for it, and it’s within miles of Disney’s back door.”

Although site plans denoting potential tenants recently circulated social media, Fonseca said no leases have yet been signed. For that reason, no tenants have been officially named.

“None of the leases are executed,” Fonseca said. “We are working with a national grocery anchor … and are hoping it’s going to be a grocery-anchored property or project with small-shop retail space and restaurants, as well. We build Class-A projects and put emphasis on landscape and outdoor spaces to provide areas for communities to gather.”

The site is currently vacant land, but Fonseca said a groundbreaking likely will happen at the end of the year. If the timeline goes to plan, spaces will be turned over to tenants around August 2020 for their buildout.

A circulating flyer with potential site plans denoted a 25,100-square-foot grocery store and a 90,000-square-foot outparcel as two of the largest retail spaces. However, Fonseca said the plan is a constant work in progress and not set in stone. 

“We’ve made some recent changes based off the users we’re speaking to,” Fonseca said. “We use the flyer for when we’re trying to acquire tenants or dealing with brokers or business owners.

“We look to do things that bring the community together,” she said. “We are looking to get quality restaurants, both casual and also full-service restaurants. We’re going after a grocery anchor and are also looking for services such as hair and nail salons and fitness uses. … We do have some office-related uses interested. We haven’t signed anybody yet, but we’ve been reached out to by dental offices, as well.”

With leasing negotiations and the search for suitable tenants compatible with the area underway, Fonseca said Unicorp is looking forward to bringing the project to life. Its other West Orange-area projects include Westside Shoppes in Horizon West, O-Town West, Marketplace Pointe and Parkside in Dr. Phillips, apartment complexes such as Casa Mirella and Venetian Isle, and the Maguire Groves and Meadowridge plazas in Ocoee.

 “We as a developer have done this many times in Orlando,” she said. “We’ve built quality projects and we will look for the best arrangement of tenants for the property and community to have the best use of the center. (We) keep in mind the community input and what we feel will work best for everyone, including ourselves.”

To keep up to date with The Mark and other projects, visit unicorp.com.