What’s next for West Oaks Mall?

OCOEE  As 2017 approaches, it will signal not only a change in the calendar but also new beginnings and a new game plan for Ocoee’s West Oaks Mall.

Moonbeam Capital Investments LLC recently announced plans for a major redevelopment of the 20-year-old Ocoee mall, with the first phase of the project set to begin in 2017. Currently, West Oaks is a 1.1-million-square-foot indoor shopping mall with about 85 tenants, including anchors Dillard’s, an AMC movie theater, JCPenney and a new Xerox customer-service center.

The redevelopment will transform the property into a mixed-use development, complete with retail, office, hotel and residential space. The existing shopping center is set to undergo extensive renovation, while multi-family residences, restaurants and freestanding shops will surround it.

A map of the proposed site plan shows the existing mall leading out to a courtyard on the west end of the property. The courtyard is surrounded by two blocks that each consist of four 10,800-square-foot tenancies. Between the two blocks is a landscaped walkway.

Multi-family homes with private parking will be situated at the western end of the property, just east of Clarke Road. Just south of the residences, West Oaks guests will see a 200-room hotel and 50,000-square-foot conference center.

Adding to redevelopment plans is a 25,000-square-foot GameTime Family Entertainment Center, a full-service restaurant and sports bar that recently announced it is opening a new location in Ocoee. It will take the place of the former Borders Bookstore.

“It’s really built around spending time with and enjoying people you love, and we find that oftentimes our environment is conducive to getting people to interact and engage together,” said GameTime CEO Michael Abecassis.

This will be the eighth GameTime in Florida, and the company’s fourth flagship location. The entertainment center includes an arcade, restaurant, full bar and eight lanes of miniature bowling, among many other amenities. It will create somewhere between 50 to 55 jobs, as well as around 30 seasonal, summer jobs.

“We are excited to welcome GameTime to West Oaks Mall,” said Moonbeam CEO Steven Maksin in a press release. “The new entertainment center is an integral component of the mixed-used redevelopment and will further catalyze the transformation of the West Oaks Mall.”

Demolition of the building’s interior already has begun, and Abecassis hopes to begin interior reconstruction in January, with a target second-quarter opening.

“The at-home entertainment piece of business is well served in Orlando but underserved in suburbs,” Abecassis said. “Ocoee was one of many markets in the Orlando area and a great opportunity when we saw the vision for the landlords at the mall. I think having GameTime at the front entrance will be a catalyst to help move that process along, and we’re excited to be a part of that.”

Contact Danielle Hendrix at [email protected].