Orange County commissioners unanimously gave Full Sail University a thumbs-up to operate classrooms in a newly purchased theater complex, despite the strong objections of the shopping center’s owners.
Last week the Board of County Commissioners approved a special exception for school use to allow Full Sail to occupy the Carmike Cinemas, located on the northwest corner of Goldenrod Road and University Boulevard. But the owners of the Kmart University Plaza say the school is incompatible with their other tenants, and will derail their plan for a major redevelopment of the center.
Full Sail is a media arts college that stretches along University Boulevard, including a growing presence in the University Park shopping center at Semoran Boulevard. Their move into the Kmart University Plaza represents the latest expansion of the school, which now boasts 6,000 students and 1,100 employees in 550,000 square feet of facilities.
Silver City, the management partner of Full Sail’s buildings and land purchases, purchased the 23-year-old, 31,889-square-foot cinema in October 2007.
Their stated goal is to convert 4,071 square feet of retail space into classrooms for 205 students, and use the eight-screen movie theater for student films and special events, and possibly continue to operate the theater commercially.
Citing an existing agreement between the movie theater and CREC/Bell, the owners of Kmart University Plaza, county officials said parking requirements for 180 spaces were met. According to the arrangement, the theaters were provided 234 parking spaces in the shopping center parking lot.
Officials also stated that parking did not seem to be an issue because the center is currently underutilized. A question of compatibility However, as the three-hour discussion unfolded before the County Board, with expert testimony presented by both sides, it became clear that CREC/Bell simply did not want Full Sail in the plaza because, in their view, students and shoppers don’t mix.
“The critical issue is that [the plaza] is a retail use and we relied on that use being maintained,” said David Marett of CREC, which purchased the Kmart University Plaza in 2004. “This really is one shopping center. Although we have separate ownership here, we share entrances and we share exits. Full Sail’s use is simply not compatible.”
Steve Altoff, a real estate agent with Sembler Company, a developer of more than 100 shopping centers in the Southeast, said a center must be managed as a single-unit property and have a central theme for customers. “Consumers need to know what they’re going to get if they go there, or they will shy away from it and the shopping center will die,” he said.
Altoff said a multipurpose center is equally destructive to tenants. In order to survive and grow, a shopping center must have a clear plan and appeal to a specific market. “I think [Full Sail] would be a terrible incompatible use with the shopping center,” he continued.
“The minute that [tenants] hear there will be an educational facility, they will run away from this property. They will never ever sign a lease here.” One current tenant seemed to support the argument that the presence of students is not conducive to a place of business.
Donna Wagner, along with her mother, have been the owners of the Tykes and Tots Academy child day care for five years in the Kmart University Plaza. She said during that time they have experienced no problems, but that calm was disrupted when Full Sail held classes at the theaters for three weeks in March before shutting down.
Wagner said the litany of problems included students climbing palm trees, playing football and Frisbee in the parking lot, discarding trash in the day care playground, skateboarding, drinking beer, loitering and using profanity.
How Full Sail will impact tenants is a significant concern because CREC/Bell already is making plans to redevelop the 85,000-square-foot center, which was built in 1983-84. Marett said Kmart’s lease is set to expire next year and the retail outlet will not be invited back, making way for other, more high-end, tenants.
“This is an ‘A’ location with a tired shopping center that is primed for redevelopment,” he said. “Our business is to redevelop shopping centers. It has always been our plan to complete a substantial redevelopment of that shopping center and obviously that plan is in jeopardy right now.
“I assure you that if you grant this exception, within the next year our property will be nearly vacant. Essentially our property values would be wiped out. We will not be able to re-tenant the Kmart space.” Another expert testifying for the plaza owners, land planner Jim Hall, said the conflicting purposes of the center would pit discretionary users against destination users.
While students are mandated to attend classes, shoppers will opt to go elsewhere because they have a choice. “If it’s real crowded, [shoppers] are not going to show up,” he said. Hall added that the school would attract students during the daytime, including the afternoon rush hour, adding to roadway traffic that is already overcapacity.
A number of residents also showed up at the County Board meeting to protest Full Sail’s expansion. Wendy Temple, representing the Lake Winona Cove HOA that is adjacent to the Carmike Cinemas, presented a petition with the signatures of 262 homeowners and 36 emails to the board, all opposed to the proposal.
“I would like to file a strong objection to the proliferation of Full Sail campuses,” Temple said. “It is a patchwork campus that lends itself to traffic problems and leads to shopping problems for local homeowners.”
Another resident, Carolyn Lucas of Bradford Cove, said she has lived in her home for 22 years and decided to retire there because she could walk to nearby shopping. “I ask you to please not allow them to take away my shopping center,” she said.
Full Sail responds Speaking on behalf of Full Sail was Geoff Rogers, a vice president with Silver City, who stated that the university has, in fact, improved the University Park shopping center at Semoran Boulevard when it moved in there in 2004.
Pointing to the establishment of a 35,000-squarefoot Entertainment Business Center as well as the recent addition of a 1,780-footlong, Hollywood-style backlot that features 18 different facades. “These are high-end tenant improvements with the idea of making spaces that are like the entertainment industry,” he said.
Rogers continued that Full Sail is the second largest employer in Winter Park, behind Florida Hospital, and will continue to enhance its reputation and its properties in the years to come. Homeowners complained that students are renting more and more homes in the surrounding neighborhoods, driving down their property values and appearance.
Rogers said only 5 percent of Full Sail students live in houses, with most students living in apartments complexes such as the 594-unit Sun Key Apartments, located just north of the shopping center. He explained that Full Sail works extensively with students and 49 area apartment complexes to find suitable housing.
County officials also questioned Full Sail about its overall expansion plans. In response, Rogers said the school has no plans to expand further at the Kmart University Plaza, saying they were only interested in the unique facilities offered by the movie theater.
“This is a specific property with a specific use — theater use,” he said. Rogers added that future growth at the East Orlando campus is expected to top out at around 8,000 students, but Full Sail is looking to expand in other parts of the country, recently purchasing schools in Los Angeles and Denver. Before voting to approve Full Sail’s request, commissioners lauded the school for its accomplishments but expressed concern about its impact on homeowners.
The final measure included several conditions that limit the school’s hours of operation in the theater complex and require additional security. “I think this is going to be terribly disruptive to the neighborhood,” Commissioner Linda Stewart said.
