New $170 million Davenport-area resort community expected to boost economy

POLK COUNTY, Fla. - If you want to visit a theme park in Orlando and an Airbnb just isn't for you, there will soon be a new resort-style, short-term stay option for you and your family.

Visions Resort and Spa, a $170 million community in the Davenport area, will be built just off of I-4 near the Polk County and Osceola County line.

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In a few years, the empty field off of Osceola Polk Line Road will be filled with modern single-family homes, a 180-unit condo-hotel, retail space, and even a public water park.

"We have 70,000 square feet of retail in our complex, and that is going to be restaurants and daycare centers," said Robert Thorne, the CEO of Urban Network Capital Group, a Miami-based developer. "Everything that's going to give support to families, and so they won't have to go anywhere else."  

Visions will be a 70-acre vacation rental community with hotel amenities geared more towards families on a Disney vacation.  The owners will offer their units for families to book for short-term stays.

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The cost to stay is the market price and varies between $300 to $500 per night depending on the size of the home.

Other features include a 12,000-square-foot clubhouse, a resort-style pool, pickleball courts, a meditation garden, a yoga center, and a state-of-the-art gym facility.

One Polk County homeowner who lives nearby thinks the development is great but is concerned about more traffic.

"It's kind of nice to be in a homey neighborhood where it's quiet, and it's obviously going to bring more noise. We're used to just the train tracks here," said Joseph Corigliano. "It's exciting but also I'm anxious to see what it's going to be like."

Urban Network Capital Group is trying to contribute to the Davenport area's growth positively, including bringing tax revenue.

"We spoke with the school board because even though it's a hospitality group program, we decided to support the schools and pay the tax for the school. That revenue to the tax district was close to $3 million," said Thorne.

The project is expected to be completed in five years.