Disney Affordable Housing Plan (Not pictured) – Construction on new affordable housing project — Courtesy: Shutterstock — Image by: 1599686sv
On Wednesday, Walt Disney World announced that construction on a proposed affordable housing development in Central Florida would begin the next year.
On 80 acres of land, “a few miles away” from the Magic Kingdom and close to shops and schools, the division of Walt Disney Co. said it intends to build 1,400 housing units. In 2026, the initial units are anticipated to be finished.
The news was made on the same day that the state-appointed oversight board members discussed the requirement for 75,000 Disney employees to have access to affordable housing.
According to Disney’s website, “We’ve been making more and more progress on this initiative every day, and now, we’re thrilled to share that groundbreaking on this development is targeted for next year, with the first units anticipated to be completed in 2026. We are also expanding our vision to now include approximately 1,400 total units – over 100 higher than we had initially announced. We hope to make a positive impact wherever we can in our community, so to be able to offer more units means even more Florida families will get access to attainable housing, in addition to creating new Florida jobs as part of the construction and operation.”
Disney actively opposed the state’s legislation banning the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom, which led to a rift between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Disney last year.
The governor is now able to designate supervisors to a board that governs municipal services and development in a special district that includes the Walt Disney World resort thanks to a law that the Florida legislature enacted and DeSantis signed.
In response, Disney pushed for the passage of a developer’s agreement and restrictive covenants that would severely constrain the new board’s ability to act for many years. In response, the governor asked the state legislature to draft a bill that would make the company’s efforts ineffective.
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Mike has more than 30 years of experience in marketing and public relations. He once owned his own agency and has worked with some of the largest brands in the world.
