Although people over 65 con-
stitute the second largest group
of new arrivals to the State, Flor-
ida is losing some of its original
image as a retirement state. The
largest group of newcomers is
now in the 25 to 44 age bracket
and they are the people most in-
terested in the employment op-
portunities offered by the ever-
present construction of offices,
hotels, warehouses, hospitals
and health facilities and retail
space. Since 1980, over 200 com-
panies have either moved into or
expanded in Central Florida.
These companies have projected
36,880 jobs, spending $1.5 billion
in capital investments and build-
ing 13.37 million square feet of
office complexes, warehouses
and manufacturing plants.
 At the beginning of 1985, a
Coldwell Banker survey reported
that the Central Florida area had
nine million square feet of com-
mercial space either planned
or under construction. Several
large-scale projects, such as the
$150 million Sun Bank Center
and the $400 million duPont Cen-
ter, both scheduled to begin con-
struction this year, have placed
most of that space in Orange
County.
 Despite the apparent increase





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M iu; 4 ;. ^'


in demand for office space, the
construction of traditional office
space, i.e. small, single office
buildings, is expected to decline.
 Retail space is also on the in-
 crease, and in metropolitan Or-
 lando alone, 850,000 s.f. of shop-
 ping center space was built in
 1983. Forty new shopping cen-
 ters, each with over 50,000 s.f.,
 are slated for construction to be-
 gin before the end of 1985. The
 $200 million Florida Mall is cur-
 rently under construction and
 the activity it has generated has
 already spawned more retail
 construction in the same area of
 Orlando.
 With the opening of Orlando
 International Airport in 1981 and
 Epcot Center in 1982, a second
 wave of unprecedented growth
 swept Orlando. Not only did
 Epcot boost the tourist and hos-
 pitality industries, attracting
 22.7 million visitors in 1983, but
 it also helped attract national
 and international business to the
 area. These two projects, added
 to the opening of the Orange
 County Convention/Civic Cen-
 ter in 1983, marked a milestone
 for the State's tourist and con-
 vention business. Currently
 ranked fifth in the world in the
 number of available hotel rooms,
 the Orlando/Walt Disney World


 40.


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_+ _, :
 $ : .... ,


Huckleberry, top and above, is typical of the many new residential communities coming into the Central Florida area. These massive developments offer
affordable living with desired amenities such as the children's play area seen in the upper photo. Photos by Bob Braun.


FLORIDA ARCHITECT September/October 1985