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As we reported earlier this year, Epic Universe will not only contain a hotel connected to the back of the theme park, but Universal Orlando also plans to add other hotels nearby.
One of these new nearby hotels, known as Project 912, will be built first according to permit information filed with Orange County. New documents indicate that major construction work on this project will be underway in the coming months.
Official Universal Orlando image with new hotel location added for reference
Located a few miles south of the current Universal Orlando Resort, the new Epic Universe theme park is under construction. In addition to the main theme park area, the company also owns satellite plots that surround the park, which may be used for hotels or other uses.
One of these plots is located directly opposite the main entrance to the future theme park. This is where documents indicate that Project 912, a new hotel, will be built.
Future hotel site at the corner of Kirkman Rd and Universal Blvd
According to some rumors, the 912 project would contain around 750 rooms. It will be located at the corner of Universal Boulevard and Kirkman Road which will soon be extended. When completed in late 2024, the Kirkman Road extension will connect the existing areas of Universal Orlando Resort to the new Epic Universe area.
Future hotel site labeled “UEU hotel” in this image, photo: Bioreconstruction
According to the permits, the contractor for this new hotel will be the same contractor for Universal’s Endless Summer Resort, Finfrock. Finfrock specializes in precast concrete structures, which allow for incredibly fast construction times.
Notice of launch from Orange County showing Finfrock as contractor
The inauguration of the 912 project had been the subject of rumors from this summer and until August. New documents requesting the arrival of cranes on the site could give us a better idea of the construction schedule for this new hotel.
Height waivers filed with the FAA show that three cranes are due to arrive on October 25, 2022 and will be on site until March 17, 2023. This gives them just under 5 months to raise the precast concrete walls of this new hotel. , if that is how it will be built.
FAA height waiver stating that the crane must be used from October to March
Endless Summer’s Surfside complex took just 15 months to build from the first stone, and if this complex is built using the same technique, it could be completed and ready to open as early as early 2024.
The Epic Universe theme park is expected to open no later than summer 2025, so this new hotel may not be in such a rush to open, but it could be ready before the new theme park.
Description of Finfrock from Endless Summer, Image: finfrock.com
Other recent permits filed with the county are for the construction of “mock rooms” at a nearby warehouse. These model suites will be used to show contractors what the finished rooms of this new hotel will look like.
Permits for these mock rooms even include running electrical, plumbing, and HVAC, all configured exactly as they will be in the actual hotel suites once built.
License details for the model suite, image: fasttrack.ocfl.net
Many of these permits were originally filed between late 2019 and early 2020, but were only recently finalized and approved. As with major work on the theme park itself, this project has been delayed due to pandemic complications.
We will keep an eye on the construction of this hotel in the future. The plot is largely cleared and preparatory works for construction have been approved. If reports from the cranes are correct, we should see the concrete walls poured in the fall, in preparation for the cranes to put them in place between October and March.
The walls are up for Epic Universe’s backstage buildings, Photo: Bioreconstruction
This same process of preparing and lifting the walls is currently taking place behind the scenes at the Epic Universe theme park. The walls of the new park’s team member services building have just been put in place, and the walls of the massive warehouses have been poured and are waiting to be placed next.
The walls are prepared before being put in place for the backstage warehouses, Photo: Bioreconstruction
See our previous video below on the Project 912 hotel for more details on this upcoming project. Be sure to subscribe to the news feed so you never miss an Epic Universe update!
Subscribe to the news feed or enter your email address below to never miss an update. Official Art: Universal Orlando | Graphics added by Alicia Stella | Other captioned images
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