After more than 2½ years of negotiations, Osceola Commissioners are set to vote Monday on a contract with the New York developers who were selected to build the mixed-use city center in the county’s NeoCity tech hub.

The development agreement revises the terms from the 2022 memorandum of understanding with co-developers Sciame Construction and Edward J. Minskoff Equities, and updates the phasing to account for the new Performing Arts Center that will anchor the city center, according to a report in GrowthSpotter. It’s an important milestone for the NeoCity vision of an arts-focused, technology hub.

Earlier this year, Commissioners issued $125 million in bonds backed by the county’s Tourist Development Tax for the performing arts center. Assistant County Manager Amanda Clavijo said the county will issue a Request for Proposals in the first quarter of 2026 for the design of the center and will launch a fundraising campaign for the project. “That will be a major step in 2026,” she said.

“Separate from that, the performing arts center will also need parking, and so we need to evaluate whether to start with surface parking and then roll into a parking structure,” Clavijo added. “So we have to do a study to determine how we’ll phase the parking to support the performing arts center.”

Under the revised agreement, the first 25 acres will be divided into three phases, with the performing arts center, public plaza and parking all included in phase 1A. That phase will also include a pedestrian bridge, the first block of mixed-use development with residential apartments over retail and restaurants, and an entire block of office and retail uses.

The Sciame/Minske joint venture will act as development coordinator for the public facilities, including the performing arts center. Their fee would amount to 4% of the total project cost, or anywhere from $6-8 million, but Clavijo said their expertise will pay for itself by finding cost savings and ensuring the quality of the final product.

They will be required to provide proof of financing and must start construction on the mixed-use portion of the project within six months of closing on the property.

Phase 1B would include two more blocks of mixed-use development. The final phase, 1C, would include a hotel and complementary entertainment uses. Clavijo said the developer has the option to bring in another partner to build the office or hotel.

“They have the flexibility depending on what makes sense,” she said. “What is key, though, is the quality of the hotel is set.”

The total development program calls for 1,585,785 square feet of retail, office, and residential, plus a hotel and entertainment space on approximately 13 acres of land. The Sciame/EJME joint venture would pay $565,000 per acre for a total of $7.3 million. The specific details, such as the number of dwelling units and the breakdown of office and commercial uses, were still being finalized when the agenda was published and will be added before Monday’s commission meeting.

“The way that this development agreement is structured, any element could start first,” Clavijo said. “It’s not setting the requirement that they happen in series. Everything could happen at once, or everything could happen one after another. It creates flexibility there so that we’re not restricted.”

Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at lkinsler@GrowthSpotter.com or (407) 420-6261. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.