Festival Bay Mall: Orlando, Florida on DeadMalls.com

FESTIVAL BAY MALL: ORLANDO, FL

Ian Scheil's Commentary

User submitted March 13, 2019

Festival Bay Mall in Orlando, Florida was purchased by The Lightstone Group in 2011 for a total of $25 Million dollars. On November 20, 2014, Festival Bay was reopened and renamed Artegon Marketplace and redesigned to become what was known as the "anti-mall". The interior concept was reminiscent of Philadelphia's Reading Terminal, but instead of food there were a number of local shops, businesses, and other such tenants taking up residence in a much more modern facility.

In 2017 the decision was made to close Artegon due to a lack of enthusiasm. Declines in tenants and failure to attract new tenants were also to blame alongside location as the mall is centered directly between a major international outlet and Mall at Millenia, a high end shopping mall owned by the Forbes company.

In 2018, controversial developer, Dezer Development of Miami, purchased Artegon Marketplace for $23.7 Million. Since that time, plans have largely stalled and partnerships between the developer and other developers have collapsed leaving the mall in a state of uncertainty.

In 2018 Deezer Development was filling the interior of the former mall with a large collection of rare and expensive automotives for what they were planning to call the Orlando Auto Museum. However, the developer allegedly failed to gain proper approvals, zoning, etc. from the city of Orlando resulting in over $200 a day in fines by the city. The developer allegedly knew that the plans to add this museum were illegal based on a variety of factors including several violations, zoning issues, code compliance, and others, but decided to pursue it instead. The city of Orlando has taken a hard stance against the developer who has been accused of similar attempts to violate codes in a variety of markets. The developer has also been accused of alleged shady business dealings with the Trump Organization and is a known developer of the organization's various development projects for "Trump Tower" and "Trump Hotel" properties around the world. In 2017 Deezer Development was accused by Brazilian authorities of alleged money Laundering for a sum of $4.1 Million in relation to a separate licensing deal.

Prime Time Amusement was originally a partner in Deezer's plans for the former Artegon Marketplace. However,PrimeTime, after reportedly learning of alleged illegal action by Deezer, has broken ties from the project. According to Orlando Sentinel, "PrimeTime Amusement's David Goldfarb issued a statement clarifying that they are no longer a part of the Artegon project. 'We have decided to go a different direction as a company in this project, and are no longer affiliated with Artegon. We wish Dezer Development only success moving forward'."

Currently the former mall sits surrounded by chain linked fences to restrict access, except for the main anchors, Cinemark Theater, Bass Pro Shop, and one or two other anchor stores. The mall is currently being referenced as "Deezerland Action Park" by the developer, a name detailing the developer's controversial plans to add the auto museum among other theme type elements to the project. However, the local public and news outlets still commonly refer to the site as Artegon as that is the most commonly known reference to the site.

In February 2019, an article appeared in the Orlando Business Journal detailing continued development progress for the developer and property noting that the project to turn Artegon Marketplace into "Deezerland Action Park" has continued. The development plans carry a $70 Million price tag. According to their website, dezerlandactionpark.com, the new action park is planning to include go karts, laser tag, bumper cars, a trampoline park, an arcade, 10 private event spaces, the originally planned auto museum, and other attractions. New signage has been erected outside the facility with the name "Deezerland Action Park" as well. An opening date is projected for Spring 2019 after the previously announced and delayed opening slated for Christmas of 2018 was scrapped.

Sean's Commentary

Posted November 20, 2006 (user submitted)

The Festival Bay Mall is a Lifestyle Center / Mall at the North End of I-Drive in Orlando. It's a new mall and is anchored by Bass Pro Shops, Ron Jon Surf Shop, Shepler's Western Wear, and Steve & Barry's. Attractions there are a Cinemark, Ron Jon Surf Park, Indoor Minigolf, and a Vans Skatepark. It seems like it might be a major attraction.

When we made a wrong turn on I-Drive, we saw the Bass Pro Shops, and decided to check it out. I read the previous entry on this mall, and knew that it might've been dead. At first I was mislead, the parking lot was full of cars. It probably wasn't dead anymore. We went inside the Bass Pro Shops, it had a moderate crowd, waterfall, aquarium, shooting range, seemed pretty cool. But it all changed once inside the mall.

The mall is basically a giant warehouse with a bunch of tiny buildings were put up inside painted bright colors, (the entire mall has the same cieling, like if you were on a ladder on one side of the mall, you could see across the mall) meaning the walls never met the ceiling. The mall might look nicer if there was no roof, but the hallways had a giant awning-type roof. The center court had a giant indoor lake and a bridge.

The attendance was low, but "No more than 50 people" is a little drastic, i'd say I saw no more than 100 people, whereas you's usually see about 200 in a regular mall. The mall is mostly made up of mom-and-pops and many outlets. The only national chains beside the anchors were Fuddrucker's, Auntie Anne's Pretzels, A&W, Long Jon Silvers, Subway, Nine West, Icing, Journey's, Jones New York, Pac Sun, Hot Topic, Vans, Charlotte Russe, and BCBG MaxAzaria (Jones New York and Nine West were both outlets, go figure) and, except for Bass Pro Shops, the anchors were very small. A lot of stores were opening up, including the Surf Park. The only ads for the mall was one billboard near the mall advertising the chain stores, and many Ron Jon billboards which seemed like they promoted their Cocoa Beach location more than the Orlando one.

The reason I think the mall's dead is probably the location. The north end of I-Drive is just a culdesac, and is not very easy to get to, and there's not much advertising.

Photos

Flickr.com - Sean's pictures

Jason Good's Commentary

Posted December 3, 2005(user submitted)

Well technically this mall isn't dead. But it sure as heck looks to be. It was weird.

In Orlando, Florida down International Drive they built this huge shopping mall called Festival Bay. It has a Ron Jon Surf Shop, a theatre, everything a normal very thriving mall has, until you go inside. You know I thought usually they brought stores into a mall before they opened it? Well I guess they missed this one. The only stores really inside the mall are the anchors (Steve & Barry's, Sheplers, Ron Jon's, Van's Skate Park) But there are almost no other stores open! This mall has been open for at least 3 years now and it still has almost the same stores as when it opened. Some stores have tried to open but they have closed already.

I figured down I-Drive you should find any major store in the mall down there. I looked for a bookstore; instead of what I expected (Barnes and Noble, Borders, Waldenbooks) there's a Book Outlet Store that sells all former best sellers for cheaper prices, not even a MAIN bookstore. It has some of the usuals (Pac Sun, Hot Topic, etc.) but those are few. It's a mall the size of a Super-Regional with the store amount of a Strip mall in a neighborhood. And even worse, I don't think I've ever seen more than 50 people in there when I've gone. There's never ANYONE there!!! I can't imagine that the mall is making money! So personally, I think this is a Live but Dead Mall.

Nicole Guerrero’s Commentary:

User submitted Aug 2012

I first came upon this mall while on vacation in Orlando with my family in 2004. We just happened upon it as we meandered past the outlet malls on I-Drive. We assumed it was new, based on the high percentage of empty storefronts. Back then, it had many more stores than it does now.

I've been back more than a few times since then, and it makes me sadder every time, as more stores close, and now whole empty wings are blocked off. My boyfriend and I have gone to eat lunch at Fuddrucker's and take a peek at the sad arcade that still lingers in one of the wings there. No one is ever there, and more dead machines pile up behind the ones still in operation.

I don't know what it is about this mall that hits me so hard, considering I didn't grow up with it or anything like that. I think it's because it has a unique architectural style and it looks really great inside, until you actually see that it's not even fifty percent occupied.

It seems that this mall was rather doomed from the start, for several reasons. I thought I would share some information I gleaned from the Orlando Sentinel archives. Festival Bay was announced in 1998, as a mall designed to "reflect the Florida lifestyle." Their goal was to find unique stores as anchors. The originally announced tenants were Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, and the Cinemark 20. They were free-standing buildings that were eventually connected to the mall. Cinemark was the first to open in December 1999, after a few delays for certificate of occupancy. This was followed by Bass Pro Shops in 2000, with the "second phase" to follow in 2001. So, imagine, two free-standing enterprises with a dirt lot in-between. For those visitors expecting a mall, that's really disappointing, and definitely does not ensure repeat visits.

Funding also waned as the 2000s moved forward, and the mall opening was pushed back to 2002, then finally opened in 2003. Many stores were announced as being part of the mall over the years, and then never actually opened. Developers considered building an entertainment complex right next to the mall on other Belz-owned property, which would feature rides and a boardwalk, but this was scrapped because of lack of funding.

Other anchors over the years included Ron Jon Surf Shop, Sheplers Western Wear (2001), Vans Skatepark (2002), and Steve and Barry's (2003). There was also a Hilo Hattie's store for a time, which is a department store from Hawaii, selling island-themed goods. The mall officially opened for business April 3, 2003 (nearly five years after it was first announced), but most of the stores within the complex weren't quite ready for the debut; focus groups around this time weren't aware of the "brand," which shows that advertising was probably not strong enough to make an impression from the get-go.

In addition to the Ron Jon Surf Shop, there was a Surfpark planned as well, which would include wave pools and the like; this was finally abandoned in 2008, four years after it was announced.

Mall property was sold in 2010 to FB Orlando Acquisition Co., LLC. (It was originally owned by Belz, who owns a bunch of factory outlet malls). The new group planned to "de-mall" and revitalize as an outdoor shopping center in 2011. Another planned amusement park next to the mall bit the dust in 2011, as well. In January 2012 Festival Bay spokespeople announced a new tenant, Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill, but there is no other information to be found.

The last time I was there was July 2012. The only stores left are the Bass Pro Shop, Ron Jon, Cinemark, the putt-putt golf, a book warehouse store, and a memorabilia store. There might still be a jewelry store. The only eateries are Fuddrucker's, a very lone Subway, and a Churromania. Even the Universal Studios store and Hot Topic pulled out. The arcade is still there, and a very sad affair, indeed. As you can see from the pictures I took, there are whole unoccupied wings now that have been closed off. Signs proclaim "changes" in 2013, but what those are exactly, no one knows . . .

I took some pictures last visit, which can be found here: https://picasaweb.google.com/cogenthought/FestivalBayMallADeadMall?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Andrew’s Commentary:

User submitted Jul 2007

The Festival Bay mall is finally seeing some daylight after several years of slow activity as had been originally reported here on Dead Malls. The mall has never really been a failure and has maintained enough tenants and visitors to stay alive; mostly due to the popular Bass Pro Shops, Ron Jon Surf Shop, and the Cinemark Theatres. The Festival Bay Mall has recently become fairly active on weekends with movie-goers at the mall's Cinemark Theatres as well as tourists visiting the popular Ron Jon Surf Shop and new dining additions at the main entrance of the mall.

In addition, a major project is currently underway at the mall; the massive Ron Jon Surf Park is currently under construction in the back end of the mall and is set to open in 2008. The surf park will be the first of its kind and will feature a massive wave pool, dining, and live enterntainment. Once the Ron Jon Surf Park is open the mall should finally see the type of activity that it has been waiting for years.

By 2008 it should be appropriate to remove this mall from the Dead Malls list.

Mary’s Commentary:

User submitted Jul 2007

I don't think it's reasonable to call this a "dead mall." I think there's a misunderstanding about what this place really is. It started as stand alone buildings that were all built within the last several years: a twenty screen Cinemark theater, a Ron Jon's with wave pools for surfing practice, a ridiculously large and elaborate redneck spectacle called Outdoor World, etc. These buildings where then incorporated into a "mall" by creating the large, warehouse looking enclosure between them which is why it looks so unusual. The thing is, this is not a "mall" in the traditional sense, but more of an attraction for tourists. It's location at the end of International Dr. (which is ENTIRELY devoted to all things tacky and touristy) places it strategically within a mile or so
of Universal Studios and surrounded by tourist targetting, upscale, outlet malls. Further, it is decidedly not dead as it is still growing and expanding and, as I happened to have visited it within the last week to catch a movie while I was in town, I can point out that it was both extremely crowded and very clean and well kept.

Ian Scheil's Commentary

Sean's Commentary

Photos

Jason Good's Commentary

Patricia Lacy’s Commentary:

Nicole Guerrero’s Commentary:

Andrew’s Commentary:

Mary’s Commentary: