UCF favorite plaza to be demolished, redeveloped

Starting in 2013, events like Knight Library's St. Patrick's Day block party will be things of the past.

American Campus Communities bought the Plaza, which is home to many bars and restaurants, and the area is set to be demolished.

The owners of complexes such as The Edge and The Village at Science Drive closed the $27 million purchase earlier this month and have planned to start construction on housing by Feb. 2013.

The company aims to open the new apartments for students by the fall of 2014, said Gina Cowart, vice president of investor relations and corporate marketing.

The decision to demolish comes with a lot of confusion for tenants and students. The Plaza holds many bars and restaurants that are frequented by UCF students and alumni – and now the question hangs in the air of where the businesses are going to go.

"For me, I can just pack up my merchandise and leave; I've got four locations that are asking me to move in," Don Griswold, owner of Greeks & More, said. "The restaurants and bars can't necessarily do that."

Griswold said the buildings in the Plaza have been deteriorating for years. He was anticipating maybe a renovation, but not a demolition. Now he's just waiting for the notice of when the company has to vacate the building.

Several business have already left the Plaza in anticipation of the demolition.

Food-favorite Silver Mine Subs and the Bead Basket have both recently closed.

Broadway Pizza, a favorite among UCF students, has been open in the Plaza for 12 years and recently finished remodeling and expanding. They, too, are unsure of their relocation plans.

"This whole thing has been going on for five years," said Rich Koller, co-owner of Broadway Pizza. "The problem with the Plaza is that, people can get a two-year lease, but there's an eviction clause. There's no guarantees."

Koller plans to open a new location at the corner of Goldenrod Road and University Boulevard to accommodate their growing customer base.

American Campus Communities claims there has been no real uproar from tenants upon hearing of the site purchase, Cowart said. They will continue to lease the buildings to willing tenants through 2012.

"Each tenant willingly signed a letter indicating their lease was in full force and effect as part of the closing process," Cowart said in an email.

Despite owners being seemingly okay with the plans, employees of local businesses are still up in arms.

One Plaza employee, who wished for she and the business she works for to remain anonymous, is disgruntled about the new ownership and building plans.

"We aren't very happy," she said. "Something needed to be done [with the buildings], but we don't think bulldozing is the answer."

Junior micro and molecular biology major Ian Hamilton held much of the same perspective as the employees. Hamilton believes that the Plaza is an important part of UCF's social culture.

"I think a lot of the students would be sad to see the bars and restaurants go," Hamilton said. "The school is starved for a social scene; for a school our size, the surrounding area always seems dead."

Cowart said that the Plaza is an estimated 100,000 square feet of retail space. American Campus Communities plans to maintain 65,000 square feet of that space for the same purposes and turn the remaining area into the proposed housing.

Aaron Pierre, a senior forensic science major, said he feels this development decision is a misguided one.

"I understand our need for adequate student housing and parking space," Pierre said. "However, that's no excuse to turn part of the student sub-culture into another apartment – especially as more and more of them are littering the surrounding area."