KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The city of Kissimmee plans to demolish the existing civic center in downtown in the coming months. Officials announced this week that the demolition serves as the next phase in the project to bring a new hotel and convention center to the city.

What You Need To Know

Kissimmee officials announced that the demolition of the existing civic center serves as the next phase in the project to bring a new hotel and convention center to downtown

Economic Development Director David Rodriguez said demolition will begin in one or two months and will take 60 to 90 days to complete 

The Master Development Agreement said grand openings of the new hotel and civic center are projected for 2029

Business owners in downtown Kissimmee said they hope the hotel and new center will draw in more clientele

The project in total costs $180 million and is being developed by Azure Hotel International. It will be a 10-story hotel with more than 300 rooms.

According to the Master Development Agreement between Kissimmee and Azure, the convention center is set to open in early 2029 and has a planned 1.5 year construction timeline. The hotel is set to open shortly after the center, also in 2029. That portion of the project will have a 42-month construction timeline.

“There are millions of visitors that come every year, for leisure, for conventions. Having a hotel in the downtown of Kissimmee will allow the city to capture a share of all that,” Kissimmee Economic Development Director David Rodriguez said.

In addition to the convention center, the hotel will include restaurants, retail space, and other amenities.

“There’s still some steps to complete the due diligence prior to demolition, but that demolition should happen in about one or two months,” Rodriguez said.

Business owners in the area, such as John Glover from Big John’s Rockin’ BBQ, said they imagine the hotel and convention center will draw in more clientele in the downtown community.  

“There’s a lot of residential that we get in Osceola County, and we have people traveling from basically all over Florida to come check it out and have repeat customers,” Glover said. “We have tourists come in, and we have regulars from Europe, in the UK that always call and want to make reservations.”

Glover said his restaurant and bar used to be open on Broadway Avenue, but they have since moved closer to Lakefront Park and to the site of the current and future convention centers. He said they recently purchased a portion of the building just a few blocks from the civic center to remodel his family’s restaurant.

“I’m also happy about the extra tourism that it’s going to bring. I know they’re going to have a couple restaurants and things like that, but (you) can’t eat there every day. You know what I mean? They’ll get out and explore the local cuisine, and I’m hoping we’re one of them,” Glover said.

He said one concern is traffic when the demolition and construction begin.

“My main concern is the traffic, are they going to be rerouted? How is that going to go? Basically, because if they make it harder for people to get down to the lakefront, are they still going to come?” Glover said. “Maybe once they learn the route, it’ll be OK. That’s just my main concern.”

Rodriguez said that once construction and demolition are complete, traffic delays should resolve.

“Undoubtedly it will have some impact in the local area, driving around while construction happens, but those details are typically taken care of by the builder. That is part of the plan that is presented to the city. So it’s, it’s a temporary inconvenience,” Rodriguez said.