A Marriott Vacations Worldwide affiliate is shifting its strategy on an 11-acre parcel acquired a year and a half ago in World Gateway, aiming to swap decades-old timeshare entitlements for a residential apartment community.
The affiliate entity, HVO Holdings LLC, submitted a land-use change request with Orange County on July 28 to modify the development plan for the vacant parcel along Continental Gateway Drive just off State Road 535 and minutes from the Disney parks. Instead of the timeshare/condo-hotel units Marriott planned, the company wants approval to build a multifamily residential complex with 382 units.
The move aligns with Orlando-based Marriott Vacations Worldwide’s strategic priorities outlined during its Q1 2026 earnings call on May 5, where executives highlighted a companywide focus on capital discipline, lowering operating costs, and growing high-margin recurring revenues across its core businesses.
A site map highlights the 11-acre HVO Holdings parcel in World Gateway where Marriott has proposed to build 382 apartments. (Orange County Property Appraiser)
“I am not surprised that there has been a change of business plan for the site,” said Paul Sexton, Managing Director at HREC Investment Advisors in Orlando. “There has been very little development of timeshare in the Orlando market for over a decade as the timeshare companies have gone asset light. Likewise, it has been very difficult to get hotel developments to the finish line, unless you are Disney or Universal. Huge increases in supply in the I-Drive apartment sector notwithstanding, given economic realities of continued high growth in lower wage jobs, multifamily projects are going to pencil a lot easier than other types of development.”
Joshua Wallack, CEO of Wallack Holdings and board member of the International Drive Resort Area Chamber of Commerce, noted that hospitality operators are increasingly evaluating site yields through a residential lens.
“Marriott taking this site from timeshares to residential shows that their analysts and their people in the field are telling them this is the product that will give them the best internal rate of return on this site,” Wallack said. “Owning a hotel or timeshare is roughly the same arena as owning an apartment building, but they are pivoting to the business model that works for the current capital environment.”
To make the swap without having to start the master-plan review from scratch, engineering consultant Kimley-Horn is relying on a trip equivalency matrix—a traffic engineering formula showing that 382 apartments won’t produce any more peak-hour traffic than the allowed 300 timeshares. Representatives for Kimley-Horn declined to speak about the project.
Entitlement roots and capital realignment
The paper entitlements assigned to the vacant parcel date back to the original Greene Property PD approved in 1992. The master development plan carved out 600 total timeshare units alongside commercial and hotel rights. The property was later rebranded as World Gateway, but the timeshare entitlements remained unbuilt for more than 30 years.
In November 2024, Hyatt Vacation Ownership affiliate HVO Holdings LLC — a division of Marriott Vacations Worldwide — acquired the 11-acre parcel from Orlando-based Intram Investments affiliate WGW Partners LLC for $10.8 million, as previously reported by GrowthSpotter. Intram had assembled the broader 460-acre World Gateway tract in early 2023.
At the time of its acquisition, Marriott Vacations was pursuing a 225-unit timeshare project branded as Gateway Vista, complete with a 10-story tower and parking garage. However, changing capital allocation strategies and the industry-wide shift toward asset-light growth prompted a reevaluation of ground-up timeshare construction.
Marriott abandoned plans to build a 225-unit timeshare community in World Gateway. (rendering from WATG)
The strategic change reflects a broader reality across the tourist corridor, where developers are recalibrating their long-term yields.
Submarket supply and absorption dynamics
The proposed conversion comes as the I-Drive/South Orlando multifamily submarket experiences historic demand. According to CoStar market data, the submarket absorbed 2,545 units over the trailing 12 months, accounting for roughly a quarter of all apartment demand across Metro Orlando. Vacancy in the submarket compressed 50 basis points year-over-year to 11.4%, with average asking rents hovering around $1,910 per month.
While the corridor has seen approximately 14,000 new units delivered over the past five years, creating short-term rent pressure and widespread lease-up concessions, the depth of the renter pool continues to support new vertical construction. High mortgage rates and elevated single-family home prices have kept potential buyers in the rental market, particularly along major employment corridors like S.R. 535 and I-Drive.
“The demand for apartment rentals along the International Drive corridor is through the roof,” Wallack added. “You have a deep pool of renters who don’t want or can’t qualify for a mortgage at current rates, but the rental communities are full and achieving solid market rates. With single-family home trades dominating the purchase market, apartment rentals are absorbing that population growth. At current rent levels, the projected rent roll on vertical construction can still comfortably clear debt service requirements.”
If county officials approve the request, the site’s three-decade run as a planned timeshare property will come to an end.
Representatives for Marriott Vacations Worldwide could not be reached prior to publication.
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