Sagging Economy Slows Plans for ‘Flamingo Crossings’ at Disney

Just beyond the western entrance to Walt Disney World, construction crews are putting the finishing touches on a new network of roads complete with utility lines, street lamps and palm trees — but not a single building.

The empty streetscape is all that exists so far of “Flamingo Crossings,” a 450-acre lodging-and-shopping district that Disney World announced more than three years ago as a way to capture more spending from the legions of price-sensitive tourists who visit the resort’s theme parks every year but bypass its premium-priced hotels in favor of cheaper, off-property accommodations.

The stalled project is a high-profile victim of the global recession and credit freeze, which has made financing for many commercial construction projects exceedingly hard to obtain. It is also emblematic of a broader construction slowdown at the giant resort: Records show that building-permit activity at Disney World has dropped 25 percent during the past year.

For the rest of Jason Garcia’s article…please go to the Orlando Sentinel