HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – Disney is launching a new business to develop residential communities, starting off with a California project in collaboration with DMB Development, which is also active in Houston.
Disney’s effort to develop “Storyliving by Disney” communities will begin with a community in in Rancho Mirage, in Southern California’s Coachella Valley — a location where Walt Disney himself owned a home and would spend leisure time with his family. Additional locations in the U.S. are under exploration for future development.
“Storyliving by Disney Neighborhoods will be Infused with the Company’s Special Brand of Magic”
“For nearly 100 years, Disney has shared stories that have touched the hearts and minds of people all around the world,” said Josh D’Amaro, chairman, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. “As we prepare to enter our second century, we are developing new and exciting ways to bring the magic of Disney to people wherever they are, expanding storytelling to storyliving. We can’t wait to welcome residents to these beautiful and unique Disney communities where they can live their lives to the fullest.”
The first Disney community will be called “Cotino, a Storyliving by Disney community,” and it will be built in the heart of the Greater Palm Springs area.
Cotino is being developed with DMB Development, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based firm which develops large-scale planned communities in the U.S.
“Cotino represents the creativity and operational excellence of Disney combined with the extensive community development expertise of DMB Development,” said Brent Herrington, the company’s CEO. “We are delighted to collaborate with Disney in this groundbreaking new concept.”
DMB’s New Walkable Community in Houston
In north Houston, DMB Development is developing a 450-acre section of City Place, which was formerly known as Springwoods Village. City Place has a significant corporate presence – with the global headquarters campuses of Exxon Mobil and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. But with ambitious design, DMB is attempting to enhance walkability, presenting a denser mix of housing and a new urbanity that is uncommon in suburban Houston. The City Place community will have green pathways and bicycle lanes that will make it possible to minimize auto travel, said Herrington, who spoke at the Surban Marketplace event presented last year by the Houston District Council of the Urban Land Institute. Planning for DMB’s Houston development is well underway.
Disney Project Welcomes Seniors
The new Disney Cotino Development will not exclude seniors to favor of kids who love to wear Mickey Mouse ears. The project will “welcome homeowners of all ages and will include at least one section expressly for 55 and older residents. Home buyers will have a range of home types to choose from, including estates, single family homes and condominiums.” The community will have 1,900 housing units, including single-famlly and condos.
The community is expected to surround a 24-acre lake with turquoise waters with Crystal Lagoons technology, enabling crystalline lagoons of any size to be built sustainably, with low water consumption and using a minimum amount of additives and energy.
A voluntary club membership will offer access to a waterfront clubhouse, a club-only beach area and recreational water activities, as well as Disney programming, entertainment and activities throughout the year.
Cotino also has approval for a mixed-use district featuring a range of shopping, dining and entertainment, a beachfront hotel, and a professionally managed beach park with recreational water activities that can be accessed by the public through the purchase of a day pass.
But the actual development of the Disney community will be completed by DMB and real estate and design professionals. In a press release, Disney clarifies its involvement thusly: “Disney is not the developer of Cotino, a Storyliving by Disney community or the builder or seller of homes within Storyliving by Disney communities. The parties developing, and building homes in, Storyliving by Disney communities are independently owned and operated.”
“Disney Imagineers will play a key role in developing the creative concept for the communities, working in conjunction with respected developers and homebuilders,” Disney said.
“Disney Imagineers are exploring the richness of each local region to inspire the theme of Storyliving by Disney communities,” said Michael Hundgen, executive producer, Walt Disney Imagineering. “Distinctively designed indoor and outdoor spaces will offer residents new opportunities to explore, engage and create the next incredible chapter of their story.”
Disney says its “Storyliving by Disney” communities “will cater to those looking to write next chapter of their lives with Disney.”
Feb. 17, 2022 Realty News Report Copyright 2022.
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Image: Artist concept rendering; not yet constructed and subject to change. ©Disney
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File: Disney Storyliving Communities in US Rollout (Houston Note)
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