The Fixer Why Many of C

The art of the pivot How Alcyr Araujo scored big with a revamp of his tech startup MATTHEW RICHARDSON, 12 REAL ESTATE Rents at $1B project among area’s highest Lake Nona Town Center asks retailers for $70 a square foot, industry sources say. JACK WITTHAUS, 14 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CFE’s name change to aid expansion The credit union’s new moniker gives it the ability to look outside Central Florida for growth. RYAN LYNCH, 10 Largest HMOs 23 COVER STORY Assisted Living Facilities 24 TOURISM & HOSPITALITY THE APARTMENTS TO COME TO DEZERLAND FIXER Miami billionaire Why Angel de la Portilla Michael Dezer is was a saving grace for seeking the city’s OK to build a these developers 365-unit, five- story complex RICHARD BILBAO, PAGES 4-6 with a parking garage. RICHARD BILBAO, 16 PHOTO | JIM CARCHIDI ORLANDO Breaking news online BUSINESS JOURNAL r OrlandoBusinessJournal.com February 8, 2019 Vol. 35, No. 33, $5.00 On Twitter 255 S. Orange Ave. @OBJupdate Suite 650 Orlando, FL 32801 Daily email updates L OrlandoBusinessJournal.com/email FEBRUARY 8, 2019 ORLANDO BUSINESS JOURNAL COVER STORY THE FIXER WHY MANY OF C. FLA.’S MOST NOTABLE COMPANIES TURN TO THIS BUSINESSMAN TO NAVIGATE GOVERNMENT RED TAPE BY RICHARD BILBAO | [email protected] entral Florida For de tilla — includ- Not only that, Rosen’s philan- experienced a rare la Portilla, ing some of thropic efforts are highly regarded, moment in winter untangling the local busi- most notably bringing pre-school- 2015 when a private private and ness commu- through-college education oppor- C public issues nity’s most tunities to two Central Florida low- developer overcame the objections of one of the biggest players in — notably prominent er-income neighborhoods, Tangelo town: Universal Orlando Resort. ones that lead individuals Park and Parramore. At question was the centerpiece to wasted — have said In short: Rosen didn’t gain his his work is of the proposed $500 million money while success without hard work and instrumen- Skyplex entertainment center waiting for making the right decisions — includ- tal, and his — the 501-foot-high Skyscraper government ing choosing who he works with. connections polercoaster, which would join a approvals — is And de la Portilla is one of those. what he does and skills are drop tower, zip line, hotel, retail Rosen began working with him best. In fact, something complex and more. around 2011, when a joint venture getting rid of they’ve never between the New York Yankees and Opponents contended the government seen before. a private developer wanted to build tower would be an eyesore for the But it all red tape is one a $47 million baseball complex on International Drive tourist corridor appears to of his compa- land between the Orange Coun- and believed Orange County come natu- ny’s tag lines. ty Convention Center and the Ros- leaders would reject the proposal. rally to him. With a en Plaza. Instead, public speakers showered team that The Yankees’ involvement made it Skyplex with praise. As a result, Go-to guy includes only Angel de la Portilla JIM CARCHIDI a popular proposal to the public, and the Orange County Commission Not many one other a large lobbying team worked hard approved Skyplex unanimously in people are as associate, the to garner support from many locals a win for the little guy. good a judge of character as Harris 51-year-old Miami native of Cuban Rosen, founder, president and COO — except Rosen, who opposed it back While local leaders and media descent often finds himself knee of Orlando-based Rosen Hotels & then because he said it didn’t work crews scrambled to congratulate deep in the middle of many of Cen- Resorts. for the area. Skyplex developer Joshua Wallack, tral Florida’s major projects, repre- Rosen, who turns 80 this Septem- Rosen sought out de la Portilla to a figure stood at Wallack’s side, senting big players in tourism, com- ber, is viewed as the quintessential help demonstrate to local leaders shaking hands with others mercial real estate, public works and entrepreneur, building an empire that the project would harm local and quietly basking in yet local/state government. from scratch. He took a single hotel businesses and wasn’t a good deal. another victory in a government He’s played a key but somewhat — the now 728-room Rosen Inn at Those efforts succeeded, and the boardroom. unknown role in about $1 billion International — and grew that into project didn’t garner enough sup- That man was Angel de la worth of projects in the Orlando an eight-hotel, nearly 6,700-room port for approval. Portilla, president of Orlando area, some completed and others in powerhouse portfolio that generat- “That was the beginning of what government consulting firm various stages of construction. ed more than $331 million in reve- has become a long relationship, one Central Florida Strategies Inc. Those who work with de la Por- nue last year. I have grown to respect and admire,” Rosen said. “It’s not easy what Angel Tourist Development Tax Sports Incen- ical Cafe Orlan- FAMILY TIES does. He’s working with the private and tive Committee. do, which opened public sectors, where there are natural That was good enough for Rosen in 2016, as well as WHAT DRIVES ANGEL challenges when one traverses those and de la Portilla. the adjacent $30 DE LA PORTILLA? two different worlds.” “It’s not about win or lose; it’s about million Hollywood IT'S IN HIS BLOODLINE working out a resolution that’s good for Plaza complex in Other projects the two worked Harris Rosen together on included development of both parties,” Rosen told OBJ. “You aim 2018, not to men- When most people trace their lineage, they're lucky to find the Gary Sain Memorial Bridge that for some resolution, and while it can tion the yet-to-be- results three or four generations since 2013 has connected the Rosen be very unlikely and difficult, you may developed Skyplex. back. Plaza to the convention center. be offered something that makes you Meanwhile, less For Angel de la Portilla and his family, it leads back even further. They also teamed up on many say, ‘Oh, that’s interesting. Not what we than a mile away, "We traced our family roots all Orange County proposals related to wanted, but we are better off with that the region’s new- the way back to Spain, and I am a than nothing.’ ” direct descendant of the second the lucrative tourist development tax Joshua Wallack est go-kart attrac- Spanish governor of Florida, on hotel sales, which often is used for After those experiences, Rosen said tion offers another Rodrigo del Junco, who was upgrades to the convention center, as he greatly values de la Portilla’s work. example of de la Portilla’s steady hand. appointed by the king of Spain in the 1590s," de la Portilla told well as in the past for big downtown “He’s steady,” Rosen said. “We all Andretti Indoor Karting & Games Orlando Business Journal — proof Orlando projects, such as the Camping as human beings have a tendency to co-owner Stan Manousos, another de that his political influences go get emotional about things, but I have la Portilla client, said “speaking gov- back 15 generations in his family. World Stadium renovations, and devel- More recently, de la Portilla's never witnessed that in Angel. He is ernment” is a vital skill in new mar- political background links to “He’s steady. We all as always calm. And that is an import- kets. The $35 million, 135,000-square- when his family lived in Cuba ant attribute for someone in his posi- during the early years of the Fidel human beings have a foot entertainment facility across from Castro regime. Both his parents tion to have.” the Orange County Convention Center were Cuban exiles, who left for tendency to get emotional That steadiness also was key in opened in 2017, which Manousos cred- political reasons, he said. "My mother came to the about things, but I have bringing some of the region’s more ited to de la Portilla’s help in opening U.S. at the age of 16 after she high-profile projects to town. doors and getting through the approval and her sister were distributing never witnessed that in propaganda against Fidel Castro process — even saving close to $1 million in their school," de la Portilla said. Angel. He is always calm. Angel on their shoulders in impact fees. "The [school’s] head nun found Years before the Skyplex vote in Orange “His core strength is he knows a lot out and told my grandfather And that is an important she could get arrested if the County, cars whizzed along I-Drive as of people and can get you in front of government found out. They attribute for someone in Wallack spoke to someone he knew them,” Manousos told OBJ. thought they were going to be in But what really made a difference the U.S. for six months, but they his position to have.” would be vital for his future in Orlando. never went back." — HARRIS ROSEN Wallack needed help landing gov- in planning and developing Andretti His father's story is similar: ernment approvals to redevelop a Indoor Karting & Games was the real- Castro in 1961 visited de la Portilla's grandfather — a 55,000-square-foot shuttered Friday’s istic timeframe de la Portilla provided, prominent attorney in Matanzas, opment of the Amway Center and Dr. Front Row Sports Grill restaurant and because time is money, Manousos said.

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