The jacket Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer wore to the grand opening of downtown Orlando's new startup space was purchased at that exact spot some time ago.
The 86-year-old Kress Building at 130 S. Orange Ave. previously hosted retail tenants, where Dyer used to shop and get his hair cut, he said.
However, it's now home to two of Orlando's most important resource groups for early-stage startups. The University of Central Florida downtown business incubator and startup accelerator Starter Studio held the grand opening of their shared space in the Kress Building on Jan. 11.
The two organizations, which provide training, mentorship and workspace for local entrepreneurs, previously shared a 20,000-square-foot space in the Church Street Exchange Building at 101 S. Garland Ave.
However, they traded that for a smaller 3,579-square-foot space in a prominent location in the heart of downtown Orlando when UCF signed a two-year lease at the Kress Building late last year. Rob Yeager, president of Sullivan Properties Inc., is the landlord.
To see inside the new space, check out the gallery above.
Not only does the opening fill long-empty storefronts on Orange Avenue, but it's also the first step toward the possible creation of "the hub of entrepreneurial activity downtown," said Rob Panepinto, director of innovation districts strategy and partnerships and senior strategic adviser of partnerships and innovation at UCF.
There's opportunity for the space to be used by entrepreneurs who are not part of Starter Studio or the UCF Business Incubation Program. Plus, UCF can expand into additional empty space in the Kress Building in the future if needed, Panepinto said.
The move to a smaller space highlights both organizations' emphasis shifting away from physical space for startups toward programs. For example, Starter Studio launched in Orlando in 2014 as co-working space Canvs.
Over the years, however, Starter Studio's entrepreneur training programs have become more important for the nonprofit, Executive Director Lilian Myers said. Of course, the rise in remote work due to the Covid-19 pandemic further reduces the need for office space.
The UCF Business Incubation Program and Starter Studio make sizable contributions to the growth of small businesses in the region.
In fact, the business incubation program has supported more than 600 companies that raised $103 million combined in the past 22 years, according to UCF’s website. Plus, the 115-plus companies Starter Studio has supported since 2015 created more than 300 jobs, according to a 2020 study by London-based EY.
Meanwhile, downtown Orlando's office market is dealing with a higher-than-average vacancy rate. the central business district submarket posted a 15.9% average office space vacancy rate in the third quarter, slightly worse than the 14.1% reported in the year-earlier period, and higher than metro Orlando's 14.4% third-quarter 2021 rate, JLL reported.
The submarket's average asking office space rent of $28.79 per square foot in the third quarter was relatively unchanged from the year-earlier quarter, but was the second-highest in metro Orlando in this year's third quarter, following Lake Nona's $36.43 per square foot, per JLL.
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