Town Center, the newest
“neighborhood” in the recently renamed Disney Springs (the former Downtown
Disney), will open in mid-May, Disney officials said during a media preview of
the site on Monday.
The “neighborhood,” which
will be the fourth section of Disney Springs, will have approximately 60 shops
and restaurants, said Disney Springs marketing coordinator Nico Agrusa. Among
the venues will be Anthropologie, Under Armour, Kate Spade New York, the Mexican
restaurant Tablas Frontera, cupcake maker Sprinkles, and DLuxe Burger.
Under the fictional
backstory fashioned as part of the Disney Springs theme, Town Center is the
original neighborhood of the town, which was founded in the 1850s on the banks
of one of Florida’s freshwater springs. Clear, with a sandy bottom, the spring is bordered on its southern edge
by the town’s original homestead, which through the years has been restored and
transformed into the DLuxe Burger.
The Boathouse restaurant opened last year at The Landing in Disney Springs. Photo Credit: Robert Silk
Beyond that lies the
commercial district of Town Center, where shops and restaurants will occupy
several blocks of stucco-roofed buildings designed in the Mediterranean revival
style that characterizes Florida cities such as Coral Gables that were founded
during the state’s original land boom during the 1920s.
Another portion of the
Town Center features the wooden American revival architecture that was more
prevalent in the 1930s.
Only a portion of Town
Center’s shops and restaurants will open in May. But storefronts throughout the
“neighborhood” are expected to be open by the end of the summer, Agrusa said.
It will join longstanding Downtown Disney sections Marketplace, West Side and
The Landing.
While Marketplace and West Side have undergone only limited
changes as Downtown Disney has rebranded, The Landing saw a substantial
expansion with the addition of more than a dozen retailers and restaurants over
the past year. Among the new spots in The Landing is the Pan-Asian restaurant
Morimoto, from Iron Chef America star Masahuru Morimoto. The eatery occupies a
building that is labeled “Springs Bottling Co.” near its roof, keeping with the
fictional backstory of Disney Springs as an evolving town.
Once Town Center is fully
open, Disney Springs will have 150 shops, restaurants and other venues, double
what Downtown Disney had.