ORLANDO, Fla. — Editor’s note: This story is available as a result of a content partnership between WFTV and the Orlando Business Journal.
The Walt Disney Co.’s sudden announcement to abandon its proposed $1 billion corporate campus in Orlando’s Lake Nona community left many people questioning what role the company’s feud with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had on the decision.
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In a nutshell: Disney in 2021 revealed plans to build a 1.8 million-square-foot office complex that would have housed 2,000 workers — a mix of workers relocated from California and new jobs — in the southeast Orlando master-planned community developed by Tavistock Development Co. LLC. That plan was nixed, per a May 18 announcement to Disney employees.
Then in spring 2022, Disney and DeSantis began publicly feuding related to the theme park giant’s former Reedy Creek Improvement District special government — now the DeSantis-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. As a result, a lawsuit was filed by Disney related to its constitutional rights, as well as a countersuit filed by the oversight district related to its powers.
Click here to read the full story on the Orlando Business Journal’s website.
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