CHAMPIONSGATE, Fla. (July 18, 2007) ChampionsGate, the 1,500 acre mixed use luxury resort community at I-4 and ChampionsGate Blvd. in Osceola County, will start construction of a $65 million lifestyle center to serve the entire Four Corners area early next year.

Marc Reicher, senior vice president of operations at ChampionsGate, said the new Downtown ChampionsGate will be located directly off the I-4 interchange on 13 acres and will include 65,000 square feet of lifestyle type retail space, 37,000 square feet of office space and 200 multi-family units. 

Additionally, Reicher feels that, The new downtown will not only promote a pedestrian friendly environment for its guests but will also add tremendous mass and density to ChampionsGate downtown area.

Reicher said architects Dougherty Design Group of Atlanta is designing the retail and office space. Meeks Partners, a leading U.S. architectural firm headquartered in Houston, will design the multi-family facilities.

Reicher said commercial and residential will both start construction next year and should open in 2009.

About ChampionsGate

ChampionsGate (www.ChampionsGate.com) is Floridas premier golf resort community, encompassing some 1,500 acres southwest of Orlando.  ChampionsGate, with its beautifully designed double gates, welcomes visitors off Interstate 4, just south of Walt Disney World Resort.

ChampionsGate is home to the world headquarters of the David Leadbetter Golf Academy, the AAA four-diamond Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate, a flagship resort for Omni Hotels featuring a 10,000 square-foot spa, and two championship golf courses designed by Greg Norman. The community is also host each December to the nationally televised MBNA WorldPoints Father/Son Golf Challenge, which pairs up major championship winners with their sons.

ChampionsGate is being developed by Rida Associates LP as a joint venture by Apollo Real Estate Advisors of New York and Rida Development Corporation of Houston.  ChampionsGate has a projected value of approximately $1 billion and is expected to include 2,864 hotel rooms, 2,136 resort villas, condominiums, townhomes and apartments, 36 holes of golf, and 426,000 square feet of retail space, making ChampionsGate one of the regions largest resort destinations.

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For more information, contact:

Marc S. Reicher, ChampionsGate, 407-397-2500

Christina Balikowsky, ChampsionsGate, 407-397-2500

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, LV  Communications, 407-644-4142