A little over two years ago, The Walt Disney Co. entered the world of residential development with the launch of its Storyliving by Disney brand.
At the time in early 2022, the goal for the new division, according to Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney parks, experiences, and products, was to “develop new and exciting ways to bring the magic of Disney to people wherever they are, expanding storytelling to storyliving.”
Today, two of these master-planned communities are now underway in California and North Carolina with development partner DMB Development.
Attendees of Zonda’s upcoming Raleigh Dealmakers event, which will take place June 6 at the Renaissance Raleigh North Hills, will have the opportunity to hear from Brent E. Herrington, president and CEO of DMB Development, and Page Pierce, vice president of real estate development for Disney Signature Experiences, emerging businesses, on the brand and its communities.
Ahead of the event, BUILDER spoke with Pierce to get a short preview of the special conversation that will occur in-person in early June. Check out his responses below and register to attend the event here.
Tell us a little about yourself and how you started working for Disney?
I've been working at Disney for more than 30 years. In that time, I've had the incredible opportunity to work across different departments, including Walt Disney Imagineering, in different project management positions. Today, I'm the vice president of real estate development for Disney Signature Experiences focusing on Storyliving by Disney and Golden Oak, the private residential community located at Walt Disney World.
How did Storyliving by Disney come to be? Why did the company want to get into community building?
We imagined Storyliving by Disney as a new way for people to make Disney a bigger part of their lives, expanding the legacy of Disney storytelling to Storyliving. Disney is known for creating unbelievable destinations and experiences that people love. Now, we’re taking our expertise and best practices in placemaking to residential communities so we can bring the magic of Disney to people where they are, in their everyday lives.
What are Disney’s overarching goals for this division of the company?
With Storyliving by Disney, we're designing new communities that will inspire residents to write the next exciting chapter in their lives from creating new friendships to pursuing new interests. We're leveraging the creativity of Walt Disney Imagineering and the expertise of industry partners to create communities where residents can truly live life to the fullest.
Our first community, Cotino, is underway in Rancho Mirage, California, and we expect to welcome our first residents early next year. We recently announced plans for the Asteria community, near Raleigh, and we've seen tremendous interest from the North Carolina market and beyond. And we're actively looking at future locations across the country. We've got a lot to look forward to with Storyliving by Disney.
How will Cotino and Asteria differ from traditional master plans, besides the obvious Disney influences?
Beyond the creative placemaking and attention to detail of the Disney Imagineers involved in the planning of Storyliving by Disney communities, we really feel like the Storyliving by Disney difference comes to life with the on-site programming and renowned customer service. Cast members will manage the community association and amenities providing residents with the exceptional service they expect from Disney. Different amenity options will be available at each community offering special Disney programming, activities and events through a club membership.
The communities seem to have garnered a fair amount of interest, how will the company handle the influx of buyers wanting to be a part of the magic?
It's been incredible to see such a strong response from people interested in living in a Storyliving by Disney community. We're currently in pre-sales for Cotino. So if you'd like to learn more, you can visit StorylivingbyDisney.com or if you happen to be in the Palm Springs area, we'd love to see you at our on-site sales studio. With Asteria, we're working closely with our development partner DMB to identify our future home builders and we look forward to sharing more details soon.
We’re actively looking at new locations across the country, so there will be plenty of Storyliving by Disney magic to go around.
