If you are trying to book a skiing trip, Orlando isn't the first location that comes to mind.

But, Intrawest, the Vancouver-based developer best known for its ski resort villages at ski resorts in North America and Europe is setting down roots in the land of Mickey and Minnie.

It's not at all out of character for the 20-year-old-plus developer, listed as IDR on the New York Stock Exchange.

"We have been highly successful with our beach and golf resorts at Lake Las Vegas in Nevada and Sandestin, in the Florida Panhandle," said Bob Buttaro, the marketing manager for the Orlando project, which is called the Village of Imagine.

"Orlando is a natural setting for a pedestrian-friendly village of condo-hotels and retail," he said.

For those of you who find it hard to believe that "pedestrian-friendly" and Orlando can appear in the same sentence, the 30-acre development, for which ground was broken this month, will be just east of the Orange County Convention Center.

"The central location will handle the busy trade-show season (last week's International Builders Show attracted 100,000 visitors, and getting around was both difficult by car and expensive by taxi), offer upscale shopping and be accessible to beaches just 60 miles away," Buttaro said.

The Village of Imagine project was one of four launched in December, one of Intrawest's most successful months in its history. The other projects are Honua Kai in Maui, Etoile du Matin at Tremblant in Quebec and Lewis Ranch in Copper Mountain, Colorado.

Ninety-three percent of the total residential units of the four projects are pre-sales, resulting in $534 million in revenue.

The success of the Intrawest projects reinforces National Association of Realtors® data showing that more than a third of existing-home sales annually are second-homes. The demand for condo hotel units also supports survey work by WCI, the Florida developer, which has been selling more and more of its houses to "splitters" -- baby boomers who divide their time between houses in the Northeast and Midwest and resort areas.

The first piece of Imagine will be Grand Imagine, a 12-story, 256-unit condo hotel for which ground has been broken and completion set for early 2008. The hotel will be managed by the Westin Co., Buttaro said.

"Not all condo hotels are high-rise," he said. "Most of what we build are located above retail. But high-rise makes the most use of the land and is part of our effort to try to make the village local, to create a feeling of traditional Florida resort hotels like the Breakers and the Biltmore."

Buttaro was quick to add that the condo hotels won't "be replicas but reminiscences."

Grand Imagine's pre-sales rate was 83 percent, with 213 sold to priority reservation holders, and accounted for $83 million in presales revenue.

Prices for the suites and residences ranged from $270,000 to $650,000. The median sale price of a single-family home in central Florida is about $400,000.

When completed, the Village of Imagine will have 1,000 condo units.

Intrawest had planned to offer only 130 units for pre-sale, but demand was too great and most were pre-sold.

These are not time-shares, but whole ownership, Buttaro said. Owners can either live there full-time, or rent them through Intrawest's management program.

Retailers in this upscale shopping area are "mom and pop operations, not chains," Buttaro said. "There will be mostly shopping and dining offered in the 50,000-square-feet of retail we will be building along with the 1,000 units."

Despite its ventures into warm-weather areas, Intrawest is still best-known for its mountain ski resorts, which began with Whistler in Vancouver, B.C., 20 years ago, said Buttaro.

Etoile du Matin is the newest village at Mount Tremblant, in the Laurentian Mountains just north of Montreal, where Intrawest has set up one of its four regional offices.

"Tremblant is really one of our success stories, and it isn't just about skiing," said Buttaro. "Just like Orlando will be, Tremblant is a four-season resort, with skiing in the winter and hiking, biking and fishing in the many lakes" in the summer.

There is a huge difference between the two cities in the winter, however. Orlando in January is typically in the 70s during the day, and the upper 50s at night.

At Tremblant, it's about 15 above zero in the day, and the same 15 degrees but below zero at night.