Sunday, April 11, 2010


We’re back! Excuse the lengthy hiatus please. This moment in time known as the Great Recession necessitated a brief pause in Orlando Mayor Dyer’s big vision that is Creative Village. The good news is that it’s back in play and the original 2006 Task Force recommendations remain largely intact.

As you know, Creative Village is the 56-acre redevelopment site around the existing Amway Arena. Creative Village is a critical component of the downtown landscape, and even more relevant with the recent approval of SunRail. The new Amway Events Center will be completed this fall and, while the City recognizes the current economic reality and real estate market conditions, the Creative Village is aligned with many near-term federal funding priorities and other “hot buttons” of the development industry (e.g., transit-oriented development, mixed-income housing, mixed-use urban infill, education, green building, job creation, brownfield redevelopment, etc.).

The City is looking to the development community to suggest a plan and financing strategy to move the Creative Village forward, create value and offer the innovative, diverse and signature urban place that we all know is critical to our future. Proposals will be due April 26th at 3 pm.

Related media coverage can be found here:
http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2010/03/29/daily31.html
http://www.wesh.com/money/23028267/detail.html
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-03-21/news/os-centroplex-venues-plan-20100321_1_arena-land-stimulus-money-federal-stimulus

Details about the process and the project can be found here: http://cityoforlando.net/elected/venues/creative.htm

Onward and upward!


FULL DISCLOSURE: I am a member of one of the teams bidding on the Creative Village project and also represent the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, which is related to this effort as part of the venues package. That said, this blog will not be a platform for promotion of either of those. It is intended to elevate the concept of a Create Village, create greater understanding of its value and help align interested parties in supporting the effort from a grassroots, community standpoint.

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