The City of Orlando held a groundbreaking ceremony to kick off the first phase of construction on Church Street.
Mayor Buddy Dyer and members of City Council took part in the symbolic throwing of dirt, going all-in on a plan to revitalize the once popular and bustling Church Street corridor and thereabouts.
This supposed revitalization can’t come soon enough for downtown business owners, like Yehya Rizeq of Crepe Delicious Urban Cafe, who said that the City of Orlando has to “hurry up with their projects in order to make small businesses survive in Church Street,” as reported by WKMG.
The groundbreaking ceremony and construction was originally scheduled for spring, but was delayed until now. There is no official word from the City of Orlando on what caused these delays.
This Phase I of Church Street’s redevelopment spans Garland Avenue to the railroad tracks and focuses on turning the stretch into a more pedestrian-friendly area with new landscaping opportunities, two 11-foot travel lanes and a curbless “festival street” that blends into the sidewalks. Construction on Phase I is set to be completed this winter.
The next two phases of construction reach from the railroad tracks to Orange Avenue to Magnolia Avenue with the same goal of a more pedestrian friendly space. Altogether, the City of Orlando’s plan is for the project to be completed in early summer 2028. All three phases are a part of the larger Project DTO plan to remake downtown Orlando.
The hope for these projects is to bring back some of the 1980s hustle-and-bustle of what was then a thriving Church Street entertainment district. But given concerns over safety, restrictions on downtown nightlife, parking rates going up and longtime area businesses going under, it’s a tall order.
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