Orange school board approves Hungerford sale to nonprofit

The Orange County School Board on Tuesday gave final approval to a landmark sale of the historic Hungerford school property to a local nonprofit.

The board unanimously approved a deal to sell the 117-acre plot of land, located just off Interstate 4 in Eatonville, to the Orlando-based Dr. Phillips Charities for $14 million. Much of the sale price would be waived if the organization fulfills its plan to build affordable housing, a town museum, a park with a pavilion for outdoor events, a healthcare facility and early learning services within ten years.

“This is a good deal for Eatonville. I think it ensures sustainability within the community,” said board member Angie Gallo.

The nonprofit recently rebuilt Orlando’s Packing District in partnership with the city, revitalizing an area west of College Park.  Its Eatonville plan is more challenging and potentially far more impactful, seeking to transform a low-income, historically Black town through an ambitious development of the most valuable resource within its limits.

The sale to Dr. Phillips has been controversial in Eatonville, winning support from the town’s mayor but prompting opposition from other town leaders and dividing residents. Some are frustrated that the land won’t be given back to the town. Others have said they’re excited that something is to be built on property that has sat vacant for almost two decades.

Several people urged the school board to vote down the deal, saying they didn’t want an outside group developing a prime real estate spot in the small town.

“It’s great to have powerful partners, but at the same time, you don’t want to have the people at the mercy of an organization with more power than most of the residents,” said Seven Charlestin, a local activist.

But board members stood firm. Stephanie Vanos, whose district includes Eatonville, said it hasn’t been a “perfect process” but said the deal was a “win-win” that the district and the town need to embrace.

“Some have claimed that they are going to fight for Eatonville. But to me, fighting for Eatonville means taking a hard look at the town’s resources and saying ‘yes’ to a needed gift that comes your way,” Vanos said.

Eatonville is one square mile, and the median income is about $35,500, well below the state and regional average. The Hungerford property sits on Kennedy Boulevard, the town’s main thoroughfare, and is a gateway to the town founded by freed slaves.

The school was founded in 1897 as a boarding school for Black students. The school board purchased the Hungerford land more than 70 years ago — for under market value and under controversial circumstances, some Eatonville residents argue — and operated a public school there for years. The school was closed in 2009, and the buildings were demolished in 2020.

For more than a decade, the town and the school district worked to get the property sold to various private developers, which would put the land on town tax rolls. The school district is exempt from paying property taxes.

But contracts for the sale fell through and would-be buyers backed out.

Prior to the Dr. Phillips’ deal, the district’s most recent attempt to sell the property — which initially had town approval — prompted backlash from residents who feared the developer’s plans for a mixed-use project were too big and would lead to gentrification and displacement of long-time Eatonville residents.

The town council eventually voted to reject rezoning measures that would have made that development possible.

The Hungerford site was recently considered for a state Black history museum, though state leaders decided that would be built on land near St. Augustine.

Members of Eatonville’s town council upset by the school board’s decision to sell to Dr. Phillips have said they would try to negotiate with Dr. Phillips about the development plans. Some said they feared not enough of the plans would boost the town’s tax base since some new facilities, including those for healthcare and education, likely would be exempt from paying taxes. But retail buildings, including a grocery story, are planned, too.

A meeting is scheduled for Jan. 20.

Teresa Jacobs, chair of the school board, urged Eatonville residents to come together and work with the nonprofit. 

“A lot of collaboration, a lot of important decisions to be made, and we can only make them if everybody who has a voice shows up with that spirit of collaboration,” Jacobs said.