More than 225 people visited Harry P. Leu Gardens on the evening of April 26, but they weren’t there to visit the current botanical collection. Rather, they came to view and comment on the facility’s future through the latest presentation of its Master Plan.

The public meeting included presentations from Jennifer D’hollander, executive director of Leu Gardens; Corey Knight, City of Orlando public works director; Nat Prap, an engineer with the city; and Sally Coyle, co-founder of Coyle & Caron, a landscape architecture studio.

It was standing room only for the Leu Gardens Master Plan community meeting on April 27. (NICK GEORGOUDIOU)

Coyle, whose firm has been collaborating on the Master Plan, emphasized that all renderings provided to this point are conceptual and not final. 

“This is a work in progress,” Coyle said. “It’s an initial concept, but we hope that these goals, which we crafted with the Gardens and their stakeholders, will remain important as we move forward with the plan.”

Coyle presented the projects that will be included in phase 1 of the Master Plan, which is expected to break ground in 2027. These include a new visitor center, expanded parking, a lakefront boardwalk and a children’s garden. The cost of these projects is estimated to be $45 million. The City of Orlando has committed $28.5 million to phase 1, and D’hollander said the remaining funds will come from county and state grants, philanthropic sources, and corporate sponsorships.

Officials at the public meeting emphasized that renderings like this one of the children’s garden are conceptual and will go through additional review and approval processes. (COURTESY OF HARRY P. LEU GARDENS)

With so many of the details still being finalized, D’hollander emphasized that this is the time for people to get involved. And while Leu Gardens may be changing, she said, the mission remains the same.

“We want to protect the gardens,” she said. “We want to strengthen how they function, and we want to ensure that this remains a place for people to come for the next 65 years and beyond that.”