ORLANDO, Fla. — The Dazzling Nights holiday lights event is like a holiday gift from Leu Gardens, bringing in thousands of visitors to boost the Orlando venue’s budget.
City leaders are working on a master plan to bring more events like this, and more people to Leu Gardens in the coming years.
What You Need To Know
City leaders are working on a master plan to help guide the future of Leu Gardens
Leu Gardens managers say designers will consider neighbors’ concerns
Plans call for an amphitheater and restaurant next to Lake Rowena
They also call for additional parking to accommodate more visitors and ease traffic
Dazzling Nights brings family fun with holiday lights, music and food to Leu Gardens. Thousands of people will stroll through during this holiday season, and city leaders say they hope to host more events like it in the coming years at Orlando’s botanical garden.
Wayne Talsky has lived next to Leu Gardens since 2010 and says the managers are good neighbors.
“Leu Gardens, I think, provides a nice little amenity to this area and the city of Orlando,” he said.
Talsky said he hopes, though, that the city will adjust traffic patterns and traffic lights if the venue holds a lot more events.
“If you’re going to increase the traffic that much, they have to take into account the number of cars and pedestrians that will be in the area,” he said.
Orlando City Commissioner Robert F. Stuart said the city’s master plan for Leu Gardens includes a new children’s garden with a tree house, an improved rose garden and an increase in parking from 200 to 500 spaces to create room for more visitors, and relief for neighbors.
“We are doubling our parking, which takes a lot of that burden of parking off the neighborhoods when we do a special event,” Stuart said.
Renderings of future plans show an amphitheater for concerts with terraced seating next to the lake, and a restaurant where patrons can look at the lake while they eat.
Managers of Leu Gardens hosted a meeting in late October and sent out surveys to get feedback from residents on the plans. They say some neighbors are concerned about parking, traffic, noise, potential environmental impacts on Lake Rowena, and maintaining quiet experiences in the botanical gardens.
Officials said designers will consider reorienting event areas, incorporating sound buffers, and will consider speaker placement and amplification limits to address the noise concerns.
Stuart urged residents to stay engaged as city leaders release new phases of the master plan.
“There are public meetings when those occur, so people can see what they are,” he said. “They get a chance to have input on that.”
Leu Gardens managers say after they complete the first draft of the master plan, they’ll present it to the Orlando City Council for review.
Stuart said the city will work to issue bonds next year to pay for part of the project. He said Phase 1 of the improvements is expected to be completed within three years.