{"id":332528,"date":"2026-07-08T00:44:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T00:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/332528\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T00:44:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T00:44:12","slug":"orlando-moves-forward-on-church-street-redevelopment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/332528\/","title":{"rendered":"Orlando moves forward on Church Street redevelopment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Change is coming to Downtown Orlando.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, the city of Orlando leaders celebrated the beginning of revitalizing Church Street with a groundbreaking ceremony. The plan is to transform it into a corridor capable of hosting outdoor festivals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal is that you can come from downtown, you can walk to Camping World and back,\u201d said District 5 City Commissioner Shan Rose, whose district includes Downtown Orlando. The city will make \u201ca real investment in it, and show \u2026 the property owners here and our residents we really believe in where we’re going.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"District<\/p>\n

Joe Mario Pedersen<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

Central Florida Public Media <\/p>\n

District 5 Commissioner Shan Rose joined the ceremony on Church Street Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n

Church Street was known as a major tourist destination back in the 1980s with its Dixieland jazz attraction Rosie O\u2019 Grady\u2019s Good Time Emporium, according to the Orange County Regional History Museum<\/a>. The archives show that \u201cChurch Street Station … attracted 3.5 million visitors annually at the peak of its popularity.\u201d<\/p>\n

But things have changed on Church Street and throughout Downtown Orlando. In the last few years, many businesses have closed. One of the most recent to do so was The Attic, which closed in May.<\/p>\n

According to a post on The Attic\u2019s Instagram page:<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cLike many Downtown businesses, we have fought through rising operational costs, increasing city AMS fees, and ongoing challenges that continue to make operating in Downtown Orlando more difficult every year. Unfortunately, the lack of meaningful support or solutions from local leadership and city officials for the Downtown nightlife community has only accelerated these struggles.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Orlando's<\/p>\n

Joe Mario Pedersen<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

Central Florida Public Media<\/p>\n

Orlando’s Church Street during the groundbreaking ceremony. According to the DTO Action Plan, the section of Church Street between Magnolia and Garland avenues will be transformed and fit for hosting festivals.<\/p>\n

The construction on Church Street is part of the DTO Action plan<\/a>, which was initiated in 2022<\/a>. An updated report in 2024 shows plans for a revitalized Church Street.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Plaza has the potential to be downtown\u2019s living room \u2013 where the energy from Church Street bubbles over; where people can gather, linger and celebrate together,\u201d the report stated.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

DTO Action Plan<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

City of Orlando<\/p>\n

A rendering of Church Street in Downtown Orlando. According to the DTO Action Plan: “In the physical epicenter of Church Street, sits the Central Plaza – an unused open space, flanked by a few restaurants and businesses. The Plaza has the potential to be downtown\u2019s living room \u2013 where the energy from Church Street bubbles over; where people can gather, linger and celebrate together.”<\/p>\n

City leaders are hoping to encourage small businesses to invest in Church Street, bringing new storefronts and outdoor dining. The construction will be on Church Street between Magnolia Avenue and Garland Avenue.<\/p>\n

Phase 1 is estimated to be completed by winter. It includes two 11-foot travel lanes, a curbless roadway that connects to pedestrian spaces, and expanded opportunities for landscaping. The final phase will convert the corridor from one-way eastbound traffic to two-way operations while integrating LYMMO bus services into the regular travel lanes.<\/p>\n

Rose thinks the Church Street project will help bring on a new era in Downtown Orlando. During the last several years, Downtown Orlando has developed a reputation for crime, but that reputation is changing, Rose said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that we have the ability to overpower a lot of the negative that’s happening. Crime is down in District 5 and downtown. And so, how do we show the great work that we are doing? Let’s make it happen,\u201d Rose said.<\/p>\n

The project is expected to be complete by the summer of 2028.<\/p>\n