The former OUC power plant in Ivanhoe Village has been through a lot in the last few years.
A black mold scare sent the tenants (Orlando Ballet and CFCArts) packing back in August of 2013 and its sat vacant ever since.
Over the years, when pressed for a number associated with the mold cleanup or a timeline to have new tenants move in, OUC informed Bungalower that no survey had been done yet to assess the damage.
Recently, construction fences were erected around the Ivanhoe Building property and a number of work crews have been spotted entering and exiting the historic building for over a month.
OUC spokesman, Tim Trudell, informed us that the property was undergoing routine remediation work to clean up some diesel spill from the building’s time as a power station. The floors of the building are being torn up in order to remove the polluted soil. Once the soil is removed, the building will be waterproofed against future ground seepage and flooding (a major problem for the building in the past as it sits a little below the level of Lake Ivanhoe, which is directly across Orange Avenue) and then the mold problem will be addressed.
This environmental cleanup project is estimated to cost about $1 M, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
When asked about the future of the building, Trudell stated that, “OUC is committed to rehabilitating the Ivanhoe Building because it is an important part of both the City of Orlando’s and our company history. The work currently underway is the first of several phases to remediate industrial oil from the soil underneath the building and the mold within it caused by water intrusion. We are still determining how we will use the building, but it won’t be torn down and OUC has no plans to sell it. The building will look the same or even better from the outside in the future.”
Bungalower has been invited for a photo tour of the site once it’s safer to enter and a majority of the soil has been removed. This is a developing story.
Jenn Belcher
Ivanhoe Village
I’m so glad you mentioned it first, wasn’t that a dreamy studio ?U0001f60aU0001f46f
This be a great botigue hotel
Thank you Bungalower, for this glimmer of hope! My heart breaks a little every time I drive by.
The tile roof has a jungle growing on it. Would love to see this and old WDBO building brought back to life.
They won’t sell it. My group tried to buy it. OUC is in no rush to really do anything with it. It will probably sit empty for years.
I believe it is lower than Lk Highland that is behind the building. I shot video of this building before the first renovation some 25 yrs ago w/Chauncey (Chambers ??), Valencia College might still have it, shot on 3/4 tape.
I have fond memories of taking ballet classes there. I’m glad it’s not being demolished.
I’m so glad they’re not getting rid of it! I love that building…
Great reporting!
Glad it won’t be demolished!
Thank you for the update. Interesting that people were allowed in the building when there was seepage occurring in the ground.