By Jon Busdeker
The City of Orlando is considering relocating its Pottery Studio two miles away to Grand Avenue School, according to a city spokesperson.
City officials are exploring Grand Avenue School, which closed earlier this year, as a “potential site for the relocation of the Pottery Studio,” city spokesperson Cassandra Lafser told Bungalower in an email.
The Pottery Studio, established in 1968, is currently in the Downtown Recreation Center on Parramore Avenue.
According to Lafser, the Pottery Studio has grown in popularity in recent years and has outgrown its space in the Downtown Recreation Center.
The move to Grand Avenue School on Parramore Avenue, south of the S.R. 408 [GMap] – referred to as The Grand by neighborhood residents – would allow the city to repurpose and preserve the school, which served the community for more than 90 years before closing in June 2017.
Lafser said the relocation of the Pottery Studio would allow for a larger working space and storage space. The City of Orlando demolished the Pottery Studio’s storage shed and two nearby racquetball courts in February in order to extend Livingston Street.
In addition to the relocation of the pottery studio to Grand Avenue School, the city is also exploring the relocation and expansion of the other programming that operates at the Downtown Recreation Center, including sports programs and the Parramore Kidz Zone program.
There is no specific timeline for the relocation of the Pottery Studio, and there is no timeline on when a final decision will be made.
If the studio is relocated to Grand Avenue School, Lafser said it is the city’s goal to open the new location before decommissioning the current one so there’s no gap in serving the Pottery Studio patrons.
Lafser did not indicate how much the relocation would cost.
