The Girl Scouts of Citrus Council (Website) are hard at work earning a merit badge for being amazing at life by bringing a something really special to their office building at 341 N. Mills Avenue [GMap] in Colonialtown.
The local chapter of the national organization submitted a Master Plan request for a Public Benefit Use that would allow them to convert approximately half of their existing office building into a Women’s History and Cultural Center.
Girl Scouts of Citrus Council CEO Maryann Barry, told Bungalower that the new History and Cultural Center will be more than just a museum, they want it to be interactive and a platform for greater engagement between the public and her scouts.
“The Center is meant to celebrate women’s contributions to Central Florida and the nation and sometimes sharing their link to the Girl Scouts movement.”
– Marryann Barry, CEO
This will be the first dedicated women’s center in the state and one of only five in the country that won’t focus on the contributions of one specific woman, but rather a whole spectrum of extraordinary figures; like Poppy Northcutt, a central figure in the Apollo 11 missions and the first female engineer in mission control at NASA.
The plans for the project are expected to go before the Municipal Planning Board on August 20 and include modifications to and understory parking lot, general updates to the building’s exterior, new landscaping, and new artistic fencing.
The project is being made possible by a matching grant of $280,000 with the Orange County government. If approved by the City of Orlando, the Girl Scouts team hope to have it completed by Spring 2020, which will also happen to be when they host a national convention with delegates from across the country. The event will also feature a global roundtable with representatives from around the world to discuss “The State of Girls” in the world.
