We told you HERE in October 2017 that the City of Orlando was interested in converting an empty lot in the Central Business District into a modern “interactive public gathering space” and it seems that the initiative is still moving forward, albeit slowly.
The half-acre lot, located at 274 N. Orange Avenue [GMap], is owned by Dr. Phillips Charities but is being leased to the City of Orlando. The early renderings, above, have been improved upon immensely, in collaboration with local broadcasting and media production company Ascend Studios (Facebook | Website), to great an ambition space that will be able to host everything from pop-up parties to live performances.
The current design for the “Art² Park” park features approximately retrofitted shipping containers that will form multi-leveled buildings that will house special event/gallery space, an on-site retail shop, and a rooftop terrace for VIP activations. The plans also call for space for two resident food trucks that will swap out quarterly, an interactive, 19.5-foot long digital touch wall, and an elevated video screen for special programming.
The park will also feature movable and covered seating, picnic tables, and even some hammocks on one of the decks. Alcohol will only be available eight days a month to ensure it is treated more as public space activation versus an outdoor booze fest/beer garden.
All programming for the park will be managed by Ascend Studios.
The $2 million project will be paid for by the City’s Community Redevelopment Agency but the design must still be approved by the Appearance Review Board at the upcoming November meeting, before moving forward to construction in Q2 2021.
The following architectural renderings are by Rhodes + Brio Architects, Master Plan and gateway renderings by Community Solutions Group.
