The City of Orlando is ramping up for some construction work on a section of Robinson Street in the Milk District for at least the next three weeks, followed by months more of limited access through January 2025, and local businesses aren’t happy about it.
Affected businesses include Gringos Locos, Bull and Bush, Sportstown Billiards, Etoile Boutique, and The Nook on Robinson.
According to a press release sent out by OUC, the work is centered on installing a new underground “electric transmission line” along the street from North Fern Creek Avenue to North Crystal Lake Drive.
The work will take place during normal working hours, Mondays through Saturdays. The release promises that access to some businesses may be affected for brief periods but access to parking lots will be maintained. According to the project website, at least one lane of Robinson Street should be open in at least one direction during the day.
The owner of Etoile Boutique, Falon Quilen, shared the following video on the Etoile Instagram account to help her shoppers find their way to her store, along with a call for patience and grace over the construction period, saying:
“PLEASE “CONSIDER US WORTH IT!
– @ETOILEBOUTIQUE
– Consider getting to our hyper local businesses worth those extra 5 minutes of circling around the neighborhood to get to our parking lots
– Consider making your way out to our hella fun community events like @tastytakeover worth the annoying detours and traffic cones
– Consider walking around past the incessant sound of drilling on concrete worth it for the dope music, real conversations and stupid dad jokes you’ll hear once you’re inside one of your favorite Milk District spots.”
Road construction has already severely affected businesses in other Orlando Main Streets this spring, including Ivanhoe Village and SoDo, just south of downtown, leading to a major loss in income according to local business owners in those neighborhoods.
