Watch the City Council meeting online.
General Items of Note
OCSC Hosted First MLS Game
This weekend was alive in Downtown Orlando! With Elton John, the Orlando Magic, the Orlando Ballet and our Orlando City Soccer Club’s Major League Soccer debut – in front of a sold out crowd at the Orlando Citrus Bowl – there was excitement all over our urban core.
It was amazing to be a part of the Lions first MLS game as they join our Orlando Magic as one of our City’s great home team major league franchises.
The crowd of more than 62,000 was electric last night and you could literally feel the Purple Pride all around you. I even heard there was one fan who traveled all the way from across the globe – from Egypt to be a part of last night’s game!
Church Street was buzzing with people and SunRail estimates their ridership was in excess of 9,500.
Red Lobster Opens
We have worked hard to diversify our economy, revitalize Downtown and support arts, culture and entertainment amenities to create a City that offers a high quality of life.
It is rewarding to see that these investments are paying off, with major corporations, like Red Lobster, investing in Orlando.
This past Friday, Mayor Buddy Dyer joined with our City Commissioners to celebrate the grand opening of the new Red Lobster Support Center in Downtown Orlando.
Red Lobster is now one of Downtown Orlando’s largest employers, bringing 300 jobs to our urban core. And next month, they plan to open a Culinary Development Center, which will bring Red Lobster chefs from around the country to develop new dishes and ideas here in Downtown Orlando.
Items of Note
Tinker Field
On Monday’s agenda, the Council voted on the first reading of the proposed designation of Tinker Field as an Orlando Historic Landmark. Staff provided Council with a presentation, and Commissioners and the public had an opportunity for comments.
Fannie Mae
On Monday, council approved plans to purchase seven vacant, foreclosed properties in an effort to redevelop these apartments into safe and attractive housing for our residents in our Washington Shores and Mercy Drive neighborhoods.
These nearly 700 apartment units were foreclosed on by Fannie Mae and have sat vacant, boarded up and fenced off creating eyesores within our community. Due to a lack of maintenance over several years, these apartments are completely uninhabitable.
The City’s purchase of the properties will provide for partnership opportunities with developers and community organizations to construct long-term, mixed-income or affordable housing communities that complement the surrounding neighborhoods.
Plans to sell three of these apartment units to LIFT Orlando were also on Monday’s agenda, a local not-for-profit, who has been working for the last 2 years with the Washington Shores community to develop a comprehensive revitalization plan that focuses on housing, education, wellness and economic development. They will partner with The Village of Orlando led by Bishop Allen Wiggins and Columbia Residential to ensure quality redevelopment of the sites and further increase the stability of our neighborhoods.
Fresh Stop Mobile Market
Council approved a partnership with Hebni Nutrition Consultants to provide their Fresh Stop Mobile Market bus at three of our City community centers to provide our citizens with the opportunity to purchase affordable and good-quality fresh food.
