An onslaught of new developments begun taking place in the Downtown Orlando/Parramore Avenue area. Within the last decade, the City of Orlando has built multiple apartment complexes, a soccer stadium, a new college campus, law enforcement headquarters and much more.
Initially, this may sound like a great way to revamp the historically African-American and impoverished neighborhood. But, there are dozens of low-income residents living in Parramore that cannot afford to rent the new living communities. While the new projects may bring in traffic for local businesses, the long-term residents fear gentrification.
The City of Orlando has partnered with Creative Village, a local urban development company, to build over 68-arces of land in the heart of Downtown Orlando. Last fall, Creative Village opened a new UCF Downtown campus one block away from North Parramore Ave. Just a few years earlier, the Orlando City soccer stadium debut its grand opening, along with the new $50 million Orlando Police Department headquarters.
According to Zillow.com, the average rent for housing in the Parramore area increased from $973 to $1,288 since 2014. Lacary Williams, a City of Orlando employee and Certification Analyst for Orlando Housing Authority, shared that not all the new residential complexes being built are for low-income residents. “I know Amelia Court only has a certain percentage of units that are low-income. The entire complex is not low-income. And that’s how it is with the new Parramore Oaks Apartments, not the entire complex is low-income but only a certain percentage,” explained Williams.
While city leaders and a few locals are excited about the growth they’re seeing, there is still concerns when it comes to low-income and affordable housing for residents. “It’s definitely been a big change in this area from over 40 years ago. You have good changes and you have bad changes. Some of the current residents may not be able to stay here because of the low-income and poverty area that this is.
“When the building and construction started happening, I did have a lot of people come talk to me asking how much longer they’ll be able to stay here in the Parramore area. Nothing happens overnight but you definitely have to start preparing yourself anyway that you can,” said Williams.
As of now, construction is at a standstill due to COVID-19, but any ongoing developments will resume as planned once they city fully reopens. The latest housing project in the works is East on Park, a $38 million condominium development that will be adjacent from Lake Eola in Downtown Orlando. For more information on upcoming developments visit Orlando.gov.
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