Orlando donates $1.25M to group raising money for Lake Eola Park expansion

ORLANDO, Fla. — The city of Orlando has donated more than $1 million to a nonprofit aimed at expanding Lake Eola Park.

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The Orlando Land Trust received $1.25 million from the city to expand the park to the corner of Central Boulevard and Rosalind Avenue, where there is currently a 7-Eleven on a 1 acre lot.

“We still have significant funding to raise so that we can finalize this purchase and make this happen,” said Orlando Land Trust founding member Lynn Long. "The members of OLT, most of whom were born and raised in Orlando, were concerned with potential high-rise development occurring around Lake Eola, which they said would spoil the city’s ‘crown jewel.’”

The current landowner gave the Orlando Land Trust until 2021 to raise $3.2 million to buy the building on the lot.

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With the city’s new donation, the group is more than halfway to its goal and needs just over $500 thousand to get the deal done.

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