Orlando leaders celebrate groundbreaking Lake Eola Park expansion

ORLANDO, Fla. — A project to expand public space near Lake Eola Park kicked off Thursday morning.

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Orlando leaders celebrated the groundbreaking of the city’s newest park, which will one day become part of an expanded Lake Eola.

The pocket park replaces a 7-Eleven on the corner of Rosalind Avenue and East Central.

“This would be a place, especially in the morning when you have the shade that people can come and relax and enjoy the park right here,” Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said.

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The small rectangle will feature a few benches and some landscaping.

A design that’s already attracting some opposition.

“I want less concrete; I want more native plants; many people I know wanted this to be affordable housing,” a protester said.

But city leaders say this is just temporary.

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The long-term plan is to buy the buildings next to the property when they go up for sale, knock them down, and expand Lake Eola Park to incorporate everything.

“It’s going to be an entryway into the park, and that is the ultimate goal --is to have a contiguous park experience,” Commissioner Patty Sheehan said.

Leaders said the permanent design would play off the public meetings Orlando had to figure out the future of its crown jewel.

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They went hand in hand with the city’s rejection of a 25-story luxury apartment tower initially slated for the site.

But other housing projects are still in the pipeline.

Mayor Dyer said many are on hold until the economy improves.

“It’s just when the market turns a little bit, but it’s both residential and commercial,” he said. " I think we’ll see a lot of growth in the next five years.

City commissioners also said that with the Lake Eola parcel, the city will be able to enforce the laws more strictly.

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Video: Orlando leaders celebrate groundbreaking Lake Eola Park expansion

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