ORLANDO, Fla. — Mayor Buddy Dyer took the stage at the Kia Center for the 2025 State of Downtown Address. Here, the mayor detailed plans for the redevelopment of the old Orlando Sentinel site at N. Orange Ave. and E. Colonial Drive.
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“Prior to the pandemic, through partnerships and strategic planning of venues, Creative Village, and Project DTO, we’ve been building a vision together for a downtown that offers something for everyone,” said Mayor Dyer.
The site is currently home to the abandoned Orlando Sentinel headquarters, which the media company evacuated during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
READ: Buddy Dyer Shares What Is Ahead for Orlando
The 20-acre plot of land, which now sits empty, will be transformed into a walkable district, complete with a new residential space, retail, and expanded public areas. This site, Mayor Dyer said, aligns perfectly with the city’s vision for a downtown that appeals to and considers every resident of Orlando.
“I couldn’t be more excited about what’s going to happen on the Sentinel site,” Dyer said. “I truly believe that’s going to be catalytic for our community.”
Dyer continued to detail what elements the city hopes to infuse into this redevelopment program, including arts and culture (“which,” Dyer said, “is absolutely critical to any downtown”), food, business education and job creation, “and places like [the Kia Center] where people come together.”
A roundtable then convened where representatives from each of these core areas joined Dyer onstage to share their vision for a revitalized downtown area.
Although the City did not provide exact details on what this new site would look like, Dyer shared a video from architect Thomas Heatherwick and his studio. In the video, Heatherwick describes downtown Orlando as a place that is “ripe and ready to grow.”
“The Orlando Sentinel site is an opportunity to create an amazing new district with a gathering space at its heart with thousands of new homes and dozens of new businesses to bring an urban density that unlocks new places to work, new places to play, and to relax and exercise," said Heatherwick.
When asked what he has enjoyed most about working on this project, Mayor Dyer said that it feels like a collaboration with developers, rather than the city just approving plans.
“It’s awesome to have an opportunity [like this],” Dyer said. “A lot of the time, when you’re working with developers, they come in with a fully baked plan, and the city really is just reviewing it to make sure you meet building codes and land use requirements and things of that nature, rather than feeling like you’re a partner at the table.”
With this site especially, Dyer knew it was important for the city to have a hand in the design—and it’s all due to location.
The “parcel,” which Dyer describes as being “strategic,” is located at the intersection of two very busy avenues and sits near the Doctor Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, a major arts and culture hub for the city.
“Everything else in between those two areas is going to benefit,” said Dyer. “It’s going to be like jet fuel in terms of the economy.”
Dyer did warn attendees, however, that this transformation will not happen overnight, and that it could take anywhere from 20 to 30 years.
“It will be an exciting time,” said Dyer, “and I think all over America, they’re going to be talking about Orlando, and not just for tourism. They’re going to be talking about Orlando, and what’s happening in the downtown.”
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