FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Contact: Marcia Hope Goodwin 407-246-3107

CITY COMMISSIONERS RECEIVE DETAILS OF DOWNTOWN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS FOLLOWING LATE NIGHT NEGOTIATIONS

City Web Site Has Agreements

ORLANDO—Following negotiations that lasted until late Friday night, City of Orlando staff worked Saturday to prepare and hand deliver notebooks to City Commissioners containing details of three downtown economic development projects, the CNL Tower II, the 55 West Mixed Use Development project, and the Plaza on Orange Avenue Mixed Use Development project.

“As we advised on Friday, we were operating under a confidentiality agreement until negotiations were completed on the Plaza on Orange Avenue Mixed Use Development project,” said Marcia Hope Goodwin, Director of Communications for Mayor Buddy Dyer. “Those negotiations ended late last night. In addition, Mayor Dyer wanted all the Commissioners to have copies of the agreements prior to making them public,” said Goodwin.

“We have delivered by hand to the Commissioners copies of all the agreements and shortly after that delivery City Clerk, Jose Fernandez, posted the agreements on the city’s website, (cityoforlando.net)” Goodwin said. “All three agreements are now available to all the citizens of Orlando and the general public.” The City Council will vote on the agreements when it meets on Monday at 2 p.m.

[The agreements may be reviewed on the City's Paperless Agenda for Monday, December 8 under New Business/Hearings and New Business.  Select the date 2003/12/08 on the left-hand menu and scroll down to New Business.]

If the City Council approves the three project agreements it will mean that the city of Orlando will see nearly $350 million dollars in new construction in the downtown core in the next 18 months. Two new condominium projects that will add 1250 new residents to the downtown core, a new movie theater, and three new office buildings for downtown are part of the three packages.

The three projects represent the culmination of nine months of work by the Mayor. “If the packages are approved by City Council, completion of the projects will go a long way towards accomplishing one of Mayor Dyer’s goals, to revitalize the downtown core so that downtown Orlando is a place for families, seniors and young people,” Goodwin said.

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