Inspiration Sought at ENCORE! Near Downtown Tampa
On April 6th, Orlando Housing Authority and Lift Orlando arranged a trip for some community leaders to visit Tampa's Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Site.
In 2012, Tampa Housing Authority was awarded a Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant. The Tampa Housing Authority graciously hosted us on Monday, showing us the incredible things they've been able to accomplish in the last 12 years. ENCORE! consists of 28 acres and 13 different parcels. To date they have been able to build four mixed-income residential buildings totaling 662 multi-family rental units, all of which include a fitness center, internet cafe, swimming pool, an outdoor theatre, community meeting spaces and more. We learned how they took great care to preserve the rich African American musical history in the area through the selection of the name ENCORE!, its public art and murals throughout the district, as well as the restoration of the famous Central Avenue.
The initiative has also produced a high-yield urban farm producing organic fruits and vegetables for the community, a chiller plant which cools the buildings, a Solar Park generating energy for the community, and a stormwater capture system. We ate lunch in the beautifully renovated and restored St. James Church (the future Tampa African American History Museum). Lunch was provided by their onsite restaurant, Precinct Pizza. The majority of the buildings are mixed use, providing services such as healthcare, childcare and other retail options. There are also plans to work with other developers to build a hotel, grocery store, and additional market rate residential buildings.
Seeing what has been accomplished in Tampa, gave the Orlando group valuable insight and inspiration as well as practical application they can apply as we begin our own Choice journey. Our group gained a new perspective on what the Choice Neighborhoods Planning process could result in here in Orlando and we're looking forward to continuing to work with the community to assess our neighborhoods needs and dream big about how we can improve the lives of our neighbors.