Parramore community residents and business owners gathered for the first Town Hall of the year to discuss the looming gentrification of the historically African-American neighborhood. The main focus of the community forum revolved around Creative Village, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer’s pet project which will bring 1,500 more housing units and 1 million more square feet of commercial space to the Parramore area.
The town hall was hosted by the Fight Back Coalition and the Inner City Neighborhood Association at the Peabo Child Care Center located in Parramore. The Fight Back Coalition is a new community organizing coalition put together to make Orlando more representative of its people and to work for local change beyond elections. The gentrification of Parramore has become a top community concern and Fight Back Coalition has launched a year-long campaign to Stop Creative Village and Save Parramore.
“This is just the start of our campaign to stop Creative Village,” said Lawanna Gelzer, President of Women of Color and an organizer with Fight Back Coalition. “We are ready for the fight because the voiceless will have a voice this time.”
The town hall explained how Creative Village will raise property values which will in return raise property taxes on residents. Most residents are already strapped financially with the average median household income in Parramore under $14,000 and the average rent under $350. Housing costs alone in Creative Village could be at least 5 times as much.
The lively discussion touched on past broken promises to the Parramore community. The group talked openly about the vacant lots throughout the neighborhood, the broken promises by the city to develop Otey Place and Parramore Village, the failure to build a community school for children in Parramore, and the unfair use of code enforcement throughout the area. Many in the room also compared the Creative Village plans to what happened to African-Americans who were displaced in Winter Park.
Lifelong Parramore resident and business owner Gloria Streeter-Simon wore a “Proud Business Owner in the Parramore Community” t-shirt to the meeting. “I learned so much here tonight,” Streeter-Simon said. “Now we will go and take what we learned to more in the community and this will only grow.”
According to sign-in sheets, more than two dozen local residents and business owners attended along with several representatives from local media outlets. Almost every attendee left with a “Stop Creative Village” button and the group planned to continue to meet and expand on a regular basis.
The group also has also launched an online campaign to educate the community and raise awareness. (Video 1 and Video 2)
Many thorny issues. Glad someone is paying attention.