Minority media organizations had an opportunity on Thursday to learn more about the multi-million dollar Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, a two-block development located in the heart of downtown Orlando, set to break ground in early 2011.
Initially budgeted at $383 million, given the current economic recession, a staged construction approach is being adopted in building out the Center. According to Ms. Kathy Ramsberger, President, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, despite the challenging economy, some $250.6 million dollars are in hand to commence construction, and as funds come in, the Center will be built out.
The 20 media representatives who participated in Thursday’s Minority Media Roundtable learned that Stage 1 of construction will include a 2,700-seat Walt Disney Theater and a 300-seat Community Theater intended to appeal to a wide cross-section of the community. The third theater, construction of a 1,700-seat multiform hall for ballet, opera and other cultural activities will have to await the $132 million, yet to be realized from private philanthropy, the public purse and the state/federal government.
M/WBE (Women/Minority Business Enterprise) participation, even in the design stage, has been substantial. The Roundtable was informed that, of the slightly more than $30 million spent on design work, contracts to the tune of $9.3 million have been awarded to M/WBEs, creating 238 jobs with an economic impact of $16.7 million. Baker Barrios Architects, WBQ Design and Engineering, R. L. Burns & Associates and Oraneva Consulting Group, all M/WBE firms, among others, have benefited from inputting into the design work or consulting on the Center.
The Center is expected to be a powerful catalyst for urban revitalization downtown Orlando and is anticipated to attract major commercial development. Once complete, the project is estimated to have an economic impact of $240 million, create upward of 4,000 jobs throughout its first year and attract over 400,000 attendees annually.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who participated in the Minority Media Roundtable, is back on track to realize yet another of his ambitious redevelopment goals for downtown Orlando.
