As part of nearly $13.4 million in community project funding secured this year by U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, the Orlando Housing Authority received $2.62 million for redevelopment of the Griffin Park public housing complex and improvements to other Orlando housing projects.
Located in Orlando’s Parramore neighborhood, abutting the west side of Interstate 4 and south side of State Road 408, Griffin Park will receive $850,000 to develop into a mixed-income, mixed-use community with up to four towers and 1,000 apartments — 725 of which will be affordable.
Opening in 1940 as Orlando’s first public housing development, Griffin Park housed low-income residents for decades before it was demolished in 2024 to make way for redevelopment of the site. Construction on phase 1 of the redevelopment is scheduled for late 2027.
“Griffin Park had outlived its useful life,” Orlando Housing Authority CEO Vivian Bryant said. “Now we’ll have the redevelopment of Griffin Park into another home that will have people who love to work together, live together and support each other.”
OHA has partnered with PMG Affordable, one of two developers selected to help rebuild the city’s crumbling public housing portfolio. Other development team members include Banc of America CDC and the Oughtness Group.
The city’s Municipal Planning Board approved the master plan for Griffin Park last August. Plans indicate the 11-acre site will contain workforce, family and senior housing, as well as a community center and small-format grocery store to serve the community and greater Parramore neighborhood.
One of the four towers within the project plans calls for a 160-unit, all-affordable senior housing tower that, at an estimated cost of $40 million, is slated for Parcel B of the redevelopment. Baker Barrios designed the contemporary building with a neutral color palette and multiple roof terraces.
The proposed 7-story building would incorporate a 1,500-square-foot café on the ground floor and a 3-story parking garage.
“Today is more than just an announcement; it’s a promise that Griffin Park will continue to be a place where families can thrive,” former Griffin Park resident Cecilia Davis said. “The funds secured by Congressman Frost are going to help move this to redevelopment, and that means future families will have the safe, affordable homes they deserve.”
While the overall project will be built out in phases, the final phase will see development of a 10-story market-rate building — Parcel D of the development — that will house up to 275 residents.
When redevelopment is completed, Bryant said, Griffin Park will also have dedicated space for OHA to bring in exercise services, hold community gathering events and provide drop-off and pickup locations for seniors to be transported to different activities.
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“For generations, Parramore has been a historic and culturally rich community that too often has been overlooked and underinvested in,” Frost said. “The people of Parramore deserve development that includes them, protects them and creates opportunities for them. This project will replace deteriorating housing with modern, affordable homes.”
Working with the same development team, OHA is also activating plans to demolish and redevelop the aging Lorna Doone Apartments nearby at 1617 W. Central Blvd., across the lake from Camping World Stadium.
The current 7-story building has 104 affordable apartments for seniors and received approval from Orlando City Council in November to rezone from R-1 (Low Intensity Residential) to MXD-2 (Mixed Residential-Office). The rezoning increases allowed density at the site to support the 160 units proposed for the new building.
According to project plans, the new building would be 85 feet tall with parking on the ground level and in the adjacent surface lot. Baker Barrios led the design for both projects.
For the Lorna Doone building, the architects took their design inspiration from the industrial buildings east of the site. The use of red brick, metal and stucco exterior finishes are meant to differentiate it from the Griffin Park campus.
Beyond the $850,000 earmarked for Griffin Park, approximately $1.2 million will go toward roof replacements at West Oaks Apartments, an OHA-owned housing development at the southwest intersection of West Colonial Drive and North Hiawassee Road just over 5 miles west of downtown Orlando.
The other $774,000 in community project funding will be dedicated toward general improvements at the Villas at Carver Park housing complex about a quarter-mile west — down Gore Street — from Griffin Park.
Improvements will include an additional elevator and more accessible showers for seniors and residents with disabilities living in the complex, Frost said.
“The future of Central Florida depends on whether working people cane actually afford to live in the city that they love and in the city they work in,” he said. “It depends on whether teachers, nurses, hospitality workers, students, seniors, and veterans can stay in the communities that they helped build. This isn’t the first time that we’ve delivered federal funding for the Orlando Housing Authority, and it certainly won’t be the last.”
Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at jwilkins@orlandosentinel.com or 407-754-4980. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.
