The Orlando City Council on Monday will consider a $3.9 million pre-construction agreement with Turner Construction Company to design the Lake Eola Gateway Entrance and a new pocket park at 30 S. Orange Ave., a combined project estimated at $18 million that represents the first visible step in a sweeping downtown transformation funded by bonds approved just two weeks ago.
The project is part of a broader slate of downtown improvements backed by $160 million in Tax Increment Revenue Bonds that the council and Community Redevelopment Agency approved unanimously on Feb. 9. That bond package also funds The Canopy, a park beneath Interstate 4, the conversion of Orange Avenue and Rosalind Avenue into two-way streets, and the transformation of Church Street into a festival street.
The agreement covers Phase I design work. A companion CRA agreement formalizes the three-way partnership between the city, CRA and Turner Construction. The city and CRA will remain involved in the design phase, and Turner will not begin construction until a guaranteed maximum price is agreed upon at a later CRA meeting.