Parramore may be getting a Main Street economic growth program

Orlando’s Parramore community may soon be getting a Main Street (economic development) program – again.

Reports are there are discussions behind the scenes the revive the Main Street program on the Church Street corridor in Parramore.

Orlando’s first Main Street program was launched more than a decade ago. Main Street is a partnership with the community, business and local government to revive downtown and local commercial corridors.

The Parramore main Street program was shut down by former City Commissioner Daisy Lynum after a few months.

While the program did not catch on in Parramore, it flourished in 9 other Orlando communities including SoDo, just south of downtown Orlando on Orange Avenue and in the Mills Avenue area, just north of downtown, to name a few.

These programs have proven themselves effective in bringing new energy and investment to the communities they serve.

Relaunching Main Street in Parramore could help the area where the annual median income for some longtime residents is $13,500, but it also advances the troubling narrative that the historically black neighborhood will lose its identity and residents are being forced out by gentrification.

 This exclusive report was written by 32805OrlNEWS.com Correspondent Alex Gurtis.