What UCF Downtown means to Parramore

The newest chapter in Orlando’s historically black Parramore/Callahan neighborhood begins Monday (8/26) with the opening of the new University of Central Florida/ Valencia College campus, which will bring 8,000 students, faculty and staff to the community.

For the past 30 years, residents in Parramore/Callahan have endured the introduction of homeless shelters, construction of the first Orlando Arena, then the Amway Events Center, Exploria Stadium (Orlando City soccer), real-estate speculators and now the lack of affordable housing.

Many lifelong residents wonder what the 64-acre campus and its glittering high-rise buildings offer them and how it will impact their community. 

In addition to the school facilities, the development is bringing a credit union, restaurants, and a bookstore, which will be open to everyone – students and residents.

The campus is also being patrolled by University of Central Florida police officers. They are armed, state-certified law enforcement officers who can take you to the 33^rd Street jail. Those officers – not the Orlando Police Department – are first responders to calls coming from the campus.

During the development of the sprawling campus, the city has re-established the street-grid network to provide better connectivity from east to west and north to south. This project also includes bringing new roadways, public rights-of-ways, and sidewalks.

Some Parramore residents note there are streets in the community -- beyond the downtown campus -- that need stormwater improvements and repaving.

Orlando also has spent millions to cleanse toxic substances from the Superfund site that abuts the UCF Downtown campus, yet City Hall won’t allocate $50,000 for a health disparity study of Parramore residents.

Creative Village already includes existing Lake Dot Park and is currently home to the city's Downtown Recreation Center, Potter Studio and the Tennis Centre. 

Lynx even expanded its popular and free Lymmo bus circulator to serve the campus community. The Lime route does not extend up to the streets where most Parramore residents live.

While sometimes referred to as the campus' academic green, the planned 2.5-acre Central Park at the UCF Downtown campus will add a public city park -- open to students and residents. The city is paying for the park.

Central Park is expected to open next year. 

Additionally, the city of Orlando will be rolling out 200 on-street meterless parking spaces on the campus. Parking spaces use the free ParkMobile app for payment, marking the first use of meterless parking in Orlando. This technology is currently being used in Miami, Tallahassee, and Gainesville. 

Jamie Giller, a spokeswoman for UCF Downtown, said that the school is "excited to add to the educational ecosystem in Parramore and create additional pathways to higher education for the local community. While there will be several components of the campus open to the community. We are even more excited about our students, faculty, and staff engaging with the community."

She noted that in July several faculty, staff, and students provided developmental screenings at the Callahan Neighborhood Center.

The team examined local children zero to assess speech, hearing, social/emotional development, dental health, and motor coordination. 

Only time will tell what kind of relationship the UCF Downtown campus will forge with the Parramore/Callahan community.

This article was researched and written by 32805OrlNews correspondent Alex Gurtis with editing by David Porter.