In our last post, we wrote about how the city of Orlando's purchase of some real estate in the Parramore neighborhood had stoked rumors that the city was going to get a new soccer stadium and a new Major League Soccer team.
That's partly because if the Orlando Soccer Club were to get the $110 million stadium it wants, it has said it would want it to be in Parramore, right near the Amway Center, where the Orlando Magic plays.
Furthermore, the city has been coy as to why it purchased the land; the fact that it has not given a good reason has left open room for plenty of conjecture and guesswork.
Now, we have learned that the Feb. 25 $4 million purchase of four parcels doesn't represent the full extent of the city's recent real estate purchasing spree.
Over the past few months, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer's administration has purchased some $4.3 million worth of property in addition to that it purchased on Feb. 25. Those purchases did not need city council approval, because each individual parcel had a selling price low enough that such approval was not necessary, so the mayor's office has been able to quiet cover until now.
As you can imagine, news that the city has purchased even more land sent the rumor mill into overdrive. Dyer's office insisted once again, though, that the land acquisition is a "strategic purpose" and is not directly linked to the possibility of a soccer stadium or team.
As you can imagine, the city's economic activity in Parramore is quite a hot topic in Orlando right now. We're interested in seeing what develops here.
Source: The Orlando Sentinel, "Orlando quietly buys up even more Parramore land," Mark Schlueb, March 5, 2013
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