The long-awaited Packing District food hall will help anchor a larger redevelopment plan that includes a micro-brewery, signature restaurant and private event space, according to plans released today by Dr. Phillips Charities.
With site work well underway at the site just west of College Park, Dr. Phillips Charities announced dap design has been selected as the architect for food hall. The team is charged with preserving and converting the old Great Southern Box Company building, located on the southeast corner of Princeton Street and Orange Blossom Trail, to house the food hall.
“It’s an honor to be a part of this transformational project that recognizes the history of this building and area,” dap founder Joel A Setze said. “The food hall design approach will celebrate the existing building’s form and utilize its large structural bays as a passive connection to outdoor green space. The project will be tightly woven into the fabric of what The Packing District will be and have a strong connection to its larger context and community.”
Dating back to the 1930s, the Southern Box building was originally used by Dr. Phillips as its orange crate manufacturing facility. The 22,400-square-foot food hall will be one component of a larger site plan to redevelop the southeast corner of Princeton and Orange Blossom Trail, a site spanning 205,000 square feet.
“As we laid out the vision for this once industrial area of the city, our goal was to repurpose as many of the buildings on property as possible to capture and preserve a piece of the history of this special place in Dr. Phillips’ and Orlando’s history,” said Ken Robinson, president and CEO of Dr. Phillips Charities, which is serving as the master developer of the project. “This is a great example of how we’re working to blend the old and the new within The Packing District and will be a great addition to the community.”
Overall site plans for the southeast corner of Princeton and Orange Blossom Trail include:
* The Southern Box food hall
* A micro-brewery
* A 4,000-square-foot event space
* Signature restaurant and bar
* Large parking area
* Monument sign for The Packing District
* 14,000 square feet of retail space
* 10,000 square feet of office space
Once converted, the Southern Box building will feature an elevated plaza dedicated to shaded, outdoor greenspace and additional seating for the food hall. The design approach focuses not only on the existing building and adjacent brewery, but strategically utilizes the site as an elevated park space and social infrastructure. The design also expands the internal footprint beyond the shell of the building encouraging foot traffic throughout the indoor and outdoor space. Plans call for construction to begin early next year with completion by the end of 2020.
Plans for the 202-acre The Packing District, a $500-million mixed-use infill redevelopment district, have continued to unfold within the last several months. In January, Dr. Phillips released new details for the northeast quadrant of the Princeton – OBT intersection, which will be anchored by a 310-unit luxury apartment complex by Texas-based Embrey Partners. That project, first reported by GrowthSpotter, is scheduled to break ground in June.
The conceptual plan also shows a mid-sized grocery store and a number of restaurants and commercial buildings fronting on the main thoroughfares. The charity will reconstruct the former citrus stand on its original site at the hard corner of the intersection and recruit an independent coffee shop for the space.
Dr. Phillips Charities has also pledged $8.9 million for a new YMCA Family Center for the College Park area. The gift covers nearly 75 percent of the estimated $12.1 million project cost. Located at the planned roundabout at Princeton Street and Texas Avenue on the north end of Orlando’s newest regional park, the 2-story Y will plan to have 24,500 square feet and could expand up to 40,000 square feet in the future.
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