Design of Winter Park library/event center still up in the air

Winter Park City Commissioners still are considering the final design of Winter Park’s new library and event center as they work to keep the cost under the project’s allotted $30 million budget.

Commissioners soon will vote whether to include extra features such as a porte cochere, a rooftop venue, an exterior amphitheater and a raked auditorium within the design of the new library and event center set for the northwest corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Park.

City leaders could have made a decision on a rooftop venue for the event center at their Monday, April 23, meeting but voted to table it because only three out of five city commissioners were present.

In response to the April 9 City Commission vote to eliminate the raked auditorium, Winter Park Library Association Board President Trish Gallagher told commissioners that outside donations still may make features like this possible.

“Certainly, the amphitheater inside the library itself would be a fabulous place for us to do some amazing programing, because the cost of that piece is low,” Gallagher told the Observer. “It seems attainable, especially with the resources this community has. It could benefit so many other features.”

City Manager Randy Knight said an anonymous donor may agree to pay for an outdoor amphitheater behind the two buildings overlooking the lake in the park.

Regarding a rooftop venue on the event center, City Commissioners have two potential options: construct it for $2,612,754 or build infrastructure for $382,235 that could lead to a rooftop venue in the future.

Project architect firm Adjaye Associates has advocated adding the rooftop venue, because it would create a new destination for residents.

The City Commission agreed to bring these features back for discussion and a future vote.

Winter Park resident Michael Perelman said it is critical the city understands what it’s going to spend on this project. 

“I don’t think we have transparency on the budget,” he said. “We keep on hearing different numbers, with a small cost to do this and a small cost to do that. We’re already over budget. These things do not get cheaper in my experience; they get more expensive. I am extremely concerned.”

RaceTrac project skids to a halt

Knight told City Commissioners a controversial RaceTrac project just outside of Winter Park has been denied.

The project, which was set for 2300 S. Semoran Blvd., was voted down unanimously by Orange County’s Planning and Zoning Commission.

The decision comes as a relief to nearby Winter Park residents. Orange County staff held a community meeting Jan. 17, where 52 Winter Park residents from the nearby Golfside neighborhood — as well as the owner of the adjacent Winter Park Pines neighborhood — attended to voice their disapproval.

Winter Park residents have expressed concerns about noise coming from the gas station. Residents also said they were concerned about the light coming from 30-foot-tall poles at night and fuel runoff.

Attorney Scott Clark, representing the Winter Pines Golf Club, said these factors would create a negative impact on the golfing experience at two holes while looking at the adjacent RaceTrac gas station.

“The proposed use opens a horrible, ugly window into a very nice golf course that fits very well into the residential area,” Clark said at a Feb. 26 City Commission meeting. “It’s simply incompatible. As I understand, this is a 24-hour RaceTrac gas station. The use of course is going to have an open window into our golf course at night, which of course puts it in the backyard of hundreds and hundreds of residents.”