Three separate applications requesting a combined $135.5 million in Orange County tourist tax funds have been submitted for projects located within the historic Town of Eatonville. The funding requests seek county capital to build new cultural venues, park spaces and municipal infrastructure.
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The individual submissions — part of a group of 24 applications for an unprecedented surge in so-called Tourist Development Tax (TDT) funds — include a $60 million request from Dr. Phillips Charities for a master-planned cultural campus; a $53 million application from the local grassroots group Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community, Inc. (P.E.C.) for an international museum; and a $22.5 million proposal from the Town of Eatonville Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) for commercial core revitalization and historic restoration.
The requests come less than a year after Dr. Phillips Charities announced an agreement to purchase the historic Hungerford property in Eatonville, with plans to build housing, offices, health care facilities and public-use projects on the 100-plus acre site. The cultural campus, though a small part of the overall acreage, would be a major part of the plan.
The submission marks the first time in the foundation’s history that it has ever applied for any outside grant funding for a project. The window for applications closed July 16 at 5 p.m., and a county task force will begin discussing the applications Tuesday.
It is not clear whether the three Eatonville proposals will be viewed as complementary or competitive by the task force. Eatonville has a rich heritage, incorporated in 1887 as a self-governing municipality to shield African American residents from the oppressions of Jim Crow, but has struggled over time to develop economically.
Ken Robinson, president and CEO of Dr. Phillips Charities, told GrowthSpotter the organization is scheduled to close on the Hungerford property acquisition in August.
The Orange County School Board voted to sell the property to the charity in September 2025. The deal had the support of then-Eatonville Mayor Angie Gardner, who stated it would safeguard the community and set the stage for affordable housing, education and cultural opportunities.
According to the Dr. Phillips Charities application, the requested $60 million in TDT funding would be used to construct the project. The development features the Eatonville Museum of Culture & History, a planned $40 million, 2-story, 30,000-square-foot facility featuring exhibition galleries, educational classrooms and interactive media installations. Surrounding the museum is a $20 million, 4-acre Heritage Park, which includes a 3,000-person festival space, a stage, a pavilion and public art.
The remaining $25 million of the project budget is allocated to campus infrastructure. Dr. Phillips Charities has committed $20 million of its own funds to cover design, engineering and core site preparation. Robinson said the charity will find a source for the remaining $5 million.
Robinson said the application represents a new direction for the foundation.
“Historically, we are funders to the community,” he said. “We have sent out over $270 million, but we think this is a great use of the TDT money on behalf of the Town of Eatonville and the residents of Eatonville.”
If the county denies or reduces the $60 million request, Dr. Phillips Charities will still move forward with the site infrastructure, but Heritage Park would have a reduced scope and the museum construction would be delayed and phased.
“No matter what TDT does, if TDT does not fund this, the Dr. Phillips commitment to the Eatonville community continues,” Robinson said. “We’ve committed to building the infrastructure for the park, to build the park, and to do other things like an early learning center and health center. That commitment remains 100% there and it will happen. In terms of specifically the museum, without TDT funding, I think it would set the town back five or 10 years. It would be very disappointing.”
The July 2026 draft site plan engineered by Kimley-Horn outlines a total site acreage of 100.99 acres.
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The proposed schedule projects that on-site infrastructure construction would begin in April 2027. Phase 1, the Heritage Park, is slated to open to the public in April 2028, followed by the opening of Phase 2, the museum, in April 2030.
Dr. Phillips Charities projects the completed cultural campus would attract 150,000 annual visitors, generating an estimated 30,800 out-of-town hotel room nights for Orange County.
The application notes that the campus will serve as a venue for local events, including the annual Zora! Festival. Renowned author Zora Neale Hurston was an Eatonville resident.
Meanwhile, the Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community, Inc., known as P.E.C., has submitted a separate $53 million TDT application to build the Zora Neale Hurston International Museum of Arts, Heritage and Culture. The preservation group’s application positions its project as a permanent, year-round heritage tourism destination. The proposal highlights a push from local advocates who favor community-led operations over a private foundation’s development framework on the historic land.
P.E.C. Executive Director N.Y. Nathiri, an historian and third-generation Eatonville resident, also directs the The Hurston Museum at 344 E. Kennedy Blvd. and is the primary organizer of the Zora! Festival. She told GrowthSpotter her organization’s project does not specify the Hungerford property.
“There are other places in Eatonville that can accommodate this concept,” said Nathiri. “There are other parcels that allow for interpretation in Eatonville. A museum is a name of a thing, but it’s not just necessarily bricks and mortar. A museum is an experience.”
While P.E.C. does not own land to develop its project, the organization shared with GrowthSpotter an economic impact analysis by Partners for Economic Solutions that details a 10-acre pocket of undeveloped land at South Lake Destiny Road and West Kennedy Boulevard adjacent to Lake Hungerford as a potential site asset.
The analysis also projects that the completed museum will attract 102,100 visits every year drawing 34,220 out-of-area heritage tourists and generating up to $37.1 million in annual regional income across Orange and Seminole counties.
A third Eatonville-based proposal was also submitted to the county by the Town of Eatonville Community Redevelopment Agency. The agency is requesting $22.5 million in TDT funds to establish the Eatonville Heritage Tourism District.
The master plan involves restoring Club Eaton, a historic Chitlin’ Circuit landmark, into an indoor performing arts and entertainment event center. It also includes building an outdoor stage, Zora Square Park, and a 100-plus space municipal parking facility built over underground stormwater infrastructure. Property acquisition for these sites is already underway.
The three Eatonville proposals are part of a larger pool of 24 total applications submitted to the task force. Other major requests include a $975 million bid from Orlando City Baseball Dreamers LLC for a Major League Baseball stadium complex, a $750 million request from the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, and a $523 million application from the Orange County Convention Center.
Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at [email protected] or (407) 420-5246. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.
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