Construction starts to make Orlando's Church Street a more vibrant, pedestrian-focused destination

The City of Orlando has hosted a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the start of Phase I of the Church Street Festival Street project.

Ground has officially been broken on the Church Street reconstruction, marking another exciting step forward in implementing the DTO Action Plan and reimagining the future of downtown Orlando. 

The project will transform Church Street between Garland Avenue and Magnolia Avenue into a vibrant Festival Street - designed to prioritize people, enhance the pedestrian experience, and support the area’s rich cultural programming. 

These improvements will help reduce cut-through traffic while creating a more flexible, attractive street that supports multimodal travel and strengthens Church Street’s role as a civic and cultural destination. 

This project will help create a more connected, welcoming downtown for residents, workers, visitors, and businesses alike.

The City of Orlando Mayor, Buddy Dyer commented, "A revitalized Church Street means creating the kind of walkable urban experience people desire. We want Magic fans to enjoy dinner here before heading to the Kia Center, families to gather for community events and entrepreneurs to see Church Street as the place where their small business dreams can become reality."

The Church Street Festival Street Project will be completed in three phases: 

Phase I (Garland Avenue to the Railroad Tracks) will reconstruct the corridor into an Exceptional Streetscapes Festival Street featuring two 11-foot travel lanes, a curbless roadway that seamlessly connects to pedestrian spaces, a semi-pervious street surface, designated loading and unloading areas, and expanded opportunities for landscaping. Construction begins following the groundbreaking ceremony and is anticipated to be complete in winter 2026. 

Phase II (Railroad Tracks to Orange Avenue) continues the Festival Street vision with textured paving that visually extends the sidewalks into the roadway to calm traffic, designated loading and unloading areas while incorporating linear benches, planters and movable furniture that encourage people to gather, linger and enjoy the district. Construction is anticipated to be complete in spring 2028. 

Phase III (Orange Avenue to Magnolia Avenue) will convert the corridor from one-way eastbound traffic to two-way operations while integrating LYMMO bus service into the regular travel lanes, creating a more intuitive and connected transportation network. Construction is anticipated to be complete in early summer 2028. 

As construction begins, motorists, pedestrians and downtown visitors are encouraged to plan ahead and allow additional travel time as work progresses. Once complete, the transformed Church Street will serve as a vibrant public space that supports community events, celebrates Orlando and continues building a more dynamic downtown for generations to come. 

Check out the full plan for all that's happening downtown at orlando.gov/downtownconstruction. 

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