Grand Avenue Park: The Heart of the Community for Nearly a Century By Paula M. Jacoby-Garrett
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t was the 1920s and Orlando was experiencing an unprecedented population boom, nearly tripling its population, when Florida architect Howard M. Reynolds designed a pair of identical schools for the area to meet the growing demand. The schools’ design incorporated Mediterranean Revival architecture with arched entries, columns, tile-clad gable roofs and stucco walls. Inside, the classrooms were designed with high ceilings to maximize air circulation for the hot Florida climate. One of these schools, the Grand Avenue Elementary School, provided a learning environment for students in the local Holden Heights community for more than 90 years. In 1995, the school was designated as a city of Orlando Historic Landmark due to its architectural significance. In a shift to consolidate students into larger, more modern facilities,
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the elementary school was closed in 2017. Through a land swap, the
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city of Orlando traded land to the local Orange County School District for the 13-acre Grand Avenue school and park. The Orange County School District created the Academic Center for Excellence on its newly acquired parcel for pre-kindergarten to eighth-grade students. The Grand Avenue Elementary School was repurposed as a community/recreation center, but wear and tear had put a toll on the aging building. On October 8, 2018,
DESIGN RENDERINGS COURTESY OF BORRELLI + PARTNERS
An artist’s rendering reveals some of the design elements planned for repurposing Grand Avenue Elementary School in Orlando, Florida..
