Demolition begins at Washington Shores apartments, where LIFT Orlando will build new affordable and mixed-income housing.

This week marked the start of the Orange Center Boulevard transformation from a dilapidated apartment complex into 320 architecturally pleasing mixed-income homes that will be known as The Villages of West Lakes. LIFT Orlando, a nonprofit organization that formed in 2012 to revitalize the area around the newly renovated Citrus Bowl, has worked tirelessly with community leaders to tear down the complex and bring new life to the surrounding communities while ensuring the current residents will benefit from the positive change. LIFT Orlando’s goal is to break the cycle of poverty through holistic neighborhood renewal and this is one of the beginning steps in doing so. The nonprofit organization brings together a group of community leaders, businesses, and residents of the neighborhoods surrounding the Citrus Bowl, in a unique collaboration, to help accelerate the community’s transformation. The approach is a holistic one, addressing education, mixed-income housing, community health and wellness, and economic development – all necessary for a neighborhood to thrive. To read today’s Orlando Sentinel coverage about the revitalization, click here.

For more information on LIFT Orlando, visit: http://liftorlando.org. We celebrate our community partner LIFT Orlando!

From left to right. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, William T. Dymond, Sandy Hostetter and Tom Sittema in front of foreclosed Washington Shores apartments during demolition

This Demolition Kickoff video from January 5th, 2016 captures the demolition of boarded up properties of Washington Shores Village and Orange Manor to make way for the new Villages of West Lakes.