ORLANDO, Fla. — With exactly one week left in the new year, many are already thinking about what new opportunities will present themselves in the future.
Among these new opportunities are plans for a new mixed-use sports and entertainment district in downtown Orlando.
It’s a project that got the green light from city leaders earlier this year and has a Parramore hair salon owner ready for change.
Enthusiasm is usually not what you want from a business owner when it comes to a new development in their neighborhood.
But the owner of a Parramore hair salon says he’s ready for change.
J. Henry has been cutting the hair of residents in his neighborhood since 1991.
From children to seniors in the Parramore area, he says he wouldn’t do this work anywhere else.
That’s why when he heard news earlier this year of a new mixed-use sports and entertainment district — named Westcourt, which will be adjacent to the Kia Center — he was filled with joy.
“When people have the opportunity to change their financial situation from an employment standpoint, it brings new people into the community, new ideas, new opportunities,” Henry said.
But Henry says that wasn’t always the case, especially before the construction of the Inter & Co. soccer stadium across the street from his store.
“It was actually an abandoned warehouse and the rest of the property was basically vacant,” he said.
But he believes the Westcourt Orlando project, which will include a 261-room hotel, 265 residential units, offices and even a concert hall with a capacity of 3,500 people, will also help give Parramore a better reputation – because, he said, it’s the people. that make the neighborhood special.
“I don’t know of a better place to live because everyone in the neighborhood knows who they are, and I like being around real people and that’s very important to me,” Henry said.
It is also important to him to ensure that his community accepts the change that is about to occur.
“I want to see people in the neighborhood reap some of the benefits of the opportunities that are coming,” Henry said. “But as well as reaping the benefits, you have to play your part. You can’t sit on the sidelines waiting for the score to change.”
If all goes as planned, the Westcourt Orlando project is expected to be completed in early 2027.