Holocaust Museum leader wants to build museum in Orlando with $25M from state

Rendering of the Holocaust Museum for Hope & Humanity in Orlando that is projected to open in 2026.

Neo-Nazis marched outside Walt Disney World last year, with a small number of people attracting big headlines amid rising concerns of antisemitism globally.

With that backdrop, the leader of the Central Florida Holocaust museum said the mission is more relevant than ever to move forward on an ambitious plan to relocate and build a $106 million campus in downtown Orlando. To help with construction costs, the museum is asking for $25 million from the state this Session.

“We want to address and target the local rise in antisemitism and hatred. We believe that stems from, honestly … ignorance and from a lack of knowledge and lack of education,” said Talli Dippold, CEO of the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center currently located in Maitland, an Orlando suburb.

Democratic Sen. Linda Stewart and Republican Rep. David Smith, a pair of Central Florida state lawmakers, are leading a bipartisan effort and have filed legislative budget requests for the museum’s requested $25 million for one-time construction costs, said Jeffrey Sharkey of Capitol Alliance Group.

Stewart and Smith were not immediately available for comment this week as lawmakers returned to Tallahassee.

The museum already has $31 million on hand, including $10 million from the county hotel tax proceeds, as it prepares to start construction sometime this year in time for the 2026 opening. Philanthropist Alan Ginsburg is helping the museum with private donations as well.

Built on the north end of downtown Orlando by Lake Ivanhoe, the proposed 44,500-square-foot Holocaust Museum for Hope & Humanity would be the largest Holocaust museum in Florida and home to cutting-edge technology, like virtual reality, to connect visitors with the stories from the Holocaust.

“It’s really going to be one of the first museums that’s built from the inside out, telling the stories of the Holocaust through those who experienced it, so we’re really building a museum for the next generation,” Dippold said.

Relocating the museum from Maitland to Orlando will give the museum a higher profile as a tourism destination. What helps too is that the Brightline train now connects Orlando to South Florida, which has a big Jewish population.

The onePulse Foundation collapsed and failed to deliver on a memorial after fundraising for years following the 2016 mass shooting at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub.

Florida Politics asked Dippold if she was worried about a backlash from that as the museum moved forward on its own project and private donations campaign.

“We’re a very well-established organization here with a 40-year history in the community, of being transparent and ethical, in terms of our spending and use of our funds,” Dippold said. “In addition to that, many of our donors have opted for the opportunity to make payments once we break ground, because we’re very confident: We know that we’re breaking ground.”