Holocaust Museum receives $5M toward downtown Orlando expansion

Central Florida’s Holocaust Museum is celebrating $5 million in state funding it received this year as it builds a new museum in downtown Orlando.

The organization recently honored Sen. Linda Stewart and Rep. David Smith, a pair of bipartisan supporters who asked for up to $25 million in funding from the state this Session.

“We are grateful for the excitement and support of our plans to build a new Holocaust Museum in Central Florida and we are proud and honored that both Sen. Stewart and Rep. Smith attended the White Rose Tribute Event,” said Talli Dippold, CEO of the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center in a statement.

“We are appreciative of the support for our ongoing work to counter antisemitism and educate our community.”

Located in Maitland, the Holocaust museum has ambitious plans to expand. The center wants to build a $106 million, 44,500-square-foot campus in downtown Orlando in 2026 using public and private funds.

Already, the organization has an additional $31 million on hand and is raising private donations with philanthropist Alan Ginsburg as a supporter, the organization said earlier this year.

In January, Dippold told Florida Politics the museum’s growth and more visible location is important because the organization’s mission is more relevant today than ever.

“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,” the museum’s CEO said.

At its annual White Rose Tribute Event, the museum recently honored Jonathan and Nancy Wolf with the Tess Wise White Rose Award and Nilam Patel, an English teacher at Dr. Phillips High School, with the first-ever White Rose Educator Award.

“The Tess Wise White Rose Award, created in 1989, honors individuals who magnify the values of inclusiveness and respect and who demonstrate that through participation we can build a better home for all Central Floridians,” the organization said.