Gabrielle Russon
To address the community’s ongoing housing crisis, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer is outlining new efforts to streamline processes to help private developers build more homes.
“We’re reinventing our approach to housing, rooted in the belief that every new unit matters, whether it’s a single-family home, a townhome, an apartment, or an accessory dwelling unit,” Dyer said during his annual State of the City address.
With 1,500 people moving to Orlando every week, the community’s housing will keep being stretched, Dyer warned.
During the annual speech, Dyer, the city’s longest-serving Mayor, discussed his housing plan, his vision for making Orlando a futuristic city with flying cars, and other topics ranging from parks to small businesses.
Dyer’s State of the City address depicted a sunny outlook. He said homicides are down 50% this year and violent crimes are declining 14% in one of the largest crime drops in the city’s history. Recycling and trash pickup have a nearly perfect batting average, missing 0.03% of 189,000 stops every week. The community is also investing in new parks and growing its Main Street districts that are home to independent, thriving businesses, the Mayor said.
Housing remains a big challenge as people move to Orlando to escape the cold and make a mecca to The Mouse.
Dyer pledged to remove barriers and modernize land use zoning to help private developers under his initiative called Orlando Unlocked. The program is helping to build more townhouses and apartments — like in the up-and-coming Packing District that recently opened a YMCA, a food hall and 800 housing units on the city’s west side, Dyer said.
“We’ve worked very quickly to create a pipeline that has delivered 9,200 units under construction, 18,000 units approved or in the permit review and new zoning in place for close to 40,000 new units,” Dyer said.
A longtime complaint from residents has been about the SunRail train running limited operations. Dyer said he is still working to get SunRail connected to Orlando International Airport and to run weekends and nights.
The skies also hold the possibility for Orlando to continue to reinvent itself, even if it sounded like a science fiction plot, Dyer admitted.
“We want to be the place where this game-changing technology is pioneered, tested and deployed, and where the companies making it all happen call home. That’s why we’re preparing Orlando to be one of the first communities in America to welcome flying cars and taxis,” Dyer said.
“That’s why we’re embracing drone technology that will soon deliver goods to our homes for the air and that has the potential to reinvent the way we do everything, from responding to emergencies, to doing inspections on buildings and roads and bridges.”
Dyer’s 40-minute speech held at the Plaza Live venue comes during his final term since Dyer previously said he is not running for re-election in 2027. This year also marks the 150th anniversary of the City Beautiful.
