Eatonville, OCPS staff outline master plan ideas for Hungerford property; board agrees to continued collaboration

Eatonville officials and planners presented a community-led master plan for the Hungerford property Tuesday and asked Orange County Public Schools staff to keep working with the town to refine details, including education uses and financing. Board members did not take formal action at the work session, but the superintendent said staff would continue collaborative feasibility work and report back to the board.

The plan shown to the board envisions a mixed-use campus with an educational continuum (early learning through higher education), a large central linear park linked to the waterfront, community gardens and food-production space, workforce and attainable housing, a new town hall and a health-and-wellness campus across Kennedy Avenue on OCPS’s West property. Tim Baker of BakerBarrios, the architecture firm leading the master plan, said the proposal aims to create “a cradle to career” pathway connecting local students to jobs across the street in a corporate/industry zone.

Why it matters: the Hungerford property is the largest undeveloped parcel within Eatonville’s town limits and has been the subject of litigation and prior sales efforts. Any change in use or transfer of school district property touches legal statutes governing disposition of school land, potential historic restrictions that were litigated, and the district’s interest in directing educational benefits to OCPS students.

Town leaders presented process and community input. William Jefferson of BakerBarrios’ Thrive group said the team held four workshops over the last year to gather resident priorities, which they…