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Historian traces Colonial Plaza’s rise, mid‑century prominence and stalled redevelopment plans
Summary
At a History Center lecture, historian Rachel Williams traced Colonial Plaza’s development from its 1956 opening through expansions in 1962 and 1973, decline in the 1990s and a 1995 conversion to a power center; she noted a 2022 Kimco proposal for partial mixed‑use redevelopment but said no timeline is public.
Rachel Williams, historian at the History Center, told an audience that Colonial Plaza opened Jan. 31, 1956, as a then‑modern shopping center and later expanded into an enclosed mall before much of it was demolished and rebuilt as a power center in the 1990s.
Williams said the center was planned by an investment syndicate led by Michael Sudhakow and originally held about 25 stores, "including one major department store," and that developer representatives promoted the project as a response to Orlando’s projected postwar growth. "Colonial Plaza is being designed and built in the light of the city's future growth," Williams quoted from a contemporary representative.
Why it matters: Williams framed Colonial Plaza as emblematic of mid‑century suburbanization and changing retail patterns that shifted shopping away from downtown streets to car‑oriented centers with large parking fields and air‑conditioned interiors. Those shifts, she…
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