Parramore's namesake street shut down to make way for new MLS stadium

ORLANDO, Fla. — On Monday, crews closed off Parramore Avenue between Church Street and Central Avenue as the city works to build its new soccer stadium.

The section of roadway will soon house an entire soccer stadium, so Channel 9's Lori Brown asked if there are plans to memorialize Parramore's history in the stadium.

For generations, that particular section of Parramore Avenue was considered the center of Parramore and was the only street in Orlando at one time where black residents could own businesses.

"I've been driving down there a long time," said resident Nathaniel Scarbourgh, who grew up in Parramore.

Scarbourgh said he's seen the government gobble up more and more land, leaving fewer and fewer residents.

"Where I was born, the federal courthouse got that property," he said.

Construction signs went up early Monday morning, officially cutting off the namesake street.

"I don't like it," said Scarbourgh. "First of all, emergency vehicles have time they'd save coming down Parramore."

Parramore business owner Lawanna Gelzer is frustrated that the city shut down such an important thoroughfare without conducting a study on traffic patterns first.

"I don't think this would happen in any other community but Parramore," Gelzer said. "This would have never happened in Baldwin Park, College Park, Thornton Park."

"We do have a study where we looked at traffic around the Amway Center," said Mayor Buddy Dyer. "We are updating that same traffic study to determine flows and how to best manage traffic around the soccer stadium."

Gelzer believes that whatever the study finds, it will be a little late with soccer stadium construction well underway.

Orlando City Soccer created a task force to help preserve Parramore history to make up for taking away the historic street. Channel 9's phone calls and emails asking for what ideas the task force has come up with have not been returned.

WFTV