The City of Orlando has mapped more than 300 vacant, privately owned lots concentrated in the Parramore neighborhood and is preparing to offer builders and buyers a package of incentives to turn them into homes — including up to $45,000 in down payment assistance for qualifying buyers and full rebates on permit and impact fees for builders who price homes at $375,000 or less.
The city identified the lots using its GIS database and confirmed them with field visits, a city spokesperson said. A vacant lots map provided to Bungalower shows them scattered throughout Parramore and the surrounding Downtown Community Redevelopment Area, from Colonial Drive south past the East-West Expressway.
City council today is expected to approve the three-year pilot, called Orlando Unlocked Open Door, as part of a broader affordable housing push that also includes a separate citywide ADU incentive program on the same agenda.
How it works
Builders who construct detached single-family homes of at least 1,200 square feet within the CRA and price them at $375,000 or less would receive 100% rebates on impact fees (averaging $18,565 per home) and building permit fees ($574 to $704 per home) — a total builder incentive averaging roughly $19,200…