KISSIMMEE, Fla. – When you drive through downtown Kissimmee, right away you can see history.
News 6 stopped at the Kissimmee Main Street Welcome Center, formally known as the “Standard Oil Filling Station” built in the 1920s.
Next door to it, construction is underway for a new venue called Violet’s Garage.
“There’s so much more here, and we think we are in a unique position here. We are close to the theme parks, but you could be completely separate from the theme parks and explore downtown,” Tom Tomerlin said.
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Tomerlin is the director of Economic Development for the City of Kissimmee.
On Tuesday, he and city workers held a feedback workshop in effort to get some ideas on how to redevelop the brand of downtown Kissimmee and they asked for the community’s help.
“What we want to be able to do is actually tell the story that there is this historic footprint and people like the authenticity of having a real downtown and you can tell when you walk the streets of downtown like Kissimmee, that they are in a real place that’s kind of stood the test of time,” Tomerlin explained.
People used Post-it notes to share their opinions and what improvements they would like to see for downtown.
One person wrote, “Keep the small-town feel.” Another wrote, “We need better streets for walking and biking.”
According to Experience Kissimmee, the downtown area is nearing 150 years of existence and is known for its historic buildings and stories.
Downtown Kissimmee is also known to be the home of several small businesses, including “Buchito” which opened 10 years ago and offers Cuban coffee and hand-made cigars.
“What we need to do is basically have that thread that pieces together that quilt of all these different components of Kissimmee in one larger quilt,” Tomerlin said.
The city is hosting a second community workshop on Wednesday, June 5, at the Kissimmee Civic Center at 5:30 p.m.
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