ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings on Friday morning delivered his 2024 State of the County address.
Last year, Demings previewed initiatives such as affordable housing construction and ways to improve quality of transportation. The mayor’s address Friday similarly highlighted Orange County’s accomplishments and challenges over the last year, touching on affordable housing projects and programs, infrastructure improvements, a resurrection of the county’s shelved transportation sales tax proposal, gun violence, mental health treatment, powerful movement in the theme park world and what’s being done with millions in federal funding.
Though a proposed one-cent transportation sales tax failed in April to capture commissioners’ votes and thus will not appear on the November 2024 ballot, Demings said Friday that he intends to relaunch the initiative in 2026 after more thought is put into it.
“According to Census data, Central Florida remains the state’s fastest-growing region. Today, Orange County has more than 1.5 million residents, with 400 new people moving here each week. In fact, by 2050, we expect to add another 700,000 residents, which will increase our county population to over two million. This will continue to add pressure on our infrastructure and social services,” Demings said. “...Earlier this year, we reengaged the community on the prospect of a transportation infrastructure sales tax. We hosted six community meetings and conducted a survey to hear from our residents about their transportation needs. After much discussion among the county commission, the initiative was suspended and will be relaunched in 2026. The county will use this time to address incremental changes to the transportation plan. We are identifying priority safety projects related to pedestrian, bicycle and motorist safety improvements, as well as transit enhancements through the accelerated transportation safety program. The board of county commissioners allocated $100 million over the next five years to advance these projects.”
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Demings said that the county continues to address its unique local needs and to make strong recoveries, the latter still in large part a response to Hurricane Ian in 2022. In the county’s Orlo Vista flooding mitigation project, Demings said excavation had been completed at three ponds, what amounts to some 23,000 truckloads of dirt hauled away.
“The additional pond storage will protect the surrounding neighborhood against major flooding. Orlo Vista is in a much better condition to face a major storm than ever before,” Demings said.
The mayor said that $219 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is also still being used to address flooding concerns following Hurricane Ian, with most of it going to low and moderate-income individuals or areas.
In 2023, Orange County welcomed 74 million visitors who helped generate $87.6 billion in positive economic impact, Demings said. The mayor additionally said that the county had issued over 80,000 permits with a development value of 2.2 billion in 2023, much of which is focused on the county’s goal to address residents’ need for more housing.
“This was due in part to Team 400, which is a cross section of county employees focused on innovative permitting solutions. Our customer-first approach is central to our service delivery, with the goal of increasing production of much-needed housing,” Demings said.
Commissioners have otherwise committed over $160 million to address the housing needs Orange County’s share of some 862,000 low-income cost-burdened renters in Florida who spend more than 40% of their income on housing, according to Demings.
“We have been intentional in stimulating the building of more affordable and attainable housing through public-private partnerships. We’re proud to partner with Universal Resorts and Wendover Housing Partners on a first-of-its-kind affordable housing solution that will transform 20 acres of land in the International Drive area, not far from here, into workforce housing. Catchlight Crossings would be a 1,000-unit housing community offering on-site amenities and services. We broke ground on Catchlight Crossings this year and we expected to open in 2026,” Demings said. “In addition, the board approved transmittal of Walt Disney World’s plans to build 1,400 affordable housing units on 80 acres in west Orange County. The community will be uniquely designed to complement the surrounding area and provide amenities focusing on wellness.”
The mayor, stating that more than 2,300 affordable housing units are now built or under development, made mention of the following other such projects that the county has invested in:
- The Mira - 336 units, $11 million
- Southwick Commons - 195 units, $3 million
- Barnett Villas - 156 units, $9 million
- Barnett Villas Phase III - 90 units, $4.5 million
- Cornerstone at Sixth - 24 units, $1.5 million
Over the next 15 years, Demings said that the county would receive more than $60 million in opioid settlement funding to address mental and behavioral health disorders as the county seeks to be a model for the nation in that respect.
“Orange County has identified a $49 million funding gap in meeting the needs for mental and behavioral health services, but we’re going to take care of it. Orange County is contributing $10 million annually to help close the gap,” Demings said.
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On gun violence, Demings discussed the Orange County Citizen Safety Task Force, which met for a final time one year ago this month after being formed in 2020 following a deadly string of local shootings.
“The task force completed its work last summer, reducing (crime) and producing 16 recommendations that build our prevention and intervention initatives. Orange County continues to support violence prevention initiatives with most of the funding going to small, grassroots nonprofit organizations. The good news is, law enforcement is reporting reductions in violent crime. Thank you (Orange County) Sheriff Mina, (Orlando police) Chief Smith and all of our local police chiefs for your leadership,” Demings said.
Demings congratulated Universal Orlando Resort on its highly-anticipated Epic Universe theme park, expected to open in 2025, and Walt Disney World for its planned expansions at Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, including the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure ride that’s set to welcome guests later this month.
Watch the address again — including Deming’s further remarks on county history, parks and recreation, the technology industry, farming, education and more — in the video player below, or by clicking here.
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