The Holocaust memorial planned for downtown Orlando is nearing selection of a contractor for the $45 million project to begin construction by the first quarter of 2023.
The Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center of Florida is in the process of selecting a contractor for the Holocaust Museum for Hope & Humanity that will occupy the former home of the Orlando Chamber of Commerce at 75 S Ivanhoe Boulevard.
Located in downtown Orlando near the Ivanhoe Village, construction of the 43,000-square-foot facility is projected to begin by March 2023. According to construction records, the owner of the property is expected to choose a general contractor in the coming weeks.
Earlier this year, the center released renderings of the proposed building, which will serve as the “first museum designed from the ground up around the stories of survivors.”
The museum will serve to “honor those we lost, to reflect on the power of stories as a legacy that we will always carry, and as a reminder of why we must stand up to antisemitism and prejudice today,” reads a statement from the center’s website.
In October, the center’s cofounder, Tess Wise, passed away at the age of 99. As a teen, Wise escaped from a Nazi labor camp before dedicating her life to fighting antisemitism. In 1981, Wise helped to establish what would become the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida as a series of conferences.
For more information on the center, or its initiatives, visit the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida website.