Considerable perseverance by the city of Orlando—along with some design and construction stagecraft—was needed to bring to life the first phase of a long-delayed performing arts center project.
The saga of turning the plans for the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts—originally priced at nearly $400 million—into reality was reminiscent of the big-budget musicals that will be staged at the performance venue: big dreams, adversity met with resolve and, of course, a happy ending.