WINTER GARDEN, Fla. — Winter Garden could soon be home to a new children’s museum, but a major piece of the funding still needs to fall into place.
The nonprofit 8 Waves developed the proposal for the I AM Children’s Museum and is waiting to hear whether its request for $25 million in Tourist Development Tax (TDT) funds will be approved to help make the $45 million project a reality.
The 35,000-square-foot museum, which would be built on property adjacent to the West Orange Trail, is designed primarily for children ages 2 to 12. Plans call for it to combine indoor and outdoor experiences, including 2 miles of interactive trails and about 12,000 fully covered, weather-protected outdoor exhibits.
“This museum is going to be an amazing community asset for the families in Winter Garden. Not only the families in Winter Garden, the families in Orange County, and the visitors that come here as well,” said Bonnie DiCocco, operations and development director for the I AM Children’s Museum.
The organization hopes to break ground on the project in 2027.
Orange County commissioners are weighing hundreds of millions of dollars in new TDT funding requests for multiple projects. Commissioners last month accepted the recommendations of a citizens TDT task force but said there isn’t enough money available to fund the requests for all 12 of those projects and still maintain $300 million in reserves. The museum did make the list of recommended projects. The Board of County Commissioners has not yet scheduled further discussions on the requests.
The museum will move forward even if the TDT funding request is not approved by Orange County commissioners, DiCocco said.
Commissioner Nicole Wilson, who represents District 1, said she wants to see the museum built.
“I think that the people in District 1 are really rooting for this. So, we’re excited to see what comes next,” Wilson said.
The other major projects with which the museum is competing for TDT funds range from a proposed Camping World Stadium parking garage to a museum in Eatonville.
Wilson said TDT funds are restricted and are intended to support tourism and spending connected to visitors.
“You’ll hear the phrase heads in beds. And what that means is, what are you driving? What is the amount of visitation where people will be here overnight, where they’ll be going out to eat,” Wilson said. “And what we know is that children’s museums do absolutely encourage that type of spending, that type of visitation,” Wilson said.
I AM Children’s Museum officials said they anticipate about 250,000 visitors each year, including 150,000 local visitors, and project a $45 million regional economic impact.
8 Waves officials said they have visited nearly every children’s museum nationwide as part of their research and planning.
“And so many of them have been a fantastic resource for us. We have partnered with many of them, and they have been just so instrumental in putting together our initial plan and making sure that we set things up the right way so that we do become this cultural asset that lasts for generations,” DiCocco said.
The I AM Children’s Museum is being developed through a 90-year partnership with the city of Winter Garden. Under the agreement, the nonprofit would pay the city $10 a year for the property.
