Iconic juice stand returns
Dr. Phillips replica in Packing District draws 20 potential vendors
A replica of a juice stand that was once part of Philip “Doc” Phillips’ citrus operations is planned as part of Orlando’s Packing District neighborhood and could become home to a wine or coffee shop that doesn’t necessarily serve orange juice.
There have been about 20 inquiries from potential operators for the space that could start being built early next year near Princeton Street and Orange Blossom Trail, said Ken Robinson, president and CEO of Dr. Phillips Charities. His organization is behind the 202-acre Packing District project.
The original juice stand was built in the late 1940s on the west side of Orange Blossom Trail at Princeton and lasted until the ’60s, when it was torn down to make way for the Princeton Commerce Center, Robinson said. It had served travelers taking the highway back to the Midwest. The replica will stand on the east side of Orange Blossom Trail.
The namesake of Dr. Phillips Charities, the citrus magnate Phillips was known for his marketing skills.
“That was the main tourist route,” said historian Joy Wallace Dickinson. “Having a stand
where tourists could stop and everything sort of fits in with his marketing savvy.”
Now, the industrial area and woods west of College Park are being redeveloped with housing, businesses and a park.
Robinson said he would prefer to see an Orlando food and beverage operator in the stand than a national chain.
“We are definitely looking for something that’s organic and local,” Robinson said.
A variety of food and beverage proposals have come in, and they are not necessarily juice related.
He said having an iconic building with a historic ap
pearance was preferred to having something like a decorative fountain. Bricks from old buildings will be used for the stand’s landscape walls and in other spots in the Packing District.
“We want to reflect on the history of Dr. Phillips in that area,” Robinson said.
Other components of the
$700 million Packing District project also are progressing.
A 307-unit luxury apartment project called The Cannery is expected to have its first units available in March or April of next year, Robinson said. The juice stand will be near those apartments.
Robinson anticipates that a 100-acre park, with a pavilion and trail system, will open in late spring or early summer of next year and a tennis center will follow in September.
A new YMCA Family Center is expected to begin construction in the middle of next year, Robinson said. He added designing the new facility in a coronavirus environment has impacted how things are being planned.
Other upcoming parts of the Packing District include a food hall, 135 townhomes built by Toll Brothers and the 40-acre 4Roots Farm and Agriculture Center educational campus from 4 Rivers Smokehouse founder John Rivers’ 4R Foundation.