ORLANDO, Fla. — After a month of getting responses about questions of downtown safety, the City District Heart of Orlando survey results are in.

What You Need To Know

  • The City District Heart of Orlando survey was recently conducted in the downtown area

  • Respondents said that their main concerns were homelessness and safety in downtown Orlando

  • Business owners say high rent prices are another cause of hesitation by those to wanting to open storefronts in downtown

  • Those surveyed say they want to see more diverse dining and retail open in downtown Orlando

  • The question remains, though, of who will pay the extra money needed to help make downtown Orlando safe

The top two concerns across all groups — downtown visitors, business owners and residents — were found to be safety and homelessness. Business owners polled said they think the city of Orlando is responsible for ensuring safety downtown.

For more than 15 years, Scott Kotraba has owned and operated bars or clubs in downtown Orlando.

His most recent venture is one of the rarer downtown offerings: a restaurant.

“It’s all about the lease, your cost per square foot — what can you make money on for that square foot?” Kotraba said. “That’s why you see so many bars and nightclubs.”

Papi Smash, a burger joint located off Pine Street, is the new kid on the block, and Kotraba said he knows it could be a risky business.

“Because Papi Smash is connected to our other venues, we are able to offset some of the square footage,” he said. “We are able to get creative with our lease, so a lot of people can’t do that. If they lease a parcel, they have to make it or break it on food.”

Kotraba said his main business thrives in downtown for one reason: alcohol. His venues have metal detectors at the doors, but according to those that were surveyed, they feel the least safe in Downtown from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m, which includes peak business hours for the bars and clubs.

“After 2 a.m., all the people that had been drinking leave all at once, and then you have the people that have been on the streets, doing whatever,” Kotraba said. “Then you have this massive collision of people, and to ask the police force to enforce that is a tough task. “

One idea put forth to help with safety downtown is to have businesses pay a surcharge to help fund the extra costs to protect downtown.

“If it makes it safer for people to come to downtown, we are supportive of it,” Kotraba said. “It hurts the bottom line — any additional costs are straight to the bottom line — but we want a safer area.”

Based on the survey, it appears most other people do as well.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer’s office sent News 13 a statement on how they are trying to address homelessness, which reads, in part: “The city launched Accelerate Orlando in 2022, which taken together represents the most significant investment in our city’s history to help care for those experiencing homelessness. Specifically, we are investing in Orlando’s trusted service providers, including the Christian Service Center, Salvation Army and Coalition for the Homeless, to modernize their campuses, offer more wrap-around services and grow daytime operations.”

In 2023, the city of Orlando also launched its Rapid Rehousing Program with the use of RUSH HUD funds to house between 20-30 people experiencing homelessness.

In January 2023, the city took action to enhance safety during the late night hours.

When asked on the survey what activities or niche businesses people would like to see more of in downtown, the top two answers were: diverse dining and more retail.