African American cultural center in Round Lake Park gets official name

Oviedo’s Round Lake Park police substation, the longtime home to Oviedo Citizens in Action, finally has an official name, and a lot of change to go with it.

The city received a state African American Cultural and Historical Grant of up to $500,000 in 2023, beginning the process of turning the building into a cultural and arts center. Following significant work done to the building with the grant funds, five names were submitted for approval, and the name decided on by community members and approved unanimously by Oviedo City Council members is the African American Legacy and Cultural Arts Center.

A request for an additional $500,000 was denied by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2024.

The renovations include work to the interior of the building — new windows, air-conditioning, paint, a drinking fountain, tile floors, opening the space up by removing walls, new lighting and a new roof — and the addition of a picnic pavilion, park monument sign, concrete pavers and hardscape. It also received amenities such as tables, benches, a little library, window tint and blinds. Projects still in progress include public artwork, exterior finishes, landscaping and signage, according to Oviedo Parks and Recreation Director Paul Belden. 

The city has been reimbursed $375,000 by the state, with additional reimbursement requests to be submitted before the end of the year deadline, Belden said.

A number of community leaders, including OCIA’s Kathy Hunt, Johnson Hill-Washington Heights Community Outreach’s William “Jack” Jackson and President of the Historic Oviedo Colored Schools Museum Judith Dolores Smith spoke in favor of the name that was chosen at the Oviedo City Council’s Aug. 17 meeting. 

“We strongly believe that the name submitted embodies the will of the people, as well as preserving the long-overdue legacy [of] African-Americans to the development of Oviedo and the surrounding areas,” Jackson said at the meeting. “We believe that a renaming of this building is taking a small step toward educating, preserving, motivating and otherwise including the community about our rich history.

“Our past is our key to our present, our present is our key to our future,” he said. 

The other name options included:

• African American Heritage and Cultural Arts Center
• African American Heritage and Cultural Center
• African American Legacy and Cultural Center
• African American Heritage House

“A lot of work has gone into it, we had a whole committee meet through it and go through the details, and they picked option 1,” Deputy Mayor Natalie Teuchert said. 

The Heritage House name was recommended by Oviedo Mayor Megan Sladek, who was concerned about the length and branding of the other names, especially because of the existence of the Oviedo Amphitheater and Cultural Center at Oviedo on the Park. The Council decided to go with the decision of the committee that was established to provide recommendations for the name and other components of the grant, such as the renovations to the building leased by OCIA since 2002.

The committee, which included members of the Oviedo community, such as Jackson and Hunt, as well as city staff, included these reasonings for why they recommended the name of African American Legacy and Cultural Arts Center:

• Focuses on recognizing contributions and preserving legacy
• Creates a permanent commemorative identity
• Aligns well with building naming initiatives intended to honor community history
• Broad enough to accommodate future programming and exhibits
• Strong alignment with cultural and historical grant objectives
• Adds an arts component that may support exhibitions, performances, and public art
• Beneficial if the building will host cultural arts programming

“I am excited to see the center come to life and to celebrate the value it will bring to the Oviedo community,” Hunt said. 

Want to contact your elected leaders and weigh in on this topic? Find their contact information here. Have a news tip or opinion to share with OCN? Do that here.