Harry P. Leu Gardens (Website), the historic 50-acre botanical landmark just north of downtown Orlando, has unveiled early-stage plans and renderings for a major expansion aimed at improving visitor services, activating underused areas, and creating new learning spaces.
The gardens welcome nearly 300,000 visitors a year (aided in part by blockbuster events like Dazzling Nights, which returns this November), a 50 percent increase in the last decade, with about a quarter of guests coming from outside the area. More than 6,000 members and hundreds of volunteers support operations of the city-run venue.
At the center of the new plan is a proposed Visitor Center Complex overlooking Lake Rowena. The renderings show a modern building integrated with landscaping, terraces, and amphitheater-style seating. The center is designed to improve entry and circulation, offer expanded indoor and outdoor event space, and give visitors more places to relax and enjoy the gardens.
Another key feature is a Children’s Garden, envisioned as a nature-based learning destination. The plans show winding paths, play structures, and learning areas that encourage hands-on exploration and help connect kids to the natural world.
Leu Gardens describes these projects as the start of a bold new chapter, one meant to honor its 65-year history while preparing for future growth.
Harry P. Leu Gardens began as a private estate that was gifted to the City of Orlando in 1961 by Harry and Mary Jane Leu to serve as a botanical garden open “in perpetuity” to the public. The property, which features the oft-ignored Mizell Family Cemetery and the historic Leu House Museum, is bound by deed restrictions and conservation guidelines that protect the property as a public botanical garden, limiting new structures to the footprint northeast of the gated botanical gardens.
Timelines and funding have not yet been finalized, but the project website shares that it is expected to be completed in phases over the coming years, along with a more complete estimate of projected cost. The first phase will focus on the Visitor Center Complex, expanded parking, and lakefront performance stage, as well as horticultural improvements across the property.
A community meeting to gather further input on the refinements of the master plan is planned for Monday, October 27, 2025, at 6 p.m. at the Gardens. It is open to the public.
