Get to know
The APGD Main Street

Hello!

The APGD Main Street, Inc. is a 501c3 that serves as an advocate for The Audubon Park Garden District, a community made up of multiple neighborhoods clustered around Corrine Drive. We assist the businesses, residents and citizens who believe the heart of our great community rests with our strong, independent, locally owned businesses. 

We are part of the nationally recognized Main Street America program under the City of Orlando’s Main Street coordinating program and are guided by the principles of the National Main Street Program. Our organization meets its goals by following the Main Street four point approach which includes design, organization, economic restructuring and promotion.

What does The APGD do?

The APGD is the organization that is working with local agencies to improve walkability and bikeability to Corrine Drive. We’re the team that brings you community events, public art, picks up litter, waters public plants, bike racks, green up projects such as our pollinator pathway on Corrine Drive, a hyper local newsletter with area updates and more. We market the neighborhood, help with permitting and facade grants, answer questions about government services, help find lost dogs - whatever we can do to help the people and places that make up The APGD. We’re always working with all sorts of community members - from shops and services to nonprofits, residents, property owners, government agencies, and more more - to advocate for the area.

We are dedicated to promoting the area and enhancing the neighborhood. We work to support the district overall as the uniquely creative pace it is. Think of The APGD as part hyper-local chamber of commerce, part community booster with a dash of Leslie Knope.

The APGD Main Street program is a nationally accredited Orlando Main Street program as well as a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Created by the National Trust for Historic Preservation over thirty years ago, Main Street America is a national movement to help cities, towns, and villages revitalize their neighborhood business districts. We have one employee, a network of volunteers, four standing committees, and an impact that far exceeds our small budget.

The Vision

To be Orlando’s flagship destination neighborhood and eco-district, representing our community’s creativity, vibrancy, and never-ending dedication to sustainability and diversity.

Our Mission

We promote our community, its culture, and businesses through local events, cultural celebrations, and evolving neighborhood improvement projects, with a special focus on sustainability and the arts.

About the Neighborhood

Hip, diverse and independent are the norm for the Audubon Park Garden District. Known for its vintage shops, cafes, bakeries, music, books, craft beer, boutiques, urban farmlettes, plus superlative professional services, the APGD is a fiercely independent shopping and dining district on Corrine Drive in Orlando, Florida.

Developed in the 1950s and '60s, for decades the area catered to nearby Orlando Air Force Base and then later the Naval Training Center Orlando. Since then, the Audubon Park Garden District has blossomed into a thriving community of unique businesses and seemingly endless events and activities.

Awards and Recognition

What Makes Orlando, Orlando

In Bungalower’s inaugural What Makes Orlando, Orlando reader poll, East End Market earned a well-deserved title: Favorite Third Spot (aka that magical place that’s not home, not work, but always feels like your spot). Right behind them? Stardust Video & Coffee, because obviously. Where else can you get Totzilla, an art show, and late-night espresso while eavesdropping on poets?

The love didn’t stop there. Park Ave CDs took the crown as Favorite Local Retail Spot, with Freehand Goods sliding in as runner-up, proof that Orlando is still rocking out and shopping small. And in the food and caffeine department, Domu was named Favorite Restaurant, Lineage Coffee brewed up a second-place finish, and our friends at Lobos Coffee Roasters earned a proud nomination.

At the heart of all this? A wonderful citizen created category: Small Business Grit. These wins are a testament to the creativity, hard work, and determination of Orlando’s indie business scene. It’s always heartwarming to see so many of our Audubon Park Garden District favorites celebrated.

Congratulations to all our local legends. You make our neighborhood the best.

Great American Main Street Award 2016

Audubon Park Garden District won the Great American Main Street Award in 2016, and the bright strip of local businesses continues to be a gathering place for culinary creativity, coffee, and community. Harry P. Leu Gardens, a 50-acre botanical garden, is a main draw. You’ll find ancient oaks shading subtropical blooms of camellias, azaleas, roses, Florida natives, and tropical plants, all perched on a property overlooking Lake Rowena. Most popular are the garden’s movie date nights on the lawn.

There’s no shortage of places to stay caffeinated and satiated in Audubon Park. Grab a cup of good drip coffee at Stardust Vide & Coffee, a honey-pistachio latte at Lobos Coffee, or a strong cortado at Lineage Coffee. Stroll around . . . rows of romance novels at The New Romantics Bookstore . . . before you walk your way over to East End Market. Here you can find food for every craving. If you see a line out the door, it’s likely for Gideon’s Bakehouse and the infamous half-pound cookies.  Read the full article on Southern Living here.

Wildlife Habitat Designation

Leading a nationwide trend in community concern for habitat loss, the Audubon Park Garden District has been officially designated an NWF Community Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). The APGD is the first neighborhood in Central Florida and only the 18th community in Florida to receive this honor. A Community Wildlife Habitat project creates multiple wildlife habitat areas in residents' yards, schoolyards, business properties, community gardens, church properties, parks, and other spaces.

Since 2008 the Audubon Park Garden District has been responsible for over 1,000 native and Florida-friendly trees, shrubs, groundcovers, and perennials being planted in the community. In 2015, with help from volunteer Carla Shuman and GreenUp Orlando, the APGD remade Song Bird Park, into an urban bird sanctuary. In 2018 the APGD partnered with the Monarch Initiative to plant more Monarch Butterfly habitats throughout the area, in addition to working with The HIVE, which sponsored and planted a native plant demonstration garden in the neighborhood. The APGD Main Street program has also held gardening for wildlife workshops; provided businesses, schools, churches, and residents with the information needed to transform private spaces into wildlife welcoming habitats; and has educated the public on the importance of water-wise gardening and the danger posed to wildlife by systemic pesticides.

The Community Wildlife Habitat certification is part of the APGD's overall plan to be Central Florida's first eco-district. NWF commends the dedicated residents of the Audubon Park Garden District and the APGD Main Street program team for their wildlife conservation efforts and for coming together for a common purpose - to create a community where people and wildlife can flourish. At a time when communities are faced with the problems of losing habitat to development, the APGD stands out as a model for other communities to emulate. The knowledge and inspiration that this project has generated will lead Orlando residents and visitors to take better care of their natural world.