The venue was approved, along with the new Amway Center (which replaced the Amway Arena) and improvements to Camping World Stadium, after a series of hearings and votes culminating in a final vote by the Orange County Board of County Commissioners on July 26, 2007, and the Orlando City Council on August 6, 2007.
The design of the new facility was unveiled on August 21, 2008. The venue includes a 2,700-seat amplified hall, the Walt Disney Theater, for Broadway musicals and multi-genre concerts, and a 300-seat hall, the Alexis & Pugh Theater, for smaller shows and events. The third theater, Steinmetz Hall, a 1,700-seat multi-format theater, has been awarded an N1 sound rating, the highest possible sound rating. The acoustically superior Steinmetz Hall can be transformed into three different theater styles (symphony orchestra concert hall, proscenium hall and banquet hall) for a variety of events and performances. Construction of Steinmetz Hall began on March 6, 2017 and officially opened on January 14, 2022. The last performance space to complete the arts center is Judson’s, a dynamic music room with cabaret-style seating for intimate events and live entertainment. Judson’s is scheduled to open in 2023.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Dr. Phillips Center proposed the concept of an open, socially remote venue to continue offering performances at a time when much of the world has closed. In May 2020, AdventHealth kicked off the idea of creating the Frontyard Festival, which was officially launched on December 5, 2020 with its first show. Located on the lawn in front of the Dr. Phillips Center, Seneff Arts Plaza, Frontyard Festival offered socially remote boxes that could accommodate up to six people. Food and drinks were delivered from on-site restaurants, and performances and events were organized on the stage in front of the venue. The series was supposed to run until June 2020, but was extended for another six months, with the final event taking place on December 13, 2021.
The venue is worth $613 million, once Steinmetz Hall is completed. Two-thirds of the funding comes from public funds, mainly from the Orange County Tourist Development Tax. The other third comes from private donations, including a large grant from the Dr. P. Phillips Foundation, a charitable organization funded through the estate of Philip Phillips.
The slowdown in the tourist development tax and other economic conditions forced the plans to be split into two phases of construction. The Walt Disney Theater and the Alexis and Jim Pugh Theater were part of Phase I. Phase II included Steinmetz Hall and Judson’s. The groundbreaking took place in June 2011.
The center covers two city blocks. Some of the existing structures demolished to make way for the center include Orlando Fire Department Station 1 (which was moved to Central Boulevard); the addition of the First United Methodist Church of Orlando; and the round American Federal Building, built in the 1960s. The center is bordered by Orange Avenue to the west, South Street to the north, Rosalind Avenue to the east, and Anderson Street to the south. Magnolia Avenue divides the area in half.