The announcement was the latest sign that the performing arts center, which has been discussed for decades, is likely to become a reality. It would house the Orlando Philharmonic, Orlando Opera, Orlando Ballet, and other groups.

Barton Myers Associates has previously helped create the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey; the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts in Cerritos, California; and the Portland Center for the Arts in Portland, Oregon.

Meanwhile, the Florida West Coast Symphony unveiled plans this week for its own 1,800-seat concert hall in Sarasota, the Bradenton Herald reports. The orchestra plans to break ground in 2008 and complete the hall in 2011. It will cost between $135 million and $150 million, of which the orchestra has raised about $25 million.