5263 replies to this topic

[bobliocatt]

Moderator's Note (bic - August 4, 2010): I have merged the most recent Downtown Orlando Master List with the archived thread that included discussion of projects from February 2004 to January 2006. After merging the two topics, this archive will span discussion from February 2004 to August 2010. A new "Master List" thread has been created to reflect the new direction of development in Orlando.


Moderator's Note (Late January 2006):  I have dug up 3 Master Downtown Development lists that go back an entire two years, and have provided them here as "The Vault".  You can see the quick pace of development over the past two years if you look through here; especially when comparing the initial list in this post.

This will be edited, but here's something to look at.  This information was put together by Sunshineboy & other Orlando forumers in SSP.



The Plaza
Tri tower project, which include retails and a 12 screens theatre.
380,000 sqft of condo office and 80,000 ft of retails. One of the most anticipated project in downtown. Site demolition is underway and construction is supposed to begin in April. The tallest building is a 27 stories residential building sitting on top of a 10 stories parking garage.

55West
31 stories mixed used building with office, retails and residentials.
Construction starts soon. Almost 70% sold


CNL Tower
12 story office building


The Sanctuary
18 floors residential with lower level retails (under construction)


North Orange
2 twin 18 floors residential towers


Eola South Condo


Federal Courthouse


FAMU college of law



Orlando Intermodal Center


Ustler Uptown Project with retails, office and condo

Edited by bic, 03 August 2010 - 11:14 PM.
Added moderator's note to show that "Master List" topics have been merged and archived.

[sunshine]

Orlando World Trade Center




Peabody Expansion



Vernada Park Metrowest



Atlantis Club
18 stories condo hotel on I-drive



Church Expansion


The Plaza at downtown



Arnold Palmer Expansion



Florida Hospital Expansion



The Vue 35 stories residential by Lake Eola



Other in downtown

Copley Square Brownstone
Osceala Brownstone
Star Tower
Uptown Center

[bobliocatt]

Welcome to the forum, Sunshine.  Btw, I love the look of the Vue and how it rises over the office tower across the street.

[monsoon]

[sunshine]

Compared to Tampa and Jacksonville. Development in downtown Orlando is obvously is not "as grand scale as" Tampa and Jacksonville.

A lot of these projects are not even under construction yet.

55 west is not started yet.

Plaza site's all clear but nothing is going on there now.

Only Sanctuary is under construction.

Big projects are in Disney and convention area.

The only good thing is that we already have an "ok established" downtown scne to start with.

[bobliocatt]

I agree, downtown Orlando is already great and suprising (to the outsider) a vibrant 24-7 center.  I get more impressed with that place, with each and every visit.  If most of the large scale projects like the Plaza, the Hue, and 55 West are built, I think the only things needed for the Orlando urban scene will be an urban grocery store and a light rail or commuter rail system.

Unfortunately, because of FAA height restrictions, Orlando will never see 700ft-600ft tall buildings in downtown like the proposals in Jax and Tampa, but the city can definately do something about a rail system.  Especially since one was almost approved a couple of years ago and at the time had the backing of the state and federal government.

[sunshine]

Actually, there is a grocery store at Thornton Park, something called Central Market...

There are supposed to be a grocery store at The Plaza.

I just came back from downtown. The restaurants there are crowded with people.

[sunshine]

By the way, Mayor Dyer is trying to rezone the west side of I-4 across from downtown to allow urban high density developments.

Downtown Orlando is lack of family entertainment and high profile shops like B&N, Ross....

All the museum and science center are way too far from downtown. I wonder which idiot decided to build them so far away from downtown.

[sunshine]

Tinker Field to get 'historic' designation

From Sentinel staff reports
Posted March 26, 2004


ORLANDO -- Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and U.S. Rep Ric Keller, R-Orlando, are expected to announce today that Tinker Field is poised to receive a historic designation from the National Register of Historic Places.

The status would make the 89-year-old ball field eligible for grants that could go toward renovation of the field's grandstands and other features, something Dyer has been pushing since he took office last year.

"It puts us in the ballgame," Dyer said, adding that a local group of investors is continuing to put together a plan to lure a minor-league baseball team to the field, which was once home to spring-training teams and the minor-league Orlando Rays.

Dyer said he and others are optimistic because Florida's Department of State recently recommended the designation to the National Register, a major hurdle in the process.

[sunshine]

New Project

Star Tower

12 stories condo across from Osceala Brownstone



An unknown project that is going to be in Eola District, a few blocks from the Sanctuary called the Jackson.

Look at the beautiful plants on the site, do you want to keep them or cut them down.....


51 luxury condo which will complete in Summer 2005. Once again, do not linked my image to other websites cuz I disgree with how a particular moderator "conduct business" over SSP and SCity. Thanks.

Edited by sunshine, 28 March 2004 - 10:25 AM.

[bobliocatt]

What's the seating capacity of Tinker Field?

[sunshine]

Anybody knows abou this???


The Loop
The Wilder Companies have found success with what can best be described as niche malls. Based in Massachusetts, the corporation builds specialty malls with a carefully selected mix of retail tenants. Wilder properties across the country range in size from 35,000 square feet to 1,500,000 square feet.

Now, the company is coming to Orlando, developing its “Loop” concept at the intersection of John Young Parkway and Osceola Parkway.

Wilder’s malls don’t fit into the cookie-cutter concept that is too frequent today. The Loop in Methun, Massachusetts, outside of Boston, features a theater complex and stores including a Home Depot and Borders.

Its City Place concept in the Massachusetts State Transportation Building features 55,000 square feet with a host of restaurants aimed at downtown workers. In Reading, Massachusetts, the Wilder project is anchored by a large furniture store, a Home Depot and an Imax Theatre.

The Orlando project will have 320,000 square feet designed to serve south Orange County and Osceola County and the nearby hotels and convention center. The company is still negotiating with prospective tenants; the project will include movie theaters, restaurants and stores.

[sunshine]

Copley Square in downtown Orlando



Over the past five years, downtown Orlando has seen a rebirth in residential development. From high-scale condos to upscale apartments, downtown has emerged as the place to be.

The latest entrant is Copley Square on Michigan Avenue near Orange Avenue. In its past life, that block had been the site of an apartment complex best known for building code violations and other problems. The replacement continues a trend of great downtown building, but with a new twist.

Copley Square features classic brownstones and Victorian townhouses. The neighborhood is named for a venerable Boston district, dubbed Copley Square in 1883 to honor a well-known artist, which remains the center of that city.

Orlando's Copley Square sits on six acres about five minutes from the city center. It will feature fountains, lush landscaping, a club house and fitness center. There will even be a small amphitheater for concerts and local theater productions. Each resident will be able to reserve a plot in the community garden to grow vegetables or flowers.

The 75-unit complex offers six different models, ranging from the 1,682-square foot Tremont to the 2,280-square-foot Suffolk. Each features a two-car garage accessed from the rear of the home, nine-foot-four-inch ceilings, hardwood floors, and rooftop terraces designed to accommodate a hot tub. Each unit has three levels, a unique feature in Orlando.

For added charm, the community will feature brick-paved streets and gas-style street lights.

[sunshine]

Urban Village

For more than a year, prospective buyers have been flocking to see the homes being built at Baldwin Park. Actually, for most of that time they have flocked to see empty lots and look at a special book containing the plans of homes they could build. They could choose from some 150 classic home plans, mostly featuring pre-World War II architecture. When finished, Baldwin Park will have some 3,300 houses, townhouses and apartments.

What has received less attention is the retail and office component that will make Baldwin Park not only a residential community, but a business and shopping center as well.

The first office buildings will open next month and the community’s retail center will begin opening next Spring. When it’s all finished, there will be a village center with 210,000 square feet for retail-with apartments above-and another million square feet in office space throughout Baldwin Park. That’s about the same office space as the SunTrust Tower and the Bank of America Building combined.

David Pace, the man who directed real estate operations at Celebration and became something of an instant legend in planned communities, is the managing director at Baldwin Park. Pace, who grew up in Orlando, says the shopping area will have a 1940s style. The stores will run along the community’s Main Street, but the parking will be located behind the stores. The first stores will include a Publix and an Eckerd’s. An early business tenant will be the community planning firm Miller Sellen Conner & Walsh, which will take 24,000 square feet.

Adding to the community feel will be restaurants, a day spa, a dry cleaner, and a pediatric clinic with expanded hours to accommodate evening and weekend visits. Pace predicts the Baldwin Park Village Center will be “something our residents will want to visit two or three times a week.” The stores are expected to draw customers from the 100,000 people who live within three miles. That includes Winter Park, which is about a mile away.

Baldwin Park Development Company purchased the former Naval Training Center land from the city of Orlando, tore down more than 250 buildings, built all new roads and installed an underground infrastructure. It is now basically a land sales operation. Home buyers pick from among the pre-approved designs and builders, select a lot and build their dream home.

The office and retail complexes work much the same way. Unicorp National Developments is building 185,000 of retail space, 20,000 square feet of office space and 197 apartments in the village center. Meanwhile, Lincoln Properties is building the first 65,000 feet of Class A office space.

[bobliocatt]

^I heard about the Loop a couple of months ago, but its just another Lifestyle Center.  These types of shopping centers, like the, Winter Park Village, are popping up all over the state.  Have you had a chance to see what's going on at Champion's Gate or Reunion Resort Club, south of Kissimmee on the Osceola/Polk County line?

I forgot about Baldwin Park, but I'm very impressed with its layout and I think it works alot better than Celebration.  I love how they line the bordering street outside the development with dense housing.

[prahaboheme]

I checked out Reunion and Championsgate last year...the Omni hotel was going up in Championsgate, but i'm not sure what else was happening..Reunion was really cool, celebration style housing, but it uniquely uses the space to create an interesting setting...and I think its almost sold out which is impressive.

[tm68]

around the reunion and championsgate area is also another new development called harmony - unique b/c it's environmentally friendly with lots of conservation area. a nice change.  www.harmonyfl.com

[sunshine]

too far away from everything

[tm68]

that's true...but i think that celebration, one day, will be like winter park and the southern bookend to orlando.  especially once the four seasons opens, giving osceola immediate credibility.

[sunshine]

Any rendeing of the  Four Seasons?