prahaboheme

Please, please, please don’t let this lot sit vacant for another few years post-demo. I’ll admit that it’ll be change to see this area without the ballroom, a downtown fixture for decades.

While I can (somewhat) understand the need for parking requirements when it comes to new condo/apt buildings, I don’t for a small infill lot like 30 S Orange. The building would likely be a small 3ish story development with restaurant / retail on the first few floors with maybe a loft style office on the upper floors. The multiple of garages in the vicinity could absorb the traffic, most of which would be nice pedestrian oriented anyway:

Is the empty lot city owned? It’s a shame it’s been sitting empty all these years.

From that angle, the updated Suntrust pyramids do make an impact.

Laws do not change because someone is voted into office. If that were the case it would be anti-democratic. Do you prefer Brazil? If so, why not just live there for a year.

Sounds like you have a stake in the game. For the rest of us, the Magic are a flailing shell of a NBA team and that lot sits there as a pit.

I’m convinced the Magic belong in Tampa / St Pete at this point. It’s clear that it’s a metro that pulled itself out of the gutter and blows over Orlando. Let’s just give them the big 4 (MBL, NHL, NBA, NFL). Orlando can continue to improve upon its major contributions and secondary industries and forget about its failures like the Magic. Get that train to Tampa and Orlando won’t seem so far away from there.

The article is a little confusing — does this mean that they will no longer require the land where Crossroads once stood?

I’m sure a lot of us are “getting old” here and that has something to do with a desire for a bygone era but as a relative outsider at this point, I can tell you that downtown Orlando does feel different than in years past. Its not a South boomtown akin to Nashville, Austin, Raleigh, etc. It feels and looks more like Memphis or dare I say, JAX. Spenser was on the money that a lack of leadership has greatly impacted a once thriving city center.

While I agree with the sentiment, I really don’t see that as a reality of CV. ever. Valencia and UCF are not going to bring crowds of people to this space likely ever. It’s not exactly UC Berkeley. Prior to UCF abandoning the Citrus Bowl where did everyone congregate? Church Street. There is literally no reason to “hang out” in this space and that’s why no one is ever there.

I doubt that very much.

It’s going to take a lot of effort to “unlearn” people like you when the cookie crumbles. Hopefully, as a nation, we spend that money on people who earned it.

It's not like Orlando doesn't already have a dozen parks / public spaces that are good examples to draw inspiration from when designing a place that people would actually seek out for a stroll (Lake Eola Park, Lake Ivanhoe, Delaney Park, Heritage Square). All the more reason I view recent efforts like Luminary Green and the DPAC plaza as missed opportunities. The new park adjacent to the Wave Hotel in Lake Nona Town Center is a much more climate-appropriate space. Something like that would have been nice relief from all the CV concrete. Here is the adjacent Sculpture Garden: https://www.lakenonawavehotel.com/things-to-do-lake-nona/sculpture-garden Who wouldn't rather spend an hour there instead?

I’m of the opinion that Nintendo Land should have opened in USO — a park in desperate need of something new. Epic Universe then could have expanded upon the franchise.

I’ve always wanted Firestone to open up earlier as a restaurant / bar. That probably isn’t possible however it would go a long way to bring a little something to that part of Orange.

I hope they chose the route of history over another commercial development. Eatonville has a unique historical seat at the table and it’s worth expanding upon.

Personal opinion but Baldwin Park seems to suffer from a lack of "presence" -- there is no "there, there" with Baldwin Park.

Just look it up — it’ll explain a lot of things

New urbanism all started with Seaside. If you haven’t been to Seaside — go. It’s worth a trip even though it’s out of the way. Celebration ran on its principles and did a damn good job at it. As you’ve stated — it’s changed, evolved. Baldwin Park never got there. Avalon Park is a joke. Lake Nona is sort of a resort style of living — they do it so well that people forgive it for being generic suburbanism.

Happy to see that the Sentinel is reporting on another DeSatan jab at Orlando: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/scott-maxwell-commentary/os-desantis-targets-drag-show-orlando-philharmonic-scott-maxwell-20230207-5ywdetwu6nevxbrpwuxz2n3uze-story.html Where is Buddy though? Are elected officials too afraid to step in?

Of those people are moving anywhere in the south it’s likely GA. Florida will not be that place.

Bigotry is bad for business. Florida will not become a state like CA, NY, MA, CT etc with the radical right at the helm pushing extremist policies like Don’t Say Gay and menstrual cycles. It’s funny that DeSatan is so keen on stealing jobs from all those places. Is that because Florida cannot just create those jobs on its own? This idea pushed here by a few of you that talent will just show up is laughable at best. Let allow creating the breadbasket to expand the industry.

The voters did focus on it. The leaders are an inept and visionless body of dunces.

The state of Church Street has gone from dismal to downright depressing. When almost every major city in Florida is seeing improvements in downtown districts, it’s discouraging to see a once thriving area fall into its current state.

Is the CSS food hall linked to this project or is that still moving forward?