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It's not fat...it's GIRTH. :thumbsup:

I think it's great that 55 West has "girth." I know some of us refer to it as being "stumpy" because of it's height, but Orlando needs more buildings that are equally as large on all 4 sides to add some true density. Has anyone noticed that almost all of the taller buildings in Orlando are skinny on two sides and wide on two sides, making them not actually very large buildings. Another thing is, why do the buildings pretty much all face the same direction? Like why couldn't the Vue for example face North/South, opposite of the courthouse? Wouldn't that add to a more diverse and dense skyline intsead of all the buildings being lined up in row?

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I think it's great that 55 West has "girth." I know some of us refer to it as being "stumpy" because of it's height, but Orlando needs more buildings that are equally as large on all 4 sides to add some true density. Has anyone noticed that almost all of the taller buildings in Orlando are skinny on two sides and wide on two sides, making them not actually very large buildings. Another thing is, why do the buildings pretty much all face the same direction? Like why couldn't the Vue for example face North/South, opposite of the courthouse? Wouldn't that add to a more diverse and dense skyline intsead of all the buildings being lined up in row?

Are you implying we need more Waverlys and Wachovia buildings?

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I think it's great that 55 West has "girth." I know some of us refer to it as being "stumpy" because of it's height, but Orlando needs more buildings that are equally as large on all 4 sides to add some true density. Has anyone noticed that almost all of the taller buildings in Orlando are skinny on two sides and wide on two sides, making them not actually very large buildings. Another thing is, why do the buildings pretty much all face the same direction? Like why couldn't the Vue for example face North/South, opposite of the courthouse? Wouldn't that add to a more diverse and dense skyline intsead of all the buildings being lined up in row?

I could be wrong, but uhm, I think a building's orientation is determined in large part by it's footprint. :lol: You've gotta work with wht you're given sometimes. That being said, I agree with you, it'd be nice of some buildings were oriented E-W instead of N-S. It'd certainly add some visual density from a perspective like the one in that photo above.

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Are you implying we need more Waverlys and Wachovia buildings?

I you are talking about the Uptown Wachovia, then yes, of course along with a new tallest in the mix somewhere. Please, just one 40-45 floor building, that's all we need for now!!! How many times have we heard that one? Oh, by the way I had a friend visit this past weekend from Cleveland and out and about driving around he was under the impression that Orlando was a larger city than Cleveland, he thought we had a cool very modern skyline and thought it was quite large, plus all the big luxury hotels down in the tourist corridor. Maybe we are just used to seeing it everyday (skyline) and it is impressive to out of towners? He couldn't believe the amount of people actually living downtown, thought it was a "real" city. I'm not sure what Cleveland's skyline looks like, I've never gotten a full picture or it, just a couple of buildings. Anyone have a picture of downtown Cleveland, I'm curious to see the difference.?

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I went to the Cleveland board on here and not much going on there.

This is the type of thing that makes you wonder. We've seen the argument from both sides of the fence on whether Orlando is a world class city or if it is a hick town.

The argument always ends up saying that Orlando has the potential, but isn't quite there yet. Orlando isn't a New York City, but it's no Cleveland either.

Take a look at that picture above and know that they only have a couple more buildings not shown. When you take a picture of the tall buildings in Orlando, you cannot fit them in there. I have to explain that. You can take a picture of our downtown core, but you can't get all the I-drive hotels and downtown together because they are too far apart. That doesn't include the hotel sector at LBV, either. It would be cool to have everything in one place, but Orlando is what it is.

It would be cool for someone to take the 3-D renderings from Google Earth and add the hotels from I-drive and LBV and just plop them in different places in downtown just to see what kind of city we would be if it was all centered in our core like many other cities.

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I you are talking about the Uptown Wachovia, then yes, of course along with a new tallest in the mix somewhere. Please, just one 40-45 floor building, that's all we need for now!!! How many times have we heard that one? Oh, by the way I had a friend visit this past weekend from Cleveland and out and about driving around he was under the impression that Orlando was a larger city than Cleveland, he thought we had a cool very modern skyline and thought it was quite large, plus all the big luxury hotels down in the tourist corridor. Maybe we are just used to seeing it everyday (skyline) and it is impressive to out of towners? He couldn't believe the amount of people actually living downtown, thought it was a "real" city. I'm not sure what Cleveland's skyline looks like, I've never gotten a full picture or it, just a couple of buildings. Anyone have a picture of downtown Cleveland, I'm curious to see the difference.?

Please allow me to provide a taste of my out of towner's perspective. For a Florida city, Orlando's Downtown looks great. Keeping in mind Northeastern and Midwestern cities have been doing high-rises much longer than we have, I'd say the inventory in Orlando is superb. Are there a few buildings in downtown Orlando that don't suit my taste? Surely. However, there are more buildings that do. I like the urban landscaping, and walkways as well. I think there's a very clean, modern, neopolitian feel to Orlando's urban core.

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Another thing is, why do the buildings pretty much all face the same direction? Like why couldn't the Vue for example face North/South, opposite of the courthouse? Wouldn't that add to a more diverse and dense skyline intsead of all the buildings being lined up in row?

I think that has a lot to do with the fact that Orlando's downtown is long & narrow.

The buildings' orientation naturally correspond to the length & width orientaion of downtown.

But I would also like to see one or two large buildings buck the trend & have their wider sides facing north & south & their narrower sides to the east & west.

Just to break up the monotony.

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It's not the size of the buildings, though. That's where Orlando gets it wrong. And that is why there is always one more big building and a lot of hype, and nothing comes of it, and you are looking for one more building...

It's about content. It's about having an urban feel. About interest and diversity. A vibe that is somehow missing from Orlando proper. So even if Orlando has more tall buildings than Cleveland or Providence or any other city, it still doesn't feel like a city. Because there is no urban feel to it. It's why a little place like Portland Maine has so few tall buildings yet feels like a city. Don't think in quantity. Think in quality.

You make a very good point.

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I think that has a lot to do with the fact that Orlando's downtown is long & narrow.

The buildings' orientation naturally correspond to the length & width orientaion of downtown.

But I would also like to see one or two large buildings buck the trend & have their wider sides facing north & south & their narrower sides to the east & west.

Just to break up the monotony.

Ditto

Won't that condo proposal next to the Greek Orthodox church buck the trend along Rosalind? I think it would have been a mistake for The Vue, since "the view" of Lake Eola was a selling point. Anyone know the price differential of units facing Eola vs. Parramore?

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Ditto

Won't that condo proposal next to the Greek Orthodox church buck the trend along Rosalind? I think it would have been a mistake for The Vue, since "the view" of Lake Eola was a selling point. Anyone know the price differential of units facing Eola vs. Parramore?

The same cases could be made for Dynetech, 55W, the two CNL's, Southern Community Bank Building, and a few buildings south of Lake Lucerne and north of SR 408 South of Anderson St. Those are all wider on they're N-S faces, vs. E-W.

Sure courthouse, BoA, 801N, suntrust and others are wider E-W faces than N-S but there's a lot of pretty square buildings too: both Wachovias, Citrus center, city hall, Capital Plaza 1 & 2, Fairwinds. I think the city has a lot of diversity in which way the buildings face. The only thing is the 4 largest buildings are all wider E-W and that's what your eye is drawn to.

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Most all older cities on the waterfront like Cleveland will see more urban than Orlando just b/c of the nature of what they are. Cleve has the Flats, and that mall at Terminal Tower and the Hall of Fame and the Jake and that Sub as focal points downtown.

Orlando's at the cusp right now.

I said it before, the offices at Camden need to go up at Colonial & Orange. That is a huge nexus between downtown's two halves that needs to be developed with highrises asap. If Kodsi's deal ever were to get built, that would surely take ORL over the top. The best case scenario would be if TT, Verde, WTC, Kodsi's deal, City Center on Livingston, and The Presidential were built Forget 400 North--- cursed land...

OUC straddling the 408 ramp will have a similar visual effect that McCormick Place West has on the LSD-I-55 ramp in Chicago, but on a smaller scale of course. It's little things like that, that make a downtown seem more urban. In fact, from the looks of the new Arena renderings, that will straddle 408 as well but from the opposite side. I really think DT will instantly transform visually from the expressways once those projects get done--- it will be bigger than most of us realize.

Cleveland has a train... but we will too in a couple of years God-willing. I think the CFRAIL will springboard new development-- actually, it will probably coincide with the market's return. The Arena and PAC will as well. These will add new nodes of activity downtown.

Yes, ORL is spread out all over... not only are hotels at the attractions area, but our museums are a couple miles north as well. It will get done...

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I went to the Cleveland board on here and not much going on there.

This is the type of thing that makes you wonder. We've seen the argument from both sides of the fence on whether Orlando is a world class city or if it is a hick town.

The argument always ends up saying that Orlando has the potential, but isn't quite there yet. Orlando isn't a New York City, but it's no Cleveland either.

Take a look at that picture above and know that they only have a couple more buildings not shown. When you take a picture of the tall buildings in Orlando, you cannot fit them in there. I have to explain that. You can take a picture of our downtown core, but you can't get all the I-drive hotels and downtown together because they are too far apart. That doesn't include the hotel sector at LBV, either. It would be cool to have everything in one place, but Orlando is what it is.

It would be cool for someone to take the 3-D renderings from Google Earth and add the hotels from I-drive and LBV and just plop them in different places in downtown just to see what kind of city we would be if it was all centered in our core like many other cities.

here's my take on all this. if Peabody gets going, then the hotel cluster at I-Drive will be extremely impressive to visitors. Paramount's Publix will create a non-stop foot-traffic node on Central and offer a dynamic to DT not seen in decades. Our museums are at the FH South complex. Orlando is very spread out, but in clusters... what's my point? I guess that it allows for one to escape a bit to other parts of town instead of being cooped up in the same section...

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JRS1, going back a couple posts of yours I completely agree that we have yet to realize the visual impact that the arena will have coming from both the east and west directions. I saw an animated rendering the did a fly-by from both sides, and while pretty conceptual, it was definetly really cool. We are fortunate to receive a facility of this magnitude.

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