THE Orlando Photo Thread

[alex]

Can't wait for the Sevens to fill in one of those gaps.  Wonder if the Sentinel will ever realize the value of their property... 

[Captain.Metro]

Can't wait for the Sevens to fill in one of those gaps.  Wonder if the Sentinel will ever realize the value of their property... 

"Sentinel Lofts" at a new mixed-use project on the property; I can see it now.

[JFW657]

Wonder if the Sentinel will ever realize the value of their property... 

Given what the current state of electronic information technology seems to portend for the future of the newspaper business in general, that may be a moot question.

[spenser1058]

Given what the current state of electronic information technology seems to portend for the future of the newspaper business in general, that may be a moot question.

 

The Tribune Co. (owner of the Sentinel and a number of other papers) recently exited bankruptcy and installed a CEO from Hollywood with no newspaper background. He also has a history working for News Corp. (Rupert Murdoch), who is said to have expressed an interest in the Tribune newspapers. Rumors are flying, of course, but current bets are on Tribune focusing on its TV stations and other video assets with the newspapers to be spun off. It's also interesting to note that when the Tampa Tribune was put in play, there seemed to be more interest in the real estate than the actual newspaper. Bottom line: stay tuned, this is likely to be a bumpy ride and who knows what may become of one of the juiciest pieces of downtown real estate (and the brownfield that likely sits beneath it.)

Edited January 23, 2013 by spenser1058

[prahaboheme]

I've thought about how the two very large parcels at Orlando Sentinel could be revisioned into a thriving district that pulls the CBD and Uptown together.  Whatever happens here, I hope the city is deeply involved in the planning and zoning.  There has been a lot of discussion on this board about how important it is for a Mayor to have a vision -- this lot has perhaps the biggest potential to invigorate a new section of downtown with parks, scaled development, new retail, restaurants, offices, homes (even those brownstones that people want).

 

My idea is below. (sketchy, I admit)  If you like a particular city in Georgia as much as I do, surely this will look familar. I see two small parks, each perfectly scaled and surrounded by incremental development that encourages lingering (low to midrise is fine here).  Around the perimeter can rise mid to high rise structures (along Magnolia, Colonial, Orange, Amelia).

 

What do others think?

 

 

  

[alex]

I like it!  Other than Lake Eola Park, the Plaza, and the Courthouse Plaza (which no one uses), there are no public spaces of this scale.  I think 6 - 10 stories is a good fit for this site -- dense, while not taking away from the Courthouse.

 

Alternatively, I would love to see a north-south street between Orange and Magnolia running through these lots, similar to Wall Street or Lincoln Ave in Miami Beach.

[JFW657]

Personally, I would like to see one major highrise sitting right on Colonial Drive.

 

With a plaza & entrance ala Barnett Plaza (or whatever it's called nowadays) facing Colonial.

 

 

[smileguy]

 

I am stuck in the office today, but took this looking North from the Plaza.  On another note, I ran across the street to grab a late lunch, and there was more street life than usual - people eating at The Fifth and Pourhouse, A group hanging out in front of SAK, some families out walking, what looked like a group of tourists.

[spenser1058]

 

I am stuck in the office today, but took this looking North from the Plaza.  On another note, I ran across the street to grab a late lunch, and there was more street life than usual - people eating at The Fifth and Pourhouse, A group hanging out in front of SAK, some families out walking, what looked like a group of tourists.

 

Great pic! I also noted it was even busier today than usual for a Sunday - no doubt the weather helped. I was walking over to return a book at OPL and usually if I leave Eola Park and use the sidewalk along Central, I can avoid the crowds. No luck today- both were jammed. Also, when I stopped at Publix on the way back, you could hardly move in several of the aisles. Of course, downtown doesn't have enough people to support any retail! As Yogi Berra liked to say - "Nobody goes there anymore - it's too crowded." *sigh*

[DeepEyez]

Yeah - there was a book created (all of it's available online through the SunRail website in the TOD section) - just to get people thinking in the different municipalities about what SunRail could do for their area. In some cases, the renderings mirror real plans on the table (Central Station near LYNX and the development in Longwood, for example). I don't know if this large building is based on anything that was proposed but I've always heard hotel for that spot.

 

That location was actually supposed to be a Holiday Inn as far back as 2008. Honestly, I think it would make an absolutely great location for a hotel. I know I'd stay for sure if ever I were a visitor from out of town looking to stay further intown and away from International Dr.

Uptown is starting to take on a slight San Diego vibe with all these mid-rise apartments.

 

Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I've never been to San Diego to see how it works.

[Captain.Metro]

 

I am stuck in the office today, but took this looking North from the Plaza.  On another note, I ran across the street to grab a late lunch, and there was more street life than usual - people eating at The Fifth and Pourhouse, A group hanging out in front of SAK, some families out walking, what looked like a group of tourists.

I too noticed this yesterday--- the whole of downtown was pretty busy yesterday. It was great to see that mix of activity!

[sunshine]

 

 

 

Took these yesterday

[spenser1058]

Awesome pics, sunshine!

[sunshine]

[smileguy]

A couple from the end of the day yesterday.

 

 

 

 

New lighting at LCS.

[Captain.Metro]

A couple from the end of the day yesterday.

 

 

 

 

New lighting at LCS.

Great work... I love the reflection off the Plaza's north tower.

[truebluecfl]

Skyline shot from Amway.

[nite owℓ]

Does anyone know if the I4 expansion will include a sound wall & landscaping similar to the 408? I4 looks terrible^^

[spenser1058]

Orlando, "The City Beautiful," has a historic reputation for great parks including the city's greenery and especially its flower beds which also could be found in small places around town. It perhaps reached its zenith during Mayor Bill's administration when the City took over maintenance of the I4 right of way through town from FDOT. Former Commissioner Jeff Clark was particularly involved with that and did a phenomenal job. In fact, when Linda Chapin became County Chair in 1990, she made a point of emulating the idea along county roads like Aloma. As we moved into the Glenda era where she decided to earn her "street cred" with the conservatives in Tallahassee, some of those things were dialed back a bit (although Glenda's strong point, the neighborhoods, kept a good bit of it alive.) Enter Buddy, who never sweats the small stuff and we saw the parks budgets decimated along with a decision to no longer maintain the medians and right of ways in the way they once had been. It was a way of filling the budget holes and, as Kevin Yee says about cost-cutting at Disney, it was a classic case of "declining by degrees." When you're the best, it takes a while before the nagging sense that something isn't quite right sinks in. Eola devotees like myself (the park is in effect my front yard, I live across the street from it) noticed it early, but to Buddy's credit, as the economy has improved things are improving in our flagship park to some extent. As for the rest of the city, I think we'll have to wait for the next mayor with a different vision and hope for a leader a little more in tune with the, literally, "grass roots."

[alex]

Orlando, "The City Beautiful," has a historic reputation for great parks including the city's greenery and especially its flower beds which also could be found in small places around town. It perhaps reached its zenith during Mayor Bill's administration when the City took over maintenance of the I4 right of way through town from FDOT. Former Commissioner Jeff Clark was particularly involved with that and did a phenomenal job. In fact, when Linda Chapin became County Chair in 1990, she made a point of emulating the idea along county roads like Aloma. As we moved into the Glenda era where she decided to earn her "street cred" with the conservatives in Tallahassee, some of those things were dialed back a bit (although Glenda's strong point, the neighborhoods, kept a good bit of it alive.) Enter Buddy, who never sweats the small stuff and we saw the parks budgets decimated along with a decision to no longer maintain the medians and right of ways in the way they once had been. It was a way of filling the budget holes and, as Kevin Yee says about cost-cutting at Disney, it was a classic case of "declining by degrees." When you're the best, it takes a while before the nagging sense that something isn't quite right sinks in. Eola devotees like myself (the park is in effect my front yard, I live across the street from it) noticed it early, but to Buddy's credit, as the economy has improved things are improving in our flagship park to some extent. As for the rest of the city, I think we'll have to wait for the next mayor with a different vision and hope for a leader a little more in tune with the, literally, "grass roots."

 

Great summary, thanks!

 

Also, that I-4 overpass needs a skate park under it.

[nite owℓ]

Orlando, "The City Beautiful," has a historic reputation for great parks including the city's greenery and especially its flower beds which also could be found in small places around town. It perhaps reached its zenith during Mayor Bill's administration when the City took over maintenance of the I4 right of way through town from FDOT. Former Commissioner Jeff Clark was particularly involved with that and did a phenomenal job. In fact, when Linda Chapin became County Chair in 1990, she made a point of emulating the idea along county roads like Aloma. As we moved into the Glenda era where she decided to earn her "street cred" with the conservatives in Tallahassee, some of those things were dialed back a bit (although Glenda's strong point, the neighborhoods, kept a good bit of it alive.) Enter Buddy, who never sweats the small stuff and we saw the parks budgets decimated along with a decision to no longer maintain the medians and right of ways in the way they once had been. It was a way of filling the budget holes and, as Kevin Yee says about cost-cutting at Disney, it was a classic case of "declining by degrees." When you're the best, it takes a while before the nagging sense that something isn't quite right sinks in. Eola devotees like myself (the park is in effect my front yard, I live across the street from it) noticed it early, but to Buddy's credit, as the economy has improved things are improving in our flagship park to some extent. As for the rest of the city, I think we'll have to wait for the next mayor with a different vision and hope for a leader a little more in tune with the, literally, "grass roots."

The interior loop around Lake Eola looks great, but the outer ring near the street could use some curbside landscaping. Also, the city replaces the mosiac flower gardens way too early - by the time the gardens are in full bloom the landscapers have already begun rip them up to plant new flowers. I've watched it happen 3x in about 6 months. Instead, the city should save that money to line the outer sidewalk ring with shade trees or crepe myrtles and begin replacing those archaic concrete pillar streetlamps with acorn wrought iron lamps. Visually speaking, downtown could take a more than a few streetscape ideas from Winter Park. While walking through downtown one will encounter sparse landscaping/lighting (almost to the point of feeling deserted) on one block while the next block will be the exact opposite. I think it's time to make the core more cohesive, it's certainly small enough to do so!

Edited February 3, 2013 by nite owℓ

[JFW657]

I've always wished they'd build a short, stone wall around Eola Park similar to the one around Central Park in NYC.

 

 

I love old looking stonework & something about an enclosure,like a short wall with nice entrances all around the perimeter, seems like it would make it feel more like a traditional "park". Maybe put up some wrought iron arches here & there.

 

I think downtown Orlando needs more "old" looking stuff to add some character to it.

 

Too much modern steel, glass & concrete.

 

 

[spenser1058]

There seems to be a cohort of boomer males who are still locked in to the "tear down everything and build new" concept we went through from the 50's to the 70's. After WWII, some of that made sense: a lot of our private infrastructure had been barely maintained since 1926 (Florida presaged the Great Depression with the crash of the great Land Boom and a couple of devastating hurricanes in the late '20s; pretty much what got built in the 30's were public works by the WPA; then rationing before and shortages after WWII), so the built environment was in pretty sad shape by the 50s and the zeitgeist was different.

 

As part of the conservative renaissance beginning with the Reagan administration, and with the horror over the loss of great buildings like Penn Station in Manhattan, the value of our historic buildings began to came back (the preservation tax credits that came into being certainly helped.) Recently, however, we've seen Mayor Buddy show virtually no interest  in historic structures, and he's not alone. Former Orlando Magazine editor Mike Boslet decided the answer for Church Street's woes was to tear it all down and start over. Thankfully, the historic preservation laws nipped that idea in the bud.

 

As I've said before, I think it will take a new mayor to change that. Buddy has been valuable to the city for igniting the spark to get some long-delayed projects moving again, but I don't think he'll ever be the sort of mayor who realizes what an impact the details have on our daily lives.

Edited February 4, 2013 by spenser1058

[John Hargrove]

[spenser1058]

Wow, that's awesome. Great shot, castor!