The Plaza

[Magicfan95]

It is because the market is saturated and down right now....Give it a few years and everything will be filled out.

[bulldogger]

RETAIL - RETAIL - RETAIL

Finally, some retail is coming to downtown.

There are signs in the windows of the SE corner of the Plaza that say coming soon for a store called Forty VII. I can't find anything on the internet. Has anyone heard of this before? Anyone got anything on it?

[Camillo Sitte]

it's not b/c of market saturation or anything like that... it's b/c the retailers were waiting on the theatre... now, I think Urban Flats has proven that they don't need the cinema just yet to make $$$.

Which does nothing to exlain the fact that roughly half of the space in the two towers is still vacant/un-sold and likely to stay that way for a long time to come...

[RedStar25]

Which does nothing to exlain the fact that roughly half of the space in the two towers is still vacant/un-sold and likely to stay that way for a long time to come...

Oh go back to your cave.

[spenser1058]

Wiki definition of "troll":

An Internet troll, or simply troll in Internet slang, is someone who intentionally posts controversial or contrary messages in an on-line community such as an on-line discussion forum with the intention of baiting users into an argumentative response.[1]

[Camillo Sitte]

Oh go back to your cave.

Shove it in ear Shirley.

Simply a fact.

Listen Nancy, some of my tax money went to incentivize this project and much of what was promised [reclaimed revenues from rent and office condo sales tax, downtown cinema, diversified retail] has yet to materialize.

I am sorry that sometimes simple facts might not always portray some particular image that you wish to coddle in the best of light.

I missed the part of the UP TOS that requires that every post must agree with some particular group of self-appointed fan bois...

Edited October 15, 2007 by Camillo Sitte

[jack]

Which does nothing to exlain the fact that roughly half of the space in the two towers is still vacant/un-sold and likely to stay that way for a long time to come...

He is right. Unfortunatley

[spenser1058]

From this morning's Sentinel:

Plaza may land AMC

AMC Entertainment appears to be the top candidate for the multiplex in Cameron Kuhn's Plaza redevelopment project in downtown Orlando. Kuhn has said he has a signed contract on his desk but that the theater tenant has not yet signed it. He said the tenant would announce the deal once it's sealed. Andy DiOrio, corporate-communications manager for AMC in Kansas City, Mo., said the company doesn't discuss pending contracts -- and that when contracts are announced, the word comes from the developer, not the theater chain. Whoever makes the call, AMC looks like it has the inside track at the moment for the movie house, which is nearly a year over

[bulldogger]

Kuhn has said he has a signed contract on his desk but that the theater tenant has not yet signed it.

That right there means he's OK signing his own contract, but a tenant has not, which is just as good as saying there is no signed contract. As the old saying goes, "It takes two to tango."

The Sentinel should really write an article about a future tenant when there actually is one. They might as well write an article and say that AMC may be moving their corporate headquarters to the penthouse. Kuhn has a contract on his desk with his signature and he is waiting for the tenant and the tooth fairy to sign it.

From this morning's Sentinel:

Sky May Fall

[sunshine]

It is just sad that downtown orlando has trouble to attratct retails business. Even Tampa has 2 movie theatre in downtown area.

Maybe it will help if they serve beer in the theatre like universal.

[facilities man]

It is just sad that downtown orlando has trouble to attratct retails business. Even Tampa has 2 movie theatre in downtown area.

Maybe it will help if they serve beer in the theatre like universal.

Tampa has movies downtown???

If you're counting Channelside then Fashion Square is just as close to Orlando downtown as Channelside is to Tampa's.

[Camillo Sitte]

Tampa has movies downtown???

If you're counting Channelside then Fashion Square is just as close to Orlando downtown as Channelside is to Tampa's.

I would imagine that he was referring to Channelside and yBor City, though as you say, in terms of actual travel distance...

Still, remember that until the Fashion Square theaters opened this year there were, save for City Walk, no first-run theaters in the City of Orlando.

AMC Fashion Square was shut down; General Cinemas Colonial was turned into a second-run theater and Florida Mall was closed, and all of the Cineplex Odeon theaters in Orlando have been shuttered.

The regions only other first-run theaters are/were in Winter Park, Altamonte Springs, Ocoee, Oviedo, and unincorporated south Orange County.

Assuming that that Plaza doesn't [like many other "urban" theaters] incorporate small screens using Christie digital projectors [crappy, dim, low resolution, un-antialised image quality] instead of real film projectors then I for one hope that AMC does open there and will attend often but I am not holding my breath.

[bulldogger]

Assuming that that Plaza doesn't [like many other "urban" theaters] incorporate small screens using Christie digital projectors [crappy, dim, low resolution, un-antialised image quality] instead of real film projectors then I for one hope that AMC does open there and will attend often but I am not holding my breath.

Doing any shopping at ShowEast this week?

I know you said film projection, but is there a large format digital projection company that makes your grade? The aliased look of digital is what is surpassing film in some ways. It can provide a much sharper picture, but most feature films coming out of Hollywood are still using 35mm to capture. That may change soon with the Red camera. They just started distributing in August and are slowly getting them out to the market. Perhaps, you like the classic softer look of film. The quality of digital projection is not there yet. Print costs will create a savings over time and also second run theaters will have the same quality product as first runs since there is no degradation of film. Also, this gives a much better chance of indie films getting into mainstream theaters since the cost of prints will be the same as ghosting a computer hard drive.

I think right now, many theaters are just converting to get started. I have attended the expo the past few years. The exhibitors show off their wares, but you really don't a get a feel for what the actual image will be on the large screen. They only project in a small space on the showroom floor or in very small breakout rooms. I personally have not seen enough digitally projected movies in actual theaters to make a judgment. I wish the resolution thing would be better, but I guess it's good that digital projection is happening at all. Christie is tied into AccessIT and they are doing almost all of the conversions. I can only hope that the savings over the next few years (maybe 10 optimistically) from P&A is enough so that further conversion to 4K and possibly a new standard at that time (8K?) is realized.

Edited October 15, 2007 by bulldogger

[JRS1]

the Slantinel is so good at reporting...nothing.

it will be easier discovering who the Dark Lord of the Sith is compared to who the eventual Plaza theatre operator will be.

don't believe the Slantinel article... they are pulling at straws based on Kuhn's play on words.

[RedStar25]

Shove it in ear Shirley.

Simply a fact.

Listen Nancy, some of my tax money went to incentivize this project and much of what was promised [reclaimed revenues from rent and office condo sales tax, downtown cinema, diversified retail] has yet to materialize.

I am sorry that sometimes simple facts might not always portray some particular image that you wish to coddle in the best of light.

I missed the part of the UP TOS that requires that every post must agree with some particular group of self-appointed fan bois...

Your incredibly negivite and combative.

And by the way.... you mentioned in the past you don't live in the city of Orlando since you can not stand it. So.... what taxes of yours went to this project?

Please note I will not respond to whatever you feel like spewing. Your a waist of time.

Edited October 17, 2007 by RedStar25

[Camillo Sitte]

Your [sic] incredibly negivite and combative.

And by the way.... you mentioned in the past you don't live in the city of Orlando since you can not stand it. So.... what taxes of yours went to this project?

Please note I will not respond to whatever you feel like spewing. Your a waist of time.

Listen Katie - just because you might happen to disagree with my opinions does not make me negative or combative. I am responding to you this way because it is you who first took it upon him/herself to attack me personally as opposed to my comments.

You have a problem with me personally? Send me a private message and we can arrange to meet somewhere and work out our differences in person, shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes - otherwise why not stop making the personal comments and stick to the topics.

You want to keep calling me out, then I will keep sticking it back at you as I do not find your flitty blathering to be the least bit intimidating.

As for myself I will continue to respond to the topics of the threads in anyway I see fit within the TOS regardless of what you or anyone else thinks of those opinions.

By the way, I never "mentioned that I don't live in the city of Orlando", I happen to have homes in both Los Angeles and Orlando [city, Lancaster Park] so I do in fact pay taxes "here".

Edited October 17, 2007 by Camillo Sitte

[Camillo Sitte]

Doing any shopping at ShowEast this week?

I know you said film projection, but is there a large format digital projection company that makes your grade? The aliased look of digital is what is surpassing film in some ways. It can provide a much sharper picture, but most feature films coming out of Hollywood are still using 35mm to capture. That may change soon with the Red camera. They just started distributing in August and are slowly getting them out to the market. Perhaps, you like the classic softer look of film. The quality of digital projection is not there yet. Print costs will create a savings over time and also second run theaters will have the same quality product as first runs since there is no degradation of film. Also, this gives a much better chance of indie films getting into mainstream theaters since the cost of prints will be the same as ghosting a computer hard drive.

I think right now, many theaters are just converting to get started. I have attended the expo the past few years. The exhibitors show off their wares, but you really don't a get a feel for what the actual image will be on the large screen. They only project in a small space on the showroom floor or in very small breakout rooms. I personally have not seen enough digitally projected movies in actual theaters to make a judgment. I wish the resolution thing would be better, but I guess it's good that digital projection is happening at all. Christie is tied into AccessIT and they are doing almost all of the conversions. I can only hope that the savings over the next few years (maybe 10 optimistically) from P&A is enough so that further conversion to 4K and possibly a new standard at that time (8K?) is realized.

I hear what you are saying and agree that state-of-the-art digital will only get better though I will always have a preference for the look of film.

Unfortunately much of what has thus been implemented is far less than state-of-the-art.

I remember seeing Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World in digital projection at Pleasure Island. Whether it was the projector, the digital transfer or both, it was an awful experience.

The compression didn't have enough info to hold the transitions from white to black so in the scenes in the clouds or canon smoke you could see hard-line, linear transitions from one shade of grey to the next. And all of the ships rope rigging was terribly un-antialaised - showing the worst stair-stepping imaginable.

Still worse IMHO though are these smaller "urban" multiplexes that use the Christie projectors to save money, space and the cost of skilled labor. Here specifically I would refer you to the theaters in The Beverly Center and the Westside Mall, both in L.A.

The projections are terribly dim both because of the limits of the equipment and also because theater operators try to save a few bucks on projection bulbs in their [incorrect] belief that lowering the brightness a couple of notches only will have a significant affect of bulb life, rainbow and color blocking is terrible, the anti-aliasing is awful, and the black levels are dark-grey at best.

I am sure that all theaters will be digital in both of our lifetimes but IMHO the technology just isn't there yet.

Cheers.

[mrh3]

Listen Katie - just because you might happen to disagree with my opinions does not make me negative or combative. I am responding to you this way because it is you who first took it upon him/herself to attack me personally as opposed to my comments.

You have a problem with me personally? Send me a private message and we can arrange to meet somewhere and work out our differences in person, shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes - otherwise why not stop making the personal comments and stick to the topics.

You want to keep calling me out, then I will keep sticking it back at you as I do not find your flitty blathering to be the least bit intimidating.

As for myself I will continue to respond to the topics of the threads in anyway I see fit within the TOS regardless of what you or anyone else thinks of those opinions.

By the way, I never "mentioned that I don't live in the city of Orlando", I happen to have homes in both Los Angeles and Orlando [city, Lancaster Park] so I do in fact pay taxes "here".

That's an interesting Trifecta Camillo, Orlando, LA, and Knoxville. How did that happen?

[Camillo Sitte]

That's an interesting Trifecta Camillo, Orlando, LA, and Knoxville. How did that happen?

Knoxville?

Trifecta?

While I have been to Knoxville on multiple occasions for business or to watch football games based on who Tennessee was playing [first time was in Junior High to see the wig storage fac... excuse me the World's Fair], I am not sure how that constitutes part of a "trifecta".

I honestly can't quite tell - is this a serious question or just another shot?

[codypet]

[first time was in Junior High to see the wig storage fac... excuse me the World's Fair], I am not sure how that constitutes part of a "trifecta".

Ahhh a Simpsons reference

[Camillo Sitte]

Ahhh a Simpsons reference

Good catch...

[JRS1]

^^

Guys, c'mon. you gotta be objective about stuff and sometimes tell it like it is. I'm guilty of having been a cheerleader for ORL in the past and had some disagreements with Camillo, but, as it turns out, he does know his stuff;

Camillo, for the record, I recognize... I think most posters here do...

I think I'm getting old or apathetic or both. nowadays, unless I see a shovel, I don't care. and as far as classifying stuff (i.e., Orlando's status, etc.)... I think I lost my fervor for it. I see the good with the bad and things do need to be put in perspective sometimes.

$.02

For the record, I think ORL DT is great-- but could be better obviously. Plaza is steadily filling up-- lots of buildout currently underway in both towers still;

[cliffm]

"Plaza is steadily filling up-- lots of buildout currently underway in both towers still "

Every day there seems to be trucks fighting for the loading docks of the Plaza non-stop.

[uncreativeusername]

"Plaza is steadily filling up-- lots of buildout currently underway in both towers still "

Every day there seems to be trucks fighting for the loading docks of the Plaza non-stop.

Not living in the area at the moment, so not sure if that was sarcasm or not?

[mrh3]

Knoxville?

Trifecta?

While I have been to Knoxville on multiple occasions for business or to watch football games based on who Tennessee was playing [first time was in Junior High to see the wig storage fac... excuse me the World's Fair], I am not sure how that constitutes part of a "trifecta".

I honestly can't quite tell - is this a serious question or just another shot?

It was a real question. I thought you lived in Knoxville. My mistake. I guess I take it from my personal exprience of having living in Chicago, New York and San Francisco for the last 12 years now. I just consider it part of my urban trifecta. That's it.