The Plaza

[JRS1]

Yeah, the Plaza car entry is like Sanctuary's.

Man, this complex is big. goto the corner of Church and Magnolia and look down Church and gaze from left to right-- it's a massive footprint.

[firemick]

Looks like they raised the Solaire Crane again? And that is interesting that these construction companies are stretched to the max, with work waiting for crews and cranes to become available. Wow, the media would have you believe that the economy sucks and Bush is ruining everything!

Edited November 30, 2005 by firemick

[orlandonative]

Looks like the raised the Solaire Crane again?

[prahaboheme]

Looks like they raised the Solaire Crane again? And that is interesting that these construction companies are stretched to the max, with work waiting for crews and cranes to become available. Wow, the media would have you believe that the economy sucks and Bush is ruining everything!

Florida's been booming since the early 90s, Orlando just hit the trend late. It's good to see its catching up quickly.

[EngineerNole]

I know it hasn't been that long since a picture update, but i would love to see more construction photos. These buildings rise pretty fast once they are done with the foundations.

[jcast]

Just found some info on some of the restaurants that we should be enjoying when this thing is done.

Unicorp intends to bring in specialty restaurants,

both casual and nighttime with entertainment, says

Amy Young, director of leasing for Unicorp. These

include an upscale seafood restaurant, steakhouse

and themed restaurant, as well as a national ice

cream shop.

In addition, Unicorp wants to provide unique

specialty services, she says. It is looking at

introducing a neighborhood market and several

service-oriented businesses, including a dry cleaner,

hair salon, nail salon and spa.

Among the specific restaurants and retailers who

have submitted proposals to lease the space:

AmStar Entertainment, to occupy the movie

theater

Moe’s Southwestern Grill

PJ’s Coffee & Tea

Mama Fu’s Noodle House

“We’re still trying to nail down

the perfect tenant mix,” Young says.

“We really want a mix that will

appeal to the people who live and

work downtown, as well as people

who will make a special trip

downtown to enjoy the destination

I'll post a link shortly

Edited December 1, 2005 by jcast

[sunshine]

This sux, all restaurants....................

[Tim3167]

The info here was on a pdf from the OBJ dated from 2004 so I'm not sure how accurrate this would still be.

[jcast]

Yeah I found it on Unicorps website tonight. I talked to Amy Young today, and she said they had a Mexican restaurant, Asian restaurant, a coffee shop, and a local sub shop lined up. I asked but she didn't give specific names.

[sunshine]

and I thought we might finally have some decent place to shop. jcast, next time you see her, pls tell her that we demand store like Carte and Barrel, William Sonana, A&F, Express.... in the plaza and not Ma Ma fu or Moe, we refused cheap food.

Edited December 1, 2005 by sunshine

[Tim3167]

Update 12/17/2005

[RedStar25]

(humming to mysefl) .....I know its been said.... many times.... many ways.....BUT THIS THING IS HUGE!

great shots!

[prahaboheme]

The most appealing view of this is the one near the old Lynx terminal. Doesn't look too bad from Orange Ave either. Thanks for all the updates.

Edited December 17, 2005 by prahaboheme

[GregoryMCSE]

The most appealing view of this is the one near the old Lynx terminal. Doesn't look too bad from Orange Ave either. Thanks for all the updates.

Something does not add up... in renderings, and height comaprisons... the residential part of this project is considerably shorter the Suntrust building.... but they still have about 13 more stories to add to this tower... which seem to make it taller than the renderings. I hope so at least. Right now this project has a giant footprint..but it is very squat... I wish the residential tower would be much taller than the commercial towers...I think it would look much nicer... right now I am not impressed in the least... just the worlds largest above ground parking garage... U.G.L.Y.

Edited December 17, 2005 by GregoryMCSE

[UPSDAN]

Something does not add up... in renderings, and height comaprisons... the residential part of this project is considerably shorter the Suntrust building.... but they still have about 13 more stories to add to this tower... which seem to make it taller than the renderings. I hope so at least. Right now this project has a giant footprint..but it is very squat... I wish the residential tower would be much taller than the commercial towers...I think it would look much nicer... right now I am not impressed in the least... just the worlds largest above ground parking garage... U.G.L.Y.

The only tower that is close to topping off is the South Office Tower which only has 1 more floor to go. They are on the 14th floor now, the tower has 15 (It is listed at 16 floors but the 13th floor is not counted). The North Tower still has 6 more floors to go as well as the Solaire's 14 floors. I think it will look a lot more proportional once complete.

[downtowninvestor]

solaire is gonna top off on the 29th floor but only 15-16 floors of condos as the bottom is parking.

[cwetteland]

Right now this project has a giant footprint..but it is very squat... I wish the residential tower would be much taller than the commercial towers...I think it would look much nicer... right now I am not impressed in the least... just the worlds largest above ground parking garage... U.G.L.Y.

Right NOW the Vue is very squat too. The current trend in construction is that they build the bottom BEFORE they build the top.

[Tim3167]

solaire is gonna top off on the 29th floor but only 15-16 floors of condos as the bottom is parking.

Not sure where this came from. All information that I have seen is a 30 story tower with 20 floors of condos on top of 10 of parking.

[prahaboheme]

Judging by the structure as it stands now, it looks like the garage is 10 floors.

[UPSDAN]

Right NOW the Vue is very squat too. The current trend in construction is that they build the bottom BEFORE they build the top.

I was wondering why the Tradition Towers looked so squat too. I think you have cleared this up for me. Thanks.

[orlandonative]

Judging by the structure as it stands now, it looks like the garage is 10 floors.

Parking deck is definetly only 10 floors. This is a very common issue with artist renderings. Any building with a large footprint always looks extremely squat. I think the Solaire is going to raise the focal point to a higher level therefore extending the "torso" if you will, of the building. Ultimately it is just a very dense and massive structure.

[GregoryMCSE]

Not sure who that was intended for? A little out of line though don't you think?

read what i qoted and it was adressed to who i quoted...pretty obvious....

[orlandonative]

read what i qoted and it was adressed to who i quoted...pretty obvious....

Thats the thing it still didn't make sense. I guess ignorant comments never do though, huh?

[Tim3167]

"it looks squat in renderings too jacka$$....."

Geez...settle down. Maybe it's the holidays but there has been a couple of examples on these forums recently of users jumping all over each other.

I too think the Solaire lacks vertical impact. I think it would have been better had the residential tower had a more seamless transition from the parking garage but it looks to have been plopped onto this big square pedestal which make it appear to be two separate structures.

Here's a newer rendering:

Here's an older rendering. Granted it's taller but it also has a much more vertical feel because of the continuation of the tower through the parking garage.

Edited December 19, 2005 by Tim3167

[FLClarkKent]

Thanks for those rendering, Tim!

The older design did have a much stronger vertical appearance. That particular placement of the tower on the parking structure made the tower seem leaner and taller.

The new, and I assume final, design doesn't have that look. Plus, the arrangement of the exterior cladding and glass gives the tower a "T" shape. To my eye, that makes it look stumpier. (BTW, 'stumpier' is an official architecture term).

Anyway, I think this whole discussion might turn out to be a moot point. This project already loooks taller than I ever thought it would. The two office towers on Orange have surprised me with their height. They stick out much further in the skyline than what the renderings suggested. So I think when the main condo tower goes up, we'll all be pleasantly surprised with its height.