Modera Central | 23-Story Residential

[JFW657]

By the beginning of summer, right around the corner, the skeleton should be much of the way up and we'll begin to start getting a real sense of what it's visual impact will be, not only from up close at street level, but even more so from across Lake Eola.

I think that even at only 22 stories, this building will loom pretty large from across the lake.

[Jernigan]

 Would love for the Embassy suites to truly open up their windows on the first floor facing Rosalind… Right now they have the windows to meet code but they are blank or have a modest display - makes walking that block from Central to Pine boring!

[Pieson]

I still lament the loss of tradition towers, but walking by this thing last night, one can't help but be excited for the huge impact this building will have, it's exciting seeing the current wave of buildings which I imagine will o lay serve to further ignite downtown. I know a ton of my friends (late 20s - early 30s) are dying to move downtown. I moved downtown 6 months ago after getting out of the navy and coming home, and I couldn't be happier. Keep these things coming! 

[nite owℓ]

3 hours ago, Pieson said:

I know a ton of my friends (late 20s - early 30s) are dying to move downtown.

I'm curious... what's stopping them?

[bqknight]

1 hour ago, nite owℓ said:

I'm curious... what's stopping them?

If I had to guess, money. Rent is ridiculous downtown for the type of city Orlando is. 420 is asking $1700 for a 1 bedroom. 

[JFW657]

That's insane.

When I lived on E Church St I was paying $360 a month for the top floor of an up/down duplex 2 bdr apartment.

Nothing fancy, but it was no dump either.

That was during the 90's.

[AndyPok1]

6 hours ago, bqknight said:

If I had to guess, money. Rent is ridiculous downtown for the type of city Orlando is. 420 is asking $1700 for a 1 bedroom. 

This.  I'm paying $1700 for a 2brm at 55W... but I've been here 4 years.  There's a reason I've been house shopping.

[nite owℓ]

1 hour ago, bqknight said:

If I had to guess, money. Rent is ridiculous downtown for the type of city Orlando is. 420 is asking $1700 for a 1 bedroom. 

Yeah and I want to own a bi-level unit at Star Tower, but it's just not in the cards for me right now lol. High rent at 420 E Church St shouldn't be a deal-breaker for living downtown though. There are other condos/apts/homes offered for much less which could be decent alternatives. It's possible to live comfortably and within your means, but that might also mean not having the latest and greatest. I live and own 2 properties downtown - they aren't top of the line but they can be renovated to be what I want over time. I was wondering if @Pieson was going to say a lack of inventory was the reason his friends haven't moved downtown yet.

 

41 minutes ago, JFW657 said:

That's insane.

When I lived on E Church St I was paying $360 a month for the top floor of an up/down duplex 2 bdr apartment.

Nothing fancy, but it was no dump either.

That was during the 90's.

I would say the avg rent nowadays is around $900/1br to $1200/2br for something comparable; nothing fancy, but not a dump.

[John Hargrove]

1 hour ago, AndyPok1 said:

This.  I'm paying $1700 for a 2brm at 55W... but I've been here 4 years.  There's a reason I've been house shopping.

You and me both. I don't want to leave downtown, but I need at least 3 rooms. $2800/month for 3+den in 55W. Probably will end up going to Winter Garden. It's a nice place to live. I'd love a house downtown, but the options are incredibly limited. Not just in price, but in size, age, how well maintained they are. 

[John Hargrove]

1 hour ago, nite owℓ said:

Yeah and I want to own a bi-level unit at Star Tower, but it's just not in the cards for me right now lol. High rent at 420 E Church St shouldn't be a deal-breaker for living downtown though. There are other condos/apts/homes offered for much less which could be decent alternatives. It's possible to live comfortably and within your means, but that might also mean not having the latest and greatest. I live and own 2 properties downtown - they aren't top of the line but they can be renovated to be what I want over time. I was wondering if @Pieson was going to say a lack of inventory was the reason his friends haven't moved downtown yet.

 

I would say the avg rent nowadays is around $900/1br to $1200/2br for something comparable; nothing fancy, but not a dump.

This is also true. Orlando's downtown rents are high for Orlando, but they are normal and maybe even cheap for downtowns in general. 

Another issue, and this is a bigger, broader, not-just-Orlando thing, is that rents have been generally outpacing household income for like 50 years. If the trend remains, you will have to basically be in the top 2-5% bracket of earners to live downtown with a Family. Not a good thing in my mind. I also have no solution for it. Land is driven up by demand, construction costs continue to rise, etc. 

[dcluley98]

1 hour ago, nite owℓ said:

I would say the avg rent nowadays is around $900/1br to $1200/2br for something comparable; nothing fancy, but not a dump.

Not downtown. Not much under 1000 to be found.  1200 would be findable every once in a while at one offs, but none of the larger organized buildings. 

[nite owℓ]

5 hours ago, dcluley98 said:

Not downtown. Not much under 1000 to be found.  1200 would be findable every once in a while at one offs, but none of the larger organized buildings. 

Yes, downtown. I think you misunderstood my comment.  @JFW657 mentioned renting the upstairs unit of a no-frills duplex for $360 back in the day and my response was that it would be around $900/1br and $1200/2br for something comparable nowadays.

$1700 for a 2br at 55W might seem like a lot up front, but I'm sure most tenants who live there are in a roommate situation so it's still pretty affordable when they spread the cost. Not bad for a newer construction high-rise with above average amenities and quality (especially since the building was originally meant to be condo).

 

5 hours ago, castorvx said:

Another issue, and this is a bigger, broader, not-just-Orlando thing, is that rents have been generally outpacing household income for like 50 years. If the trend remains, you will have to basically be in the top 2-5% bracket of earners to live downtown with a Family. Not a good thing in my mind. I also have no solution for it. Land is driven up by demand, construction costs continue to rise, etc. 

Would you consider a fixer-upper? It's a practical option and you could design the home according to your tastes without being priced out of downtown. I guess it all comes down to where you see yourself settling down though. Do you think you would be happy living in Winter Garden?

Edited January 8, 2017 by nite owℓ

[prahaboheme]

I'm amazed that people are actually considering Winter Garden as a cheaper alternative to downtown Orlando. You would not have heard this even 5 years ago.  It's truly a testament to the good work WG has done in creating a great urban center.

[Pieson]

Correct. Rent is the big thing. anything that is somewhat reasonable gets snatched up quick. I was lucky to get my place at 1300 a month . The appeal of living downtown or in the urban core is there, especially for melinials. 

[Pieson]

Correct. Rent is the big thing. anything that is somewhat reasonable gets snatched up quick. I was lucky to get my place at 1300 a month . The appeal of living downtown or in the urban core is there, especially for melinials. 

[John Hargrove]

6 hours ago, nite owℓ said:

Would you consider a fixer-upper? It's a practical option and you could design the home according to your tastes without being priced out of downtown. I guess it all comes down to where you see yourself settling down though. Do you think you would be happy living in Winter Garden?

Yeah I'd consider it, if I was in a better position to buy. 

Downtown WG is great. Far less likely to be bothered by homeless or become the victim of petty crime. Also, lots less drunk college kids vomiting on the sidewalks.

5 hours ago, prahaboheme said:

I'm amazed that people are actually considering Winter Garden as a cheaper alternative to downtown Orlando. You would not have heard this even 5 years ago.  It's truly a testament to the good work WG has done in creating a great urban center.

Has it changed a lot? I've only noticed it over the last couple years. I was basically unaware of it before then.

 

6 hours ago, nite owℓ said:

$1700 for a 2br at 55W might seem like a lot up front, but I'm sure most tenants who live there are in a roommate situation so it's still pretty affordable when they spread the cost. Not bad for a newer construction high-rise with above average amenities and quality (especially since the building was originally meant to be condo).

 

55 West has excellent building quality paired with the absolute worst group of people you can choose to live with in Downtown. Scumbag city.

[Jernigan]

I feel like I got relatively lucky.   LIved in Post Parkside in 08/09 in a weird time in that they were awesome and Publix had already been built but they didn't seem to know they were awesome yet.  Since then they've upgraded everything inside and jacked up the prices.  The damage was $1400 for a 2/2 (split with a roomate) for a massive apartment right above where Pop Parlour is now.

Then I moved in with 2 buddies into half of a duplex on Summerlin just north of Amelia.  $1350 divided by 3.   It was a 3/1.5 which was enough since we are guys and had slightly different schedules.  It was less rent then I used to spend out near UCF.  The property was owned by an older gentleman who owned quite a few.  I learned then that the trick for renting in the downtown neighborhoods was to drive around and call the numbers on the "For Rent" signs.  These guys didn't use Craigs List because they didn't know how and didn't need to learn because of how quickly they filled their vacancies.

 

[AndyPok1]

1 hour ago, Jernigan said:

I learned then that the trick for renting in the downtown neighborhoods was to drive around and call the numbers on the "For Rent" signs.  These guys didn't use Craigs List because they didn't know how and didn't need to learn because of how quickly they filled their vacancies.

 

It's still the trick.  I have one friend who is getting an OLD 3/1 for $1300, and someone else getting a fully-renovated 1/1 garage apartment (including garage) for $950... But by far that's the exception rather than the rule.

[JFW657]

1 hour ago, Jernigan said:

I feel like I got relatively lucky.   LIved in Post Parkside in 08/09 in a weird time in that they were awesome and Publix had already been built but they didn't seem to know they were awesome yet.  Since then they've upgraded everything inside and jacked up the prices.  The damage was $1400 for a 2/2 (split with a roomate) for a massive apartment right above where Pop Parlour is now.

Then I moved in with 2 buddies into half of a duplex on Summerlin just north of Amelia.  $1350 divided by 3.   It was a 3/1.5 which was enough since we are guys and had slightly different schedules.  It was less rent then I used to spend out near UCF.  The property was owned by an older gentleman who owned quite a few.  I learned then that the trick for renting in the downtown neighborhoods was to drive around and call the numbers on the "For Rent" signs.  These guys didn't use Craigs List because they didn't know how and didn't need to learn because of how quickly they filled their vacancies.

 

His initials weren't D.H. were they? 

[Jernigan]

Nope - Joe something.  Locally involved guy - think he went to Boone.

[JFW657]

Gotcha.

I used to rent from a guy who fit that description. Older gent who'd been around Orlando since forever. Bought and sold rental property around downtown like playing Monopoly. Name is Don, aka Donnie.

Still see him around occasionally, though I believe he's retired from the property rental biz.

[smileguy]

10 hours ago, Jernigan said:

Then I moved in with 2 buddies into half of a duplex on Summerlin just north of Amelia.  $1350 divided by 3.   It was a 3/1.5 which was enough since we are guys and had slightly different schedules.  It was less rent then I used to spend out near UCF.  The property was owned by an older gentleman who owned quite a few.  I learned then that the trick for renting in the downtown neighborhoods was to drive around and call the numbers on the "For Rent" signs.  These guys didn't use Craigs List because they didn't know how and didn't need to learn because of how quickly they filled their vacancies.

This is my situation. I live in a small 2/1 duplex in Eola Heights - closer to Mills/50 than CBD - and paid $850 when we started renting about 4 years ago. The rent has gone up a couple times since then, but it's still a good deal. The landlord doesn't own any other rental properties, and put up the "For Rent" sign in the morning and was cleaning after the previous renter moved out. We were the 3rd people to look at the space by the early afternoon, and I'm convinced if we didn't sign the paperwork right then and there, we would have missed it.

[jack]

18 hours ago, castorvx said:

Yeah I'd consider it, if I was in a better position to buy. 

Downtown WG is great. Far less likely to be bothered by homeless or become the victim of petty crime. Also, lots less drunk college kids vomiting on the sidewalks.

Has it changed a lot? I've only noticed it over the last couple years. I was basically unaware of it before then.

 

55 West has excellent building quality paired with the absolute worst group of people you can choose to live with in Downtown. Scumbag city.

It seems like you should be able to find a 3 bedroom for 300k no problem. It may need a bit of work. If you are paying $1,700 now, 300k should not be a problem. 

On 1/8/2017 at 3:01 AM, castorvx said:

This is also true. Orlando's downtown rents are high for Orlando, but they are normal and maybe even cheap for downtowns in general. 

Another issue, and this is a bigger, broader, not-just-Orlando thing, is that rents have been generally outpacing household income for like 50 years. If the trend remains, you will have to basically be in the top 2-5% bracket of earners to live downtown with a Family. Not a good thing in my mind. I also have no solution for it. Land is driven up by demand, construction costs continue to rise, etc. 

For new buildings, the cost is the cost. It may shock some of you folks, but I have had plenty of conversations with outsiders who think Orlando is under priced when it comes to rent. 

[popsiclebrandon]

I live in Park Lake Towers in a 2/2 and pay $1200. That includes cable/internet/water/garbage. Luckily he hasn't raised the rent in 2 years but I'm worried with it being that underpriced.

[bqknight]

15 minutes ago, popsiclebrandon said:

I live in Park Lake Towers in a 2/2 and pay $1200. That includes cable/internet/water/garbage. Luckily he hasn't raised the rent in 2 years but I'm worried with it being that underpriced.

That's a steal!