Skyplex | Observation Tower/'Polercoaster' [Proposed]

[jrs2]

^^

Well, if you recall, as soon as Emirates began flights to Dubai, the developer was on that first flight to look for investors.  I saw that as a bad sign.  

^^

I don't think height restrictions are a factor in downtown.  Money is.  Look at what GDC did with NORA.  Look at Steelhouse.  Crescent Central.  Even 777 North Orange.  I'll throw in Artisan 420 as well to this list.  Only Skyhouse and Citi Tower did it right height-wise.  But, you can't really argue too much against those others, because they have added alot ala retail and/or streetscape where it didn't exist prior, which is huge for an urban environment.

^^

So far the major knock on I-drive that i think would improve the experience would be wider sidewalks; at least double the width.  Manhattan at points has 25' wide sidewalks.  I-drive for the most part has a minimum 5' wide sidewalks.

[WAJAS]

2 hours ago, jrs2 said:

^^

Well, if you recall, as soon as Emirates began flights to Dubai, the developer was on that first flight to look for investors.  I saw that as a bad sign.  

^^

I don't think height restrictions are a factor in downtown.  Money is.  Look at what GDC did with NORA.  Look at Steelhouse.  Crescent Central.  Even 777 North Orange.  I'll throw in Artisan 420 as well to this list.  Only Skyhouse and Citi Tower did it right height-wise.  But, you can't really argue too much against those others, because they have added alot ala retail and/or streetscape where it didn't exist prior, which is huge for an urban environment.

^^

So far the major knock on I-drive that i think would improve the experience would be wider sidewalks; at least double the width.  Manhattan at points has 25' wide sidewalks.  I-drive for the most part has a minimum 5' wide sidewalks.

A bunch of the Orlando potion of I-Drive was just rebuilt to include bus and bike lanes, which also added 10 foot sidewalks.  All new development in the Orange County portion is required to include larger sidewalks.  I think the only potion of the road that seems to be failing at every front is the part between Universal Blvd and Sand Lake.

[orange87]

On 6/30/2017 at 11:02 AM, tc01 said:

Yes I really like the direction I-Drive is heading in. As far as downtown, I feel like planners should do a better job in luring in developers into downtown. Or have smart growth principles and laws in place. Also, increase the height limit for downtown.

Is there a height limit in downtown, and if so, is it even enforced? There was a 522 foot tower called Presidential Tower that was going to be built in downtown but it never got built because of the recession. Also, I would imagine if someone credible wanted to build really tall one like a 800+ foot tower in downtown the city would allow it (albeit with some reluctance). And Miami claims they have a height limit and they recently had a 868 foot tower built and there are several ones around 1,000 feet that have a good chance of being built.

[metal93]

17 hours ago, orange87 said:

Is there a height limit in downtown, and if so, is it even enforced? There was a 522 foot tower called Presidential Tower that was going to be built in downtown but it never got built because of the recession. Also, I doubt if someone credible wanted to build really tall one like a 800+ foot tower in downtown the city would allow it (albeit with some reluctance). And Miami claims they have a height limit and they recently had a 868 foot tower built and there are several ones around 1,000 feet that have a good chance of being built.

From my understanding, it's an FAA regulation preventing buildings taller than the Suntrust from being built because of the flight paths going in/out of the executive airport. In order for a taller building to happen, it has to be reviewed and approved by the FAA. So it's not impossible, it's just throwing in a rather tedious process that I'm assuming most developers wouldn't want to waste time and money on, plus there doesn't seem to be enough demand to build anything taller than 400 or so feet.

[jrs2]

^^

wow.  I didn't know the Panorama Tower in Miami was even U/C.  868' tall; 85 stories.  That's big.  Yeah, see, that's the magic of "waterfront property" + "Miami" + "South American investors"; it drives demand.  Downtown has Eola, but I think what will drive demand is more density and more people and then new proposals that have to be much taller.  Density plus people builds the neighborhood and drives demand for more development.

I-Drive is an interesting animal.  I think the future of tall developments is in convention-class hotels.  But when land is not at a high premium, they don't build tall.  Look at the corridor...all you see is vacant land off of Universal Blvd.  The UNIQ Hotel project is a great step at vertical proposals in an already dense environment.  Same with i-Square it it gets built.

Look at Universal, they ran out of land and are building Aventura Tower at 200' and 16 stories, on land that I didn't even know existed.  Same with the two 12 story Cabana Bay towers.

Orlando will probably never be known for the "tall" building; rather, Orlando will be known for the "big" buildings and big developments that no-one else really has.

[aent]

26 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

^^

wow.  I didn't know the Panorama Tower in Miami was even U/C.  868' tall; 85 stories.  That's big.  Yeah, see, that's the magic of "waterfront property" + "Miami" + "South American investors"; it drives demand.  Downtown has Eola, but I think what will drive demand is more density and more people and then new proposals that have to be much taller.  Density plus people builds the neighborhood and drives demand for more development.

I-Drive is an interesting animal.  I think the future of tall developments is in convention-class hotels.  But when land is not at a high premium, they don't build tall.  Look at the corridor...all you see is vacant land off of Universal Blvd.  The UNIQ Hotel project is a great step at vertical proposals in an already dense environment.  Same with i-Square it it gets built.

Look at Universal, they ran out of land and are building Aventura Tower at 200' and 16 stories, on land that I didn't even know existed.  Same with the two 12 story Cabana Bay towers.

Orlando will probably never be known for the "tall" building; rather, Orlando will be known for the "big" buildings and big developments that no-one else really has.

Universal bought the vast majority of land off of Universal Blvd, so its not as plentiful as it seems. At least not north of Sea World.

[orange87]

On the topic of height limit for buildings in downtown Orlando, I have a couple thoughts.

There is an abundance of lots available in downtown. So there isn't really a need for developers to build "tall" and make the most of available space since lots aren't in short supply at the moment.

I think/hope that in the future that downtown will become dense enough that space will be more limited for new developments that developers will start building taller to make the most use out of the limited space. I wouldn't say that overall downtown Orlando is dense yet (except for a few parts), but it's at a good pace to become pretty dense in the not too distant future.

[jrs2]

51 minutes ago, orange87 said:

On the topic of height limit for buildings in downtown Orlando, I have a couple thoughts.

There is an abundance of lots available in downtown. So there isn't really a need for developers to build "tall" and make the most of available space since lots aren't in short supply at the moment.

I think/hope that in the future that downtown will become dense enough that space will be more limited for new developments that developers will start building taller to make the most use out of the limited space. I wouldn't say that overall downtown Orlando is dense yet (except for a few parts), but it's at a good pace to become pretty dense in the not too distant future.

Exactly.  Tremont Tower is a step in the right direction I think.  In fact, every development whether tall or short is; but the taller ones, like CitiTower, Modera, and Skyhouse, which you dislike, show that the market is good for highrises.