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Constitution Green


Jernigan

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11 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

But then Fido might be brunch for a big ol' gator!

My FL born wife won't swim in lakes when we travel because of gators.  I've tried and tried, but she won't.  I'm like "Babe, there are no gators in lakes in Colorado.  You can swim here.  We're all swimming here." but it makes no difference, she doesn't swim in fresh water.

The logic about sharks in ocean water doesn't seem to apply.  This woman is highly educated and very intelligent.  It is just bred into her that you don't swim in lakes.

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2 hours ago, HankStrong said:

My FL born wife won't swim in lakes when we travel because of gators.  I've tried and tried, but she won't.  I'm like "Babe, there are no gators in lakes in Colorado.  You can swim here.  We're all swimming here." but it makes no difference, she doesn't swim in fresh water.

The logic about sharks in ocean water doesn't seem to apply.  This woman is highly educated and very intelligent.  It is just bred into her that you don't swim in lakes.

I’m just happy to hear I’m not the only one who cannot dip into fresh water.

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31 minutes ago, Ivanhoe said:

I’m just happy to hear I’m not the only one who cannot dip into fresh water.

Same here. Certainly not in Florida or any other states where Gators are known to reside, but even in other regions where they aren't, because of all the other potential little nasties that could get you. From microscopic things that can get in through your ears, nose etc, to bugs and snakes. 

Used to all the time when I was a kid, but now, no thanks.

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The sad part is that there was a time (including the years when I was a kid) that many lakes like Fairview were clear and swimmable. 

Of course, runoff, leaky septic tanks and overdevelopment have destroyed a lot of that. The more popular swimming areas had enough human activity in those days that the gators stayed clear for the most part.

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7 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

The sad part is that there was a time (including the years when I was a kid) that many lakes like Fairview were clear and swimmable. 

Of course, runoff, leaky septic tanks and overdevelopment have destroyed a lot of that. The more popular swimming areas had enough human activity in those days that the gators stayed clear for the most part.

Lake Fairview was clear when I was a kid too, but murky lakes were considered the norm during that time and clear lakes were considered a novelty.

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  • 3 months later...
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On 3/19/2017 at 7:30 PM, nite owℓ said:

 

I don't own a pet though - I just don't want the responsibility. Whether or not I own a dog does not change the fact that the "dog park" looks very amateurish and not proportionate with the rest of the park. I'm not asking for a Cadillac of pet parks (although that would be nice), I'm asking for proper planning & implementation. Why not create something that is more inviting and pleasant to look at from the street? As with any public amenity (regardless of who uses it), the dog park should be built to last and age well. However, as it stands I'm sure in the future the city will spend more money on improvements/expansion of the park. It's not going bankrupt the city to spend the few extra dollars to do it once & do it right.

Didn't take long for my prophesy to come to fruition...

From NextDoor: The city will level the ground and install a larger plaza, more seating, new sod, as well as new curbs and mulch areas at the park. The total dog area will be slightly larger and will drain more quickly after a rain.

 

Edited by nite owℓ
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Well, with everyone seeming to need a furbaby or "therapy dog" these days, the park is getting more usage around the clock than it has ever seen. Constitution Green has become more of a destination rather than just serving as an underutilized amenity for nearby residents. IMO, with South St being so close to the park without any kind of buffer, the ambience is destroyed for normal park use.

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27 minutes ago, nite owℓ said:

Well, with everyone seeming to need a furbaby or "therapy dog" these days, the park is getting more usage around the clock than it has ever seen. Constitution Green has become more of a destination rather than just serving as an underutilized amenity for nearby residents. IMO, with South St being so close to the park without any kind of buffer, the ambience is destroyed for normal park use.

Keep In mind Constitution Green was never supposed to be a major park. It came about because, after the major redo of Eola Park in 1987, there was an attempt to keep that park from being “over loved”.

Just as parks across the nation were doing then (including NYC’s Central Park, which was placed in the hands of a non-profit conservancy for better control), the weekly events at Eola threatened to overrun all the improvements they had just made (see the state of the park’s lawn areas today and you’ll see that’s exactly what happened).

Orlando Festival Park was to serve the same purpose.

CG was a supposed win-win (albeit temporary) while the Caruso family land banked the property (it was supposed to be a Winn-Dixie but that company was falling apart and several proposed locations including one on Bumby never happened), Eola could “rest”.

It didn’t work - there was huge pushback from community groups who insisted only Eola would do for their events.

Meanwhile, as South Eola was bulldozed with endless acres of concrete midrises, the new residents didn’t love the sterile, treeless wonderland they’d moved into.

Meanwhile, there lay Constitution Green, an oasis of grass and the last remaining trees in the neighborhood.

The rest, you know- the Carusos decided to cash out, the neighbors rebelled and thankfully the city had the cash to try and undo the botch they’d made. 

It’s not perfect by any means but then there was always too much riding on a piece of property that was supposed to be nothing more than a grocery store.

Of course, the exercise is being repeated at Ivanhoe Village. George Santayana is correct as always.

Edited by spenser1058
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9 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

(it was supposed to be a Winn-Dixie but that company was falling apart and several proposed locations including one on Bumby never happened)

Ok I'm gonna need more information this.  There was another Winn-Dixie proposed on Bumby?  Not just the Colonial one?

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9 minutes ago, codypet said:

Ok I'm gonna need more information this.  There was another Winn-Dixie proposed on Bumby?  Not just the Colonial one?

They looked at a couple of spots including what’s now Total Wine and what I think is now the OHA offices on Bumby, plus the aforementioned Constitution Green.

Oh, and also the old Helmly’s on Colonial which became America’s first Rooms To Go (it’s now an Asian superstore) was rumored for a possible Florida’s Choice (aka Kroger) ever so briefly.

Albertsons also looked at the Total Wine spot so I’m guessing it was being shopped around.

Colonialtown was dreadfully undersupplied on grocery stores at the time (compared to SoDo and Winter Park, it still is, although here comes Lucky’s to help!)

Edited by spenser1058
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I never thought CG was supposed to be a major park, but it was definitely underused. I don't think it's accurate to say the Caurso family was landbanking when the property had been in their family decades. IIRC, the original structure on that site was some kind of  citrus warehouse prior to it even becoming a park, so it's not like it would have been totally out of character for it to be zoned for commercial use. Not that I'm advocating for a Winn Dixie, but I wouldn't mind if a small mixed-use development with a ground floor tenant similar to Earth Fare were there instead of a dog park.

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1 hour ago, spenser1058 said:

They looked at a couple of spots including what’s now Total Wine and what I think is now the OHA offices on Bumby, plus the aforementioned Constitution Green.

Oh, and also the old Helmly’s on Colonial which became America’s first Rooms To Go (it’s now an Asian superstore) was rumored for a possible Florida’s Choice (aka Kroger) ever so briefly.

Albertsons also looked at the Total Wine spot so I’m guessing it was being shopped around.

Colonialtown was dreadfully undersupplied on grocery stores at the time (compared to SoDo and Winter Park, it still is, although here comes Lucky’s to help!)

So this was around the time Publix/Kmart left whats now Colonial Landing?

Edited by codypet
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12 minutes ago, nite owℓ said:

I never thought CG was supposed to be a major park, but it was definitely underused. I don't think it's accurate to say the Caurso family was landbanking when the property had been in their family decades. IIRC, the original structure on that site was some kind of  citrus warehouse prior to it even becoming a park, so it's not like it would have been totally out of character for it to be zoned for commercial use. Not that I'm advocating for a Winn Dixie, but I wouldn't mind if a small mixed-use development with a ground floor tenant similar to Earth Fare were there instead of a dog park.

I’m using the term one of the Carusos called it, but feel free to use another term.

It seems like it gets more use as a dog park than it ever did before (even a terribly underwhelming dog park), so apparently some one is using it.

Of course, more use may just be because of the density. South Eola used to be full of empty lots and even a tiny little forest off Mariposa but now all that remains is concrete except CG.

Any attempt at changing the park (not to mention harming those two amazing oak trees) will no doubt result in a call to Super Arbor Man and bring out natives with pitchforks (they managed to bring out a few hundred folks when it seemed the park would be sold - a solid turnout for a local political event).

I don’t use CG (I don’t have a dog and Eola Park is just across the street, but I am biased on trees. I turned down buying at the Metropolitan in favor of renting across the lake because I like trees too much).

One of the things that brought me back to Orlando in the first place was having a downtown with lots of shade trees. If you’re not big on trees, then that would probably not matter.

 

 

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30 minutes ago, codypet said:

So this was around the time Publix/Kmart left whats now Colonial Landing?

It actually predates that, I think. Eola Park was refurbed in ‘87. Constitution Green is so named because it came online for the bicentennial of the US Constitution (1788-1988).

There was a lot of back and forth on the Winn-Dixie. They lost the Rosalind store in the ‘70’s and the redo of the Bumby store was in the ‘70’s and was totally outdated by the late ‘80’s.

By then Dano Davis was running Winn-Dixie into the ground (he preferred to be racing cars - maybe he was hanging out with the Frances in Daytona!) and getting decisions out of Jax was difficult.

Another interesting tidbit - we almost got a Publix where Thornton Park Central is but that’s another story.

 

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