Church Street Plaza | 28-Story Office/Hotel [Phase 1 Under Construction]

[Jernigan]

Well this will help...

[jrs2]

^^

What the?

[Jernigan]

You’ve gotta wonder if they can lease out the building in full if the original tenants, associated with the project (Austin, Hunton Brady, Lincoln) would move their preleases over to tower 2

[prahaboheme]

Surely that means naming rights on Church St tower. What does that mean for Suntrust tower?

[jgardnerucf]

31 minutes ago, prahaboheme said:

Surely that means naming rights on Church St tower. What does that mean for Suntrust tower?

Dare I suggest what numerical hyphenated logo to bestow up there?

[prahaboheme]

12 minutes ago, jgardnerucf said:

Dare I suggest what numerical hyphenated logo to bestow up there?

Or even better, it's slogan?

[spenser1058]

Oh, Thank Heaven!

[I am Reality]

The real headline...one of downtown's largest tenants is significantly downsizing.

Am I the only one who saw that? 

I love the attitude of everyone on here...

Orlando deserves major downtown development.

Because it's Orlando! Yay!

Only we skipped one little step...bringing in high-wage jobs. 

If we had more professional & tech jobs, we wouldn't be begging for a 28 story building with a very large parking garage.  Skyscrapers would be popping up all over town overnight. 

[codypet]

Suntrust has been scaling back for a number of years.   That's interesting.  What happened to Fairwinds?  I thought they were putting a significant amount of office space with naming rights on this building?   Did the expanded Alafaya Campus really have that big of an impact?  Who's left for banking naming rights?  CFE Credit Union?  TD bank?

[Jernigan]

 

7 minutes ago, Jernigan said:

Yeah right....the problem is Orlando’s amenities and not technology downsizing the banking industry.  BBA Aviation’s move to Lake Nona is a much bigger slap in the face to downtown, but you wouldn’t know that.  

Back to the subject, or at least a derivative of the subject...name changes...expect to see Lincoln Plaza finally change names sooner than later.   (Highwoods purchased it from Lincoln years ago).

Fairwinds has to reneg on moving their downtown offices due to timing with their existing lease at 135 E Central.   That said, it’s small potatoes.    I expect them to ultimately move to Creative Village or at least get their name on something with UCF in it.

 

Edited April 13, 2018 by Jernigan

[dcluley98]

Fairwinds pulled out a while ago before it changed hands to Lincoln Property Group. There is 215,000 SF total with confirmed leases of Lincoln Property Group (developer), HuntonBrady (architect), Austin Commercial (GC) taking up approximately 28,000 SF, other confirmed leases were E|Spaces and RSM at 28,500 SF.  That leaves about 130,000 SF left over. Suntrust could take up most of that. 

As for the current "SunTrust Building" I expect them to try to recruit another business to move their headquarters there and rename it for them.  I wonder if this has anything to do with the recent Wyndham announcement?  

[I am Reality]

24 minutes ago, Jernigan said:

 

 

I know all about BBA.  My sister works there. 

Nice try. 

[spenser1058]

1 hour ago, codypet said:

Suntrust has been scaling back for a number of years.   That's interesting.  What happened to Fairwinds?  I thought they were putting a significant amount of office space with naming rights on this building?   Did the expanded Alafaya Campus really have that big of an impact?  Who's left for banking naming rights?  CFE Credit Union?  TD bank?

Originally, First at Orlando pretty much had both front and back office functions all in its downtown tower. As the holding company grew and it became Sun Banks, the need for office space grew right along with it.

When Sun and Trust originally combined, it was dubbed a "marriage of equals" and each bank (Sun in Florida, Trust Co. in Georgia, Third National in Tennessee), pretty much went on as before.

In order to remain competitive and as it became clear Trust Co. would be the controlling partner (and with technology requiring fewer humans to handle basic back of the house functions), the employee count in the tower continued to decline. That's not a local phenomenon - after 9/11, even Wall St firms that moved such functions to Jersey never moved them back because it was cheaper.

One thing that did surprise me was that, when Chase came back downtown (after taking over The First, FA, Great Western saw no need to keep its duPont Center office and then the downtown branch it got from CenTrust was demolished to build the new courthouse), its branch office in The Plaza made no attempt to be grand. Indeed, it's smaller than many locations in the 'burbs.

Apparently, all that matters is getting your name on top of the building. It seems like bankers will not be the prime tenants in downtown towers anymore, at least as far as headcount goes.

Edited April 13, 2018 by spenser1058

[idroveazamboni]

I am Reality, have you ever created a job in your life you remind of one of those armchair QB’s who sits on his couch every Sunday screaming at the screen saying this and that. What have you done to create a high paying job in Orlando.  

Two you must be real lonely to sit here day and night  and post the same thing over and over  again.  

[idroveazamboni]

If Wyndham does relocate to Orlando most likely they will move their HQ to south part of Orange County not downtown.  

[I am Reality]

7 minutes ago, idroveazamboni said:

I am Reality, have you ever created a job in your life you remind of one of those armchair QB’s who sits on his couch every Sunday screaming at the screen saying this and that. What have you done to create a high paying job in Orlando.  

Two you must be real lonely to sit here day and night  and post the same thing over and over  again.  

No, I am not a business owner.

Do I need to be a business owner to recognize a problem and to wish better for local residents? 

For that matter, what have you done to build tall buildings downtown?

That's why you are here, right?

You want tall buildings...without giving the slightest thought to what will actually OCCUPY the tall buildings. 

A third-grader can appreciate a skyscraper. It takes much more to understand why the skyscraper exists.

And guess what...Orlando may have the worst skyline in the country.  

Something is wrong. 

But at least you are NOT an arm-chair quarterback.

You are working hard to develop tall buildings.

What tenants have you lined up again?

 

 

 

[dcluley98]

There are several of us on here that work for local architecture, engineering, construction, and development firms. I would say a lot on here actually DO contribute to building tall buildings in downtown.  That is part of the reason why we are on here. (other than being a fan of architecture and building in general). If you pay attention, you can tell who has actual knowledge of the development, design, and construction process. 

[JFW657]

1 hour ago, I am Reality said:

The real headline...one of downtown's largest tenants is significantly downsizing.

Am I the only one who saw that? 

I love the attitude of everyone on here...

Orlando deserves major downtown development.

Because it's Orlando! Yay!

Only we skipped one little step...bringing in high-wage jobs. 

If we had more professional & tech jobs, we wouldn't be begging for a 28 story building with a very large parking garage.  Skyscrapers would be popping up all over town overnight. 

I think you're a bit off base with your high-wage jobs = tall buildings formula.

What creates high rise buildings is a high demand for downtown office space.

What creates a high demand for downtown office space is COMMERCE.

Obviously, high-wage jobs are important for any metro area, but they don't influence skylines. You can have tens of thousands of high wage jobs in a given metro area, but all located on the outskirts of town in sprawling one story complexes.

Commerce on the other hand, requires office space and most companies who engage in such commerce prefer to locate in centralized, downtown areas.

Orlando's "problem" if you want to see it as such, is that we are not a strong commercial center. Few corporate HQs or regional offices, etc. 

Why? Likely because we are in a state with three other larger and more established centers of commerce. There just isn't enough of it for Orlando to have gotten a big chunk of for itself.

But then again, do most of us here at UP desire for Orlando to become another Miami or Atlanta?

I don't.

[spenser1058]

Hmmmm, the tallest buildings in Silicon Valley are shorter than our downtown buildings. I guess there are no high-wage jobs in Silicon Valley, right?

I'm, of course, being facetious, but I continue to wonder why there is an assumption there is only one model for a city to be successful? Especially given the fact that we are one of the fastest growing regions in the country. Folks, people don't rush to move to places where they question their ability to be successful over the long haul.

Edited April 13, 2018 by spenser1058

[Dale]

20 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

Hmmmm, the tallest buildings in Silicon Valley are shorter than our downtown buildings. I guess there are no high-wage jobs in Silicon Valley, right?

I'm, of course, being facetious, but I continue to wonder why there is an assumption there is only one model for a city to be successful? Especially given the fact that we are one of the fastest growing regions in the country. Folks, people don't rush to move to places where they question their ability to be successful over the long haul.

Or, put another way, are tens of thousands moving to Orlando out of stubbornness or because they're gluttons for punishment ?

[spenser1058]

Hmmmm, maybe we should get the EDP to target market all the masochists at BDSM clubs across the country!

[I am Reality]

55 minutes ago, JFW657 said:

I think you're a bit off base with your high-wage jobs = tall buildings formula.

What creates high rise buildings is a high demand for downtown office space.

What creates a high demand for downtown office space is COMMERCE.

Obviously, high-wage jobs are important for any metro area, but they don't influence skylines. You can have tens of thousands of high wage jobs in a given metro area, but all located on the outskirts of town in sprawling one story complexes.

Commerce on the other hand, requires office space and most companies who engage in such commerce prefer to locate in centralized, downtown areas.

Orlando's "problem" if you want to see it as such, is that we are not a strong commercial center. Few corporate HQs or regional offices, etc. 

Why? Likely because we are in a state with three other larger and more established centers of commerce. There just isn't enough of it for Orlando to have gotten a big chunk of for itself.

But then again, do most of us here at UP desire for Orlando to become another Miami or Atlanta?

I don't.

I don't think you and I are in disagreement.  

I would take issue with the term "commerce", but that's just semantics.  

"Commerce" brings to mind malls & strip malls. But I agree with the main thrust of what you are saying.  

Downtowns typically develop because of demand from high-margin businesses.  Downtown land is typically the most expansive in a metro area.  It is only cost-effective to use the space for high-wage employees.  That typically applies to corporate HQs, regional hubs, tech, biotech, investment firms, banks, law, and accounting firms.  (There is also usually non-profit government offices and education). 

The obvious lack of downtown development is a direct result of the lack of those types of jobs.  

There is NOTHING preventing more development other than the lack of demand.  During the recession (and for years afterward), banks would not finance new projects nationwide. That does not apply anymore.  There is a national building boom right now.  Orlando has been left behind. 

As for us being overshadowed by larger  cities in FL, Austin seems to be doing very well.  So does San Jose.  There are few examples because there are few laege states.  

 

[popsiclebrandon]

I don't understand banks constantly opening new branches. They are downsizing a lot of stuff, pushing technology to make it so you never need to go to a bank anymore but every corner has a new bank on it now.

[spenser1058]

1 minute ago, popsiclebrandon said:

I don't understand banks constantly opening new branches. They are downsizing a lot of stuff, pushing technology to make it so you never need to go to a bank anymore but every corner has a new bank on it now.

It's the top line, supposedly, not the bottom. As of right now, branches still bring in revenue (and the banks with big branch networks pay the lowest interest rates on savings and have the highest fees on checking to offset the bricks and mortar.)

Branches were also historically convenient for small businesses. Technology is mitigating those advantages but right now it's a demographic thing. Boomers still like branches and, being the oldest, have the most money. Once we're gone, the millennials will likely change the equation. (Again, I'm an outlier - I'm a late boomer who's banked online for years but that's 'cuz I'm a cheap son of a gun that likes cash back checking and to make better interest than the 0.01% on savings that Chase paid until recently.)

[popsiclebrandon]

Guess that makes sense. Sorry for the tangent. Although it should prob go in the Mills 50 thread I hear the PNC branch at Mills Park will be closing soon, rumor is a cafe of some sort going in but with First Watch next door I find that a bit dubious.