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

[JFW657]

The new (at the time) Orange County Convention Center was also used for concerts back in the early and mid 80's.

[gibby]

I saw Jethro Tull there.

[RedStar25]

She did accomplish somethings, but also crushed many others. 

Remember she quit the office after she promised she wouldn't, only to work for the Republicans . She also left the city in a financial disaster. 

However, I understand your bias since you worked for her. 

[jrs2]

1 hour ago, RedStar25 said:

She did accomplish somethings, but also crushed many others. 

Remember she quit the office after she promised she wouldn't, only to work for the Republicans . She also left the city in a financial disaster. 

However, I understand your bias since you worked for her. 

I never got an answer before about the Baldwin Park deal.  I remember there was drama surrounding this...

[jrs2]

So the OBJ is reporting that Suntrust is moving it's Orlando HQ to this building and will occupy the top 3 floors.   Hmmm.

[DreS0803]

http://www.fox35orlando.com/news/local-news/suntrust-orlando-headquarters-moving-to-church-street-station

 

Looks like its official  New name is now Suntrust Plaza!

Edited June 11, 2018 by DreS0803

[RedStar25]

I thought this was common knowledge. 

Part of the reason I heard was also the buildings high profile visibility from I-4. 

[gibby]

The west facade is shaped like a large "S".

[spenser1058]

1 hour ago, jrs2 said:

So the OBJ is reporting that Suntrust is moving it's Orlando HQ to this building and will occupy the top 3 floors.   Hmmm.

It seems SunTrust is not as preoccupied with height as our happy band.

[AndyPok1]

On 6/9/2018 at 6:38 PM, spenser1058 said:

Mayor Bill overcame all of that and also insisted the building be the city's showpiece. Here you'll see the big difference between Mayor Bill and Buddy.

While Buddy's new arena is nothing more than a big box, Mayor Bill's was as much a splendor as a glorified gym could be. It overlooked Lake Dot and the steps leading up to it gave it the appearance of a DC monument. Even the terrazzo floors were first quality.

At the same time, you can see Mayor Bill's biggest blind spot. The old arena was cut off from  the rest of downtown by I4, Lake Dot and an ocean of asphalt on the south side. No one wanted to walk to it so they came in their cars and then promptly left.

Meanwhile, Buddy's Amway Arena is located just across from the Church Street Historic District and steps were taken to make walking under I4 less foreboding to get there. There is no expanse of surface parking and limited garage parking to encourage patrons to walk over from downtown proper and also spend money there.

My only rebuttal to this is that Amway Center is looked upon very favorably in the "arena building" community and is often used as an example of why older buildings need renovated/replaced.  The massive entrance atrium with ample security lanes, outdoor patios, bars that are open during non-game days, advertising looking on I-4, color-changing spire, etc

[JFW657]

2 hours ago, DreS0803 said:

http://www.fox35orlando.com/news/local-news/suntrust-orlando-headquarters-moving-to-church-street-station

 

Looks like its official  New name is now Suntrust Plaza!

I wonder what the old SunTrust building will be renamed as.

[DreS0803]

Project update. Photo creds to OBJ

[codypet]

32 minutes ago, JFW657 said:

I wonder what the old SunTrust building will be renamed as.

The building formerly known as SunTrust.

[JFW657]

8 minutes ago, codypet said:

The building formerly known as SunTrust.

Or maybe they'll just give it a symbol.

[HankStrong]

You beat me to it JFW

[jrs2]

I feel like deja vu with this whole Prince reference...didn't we...?

[spenser1058]

6 hours ago, RedStar25 said:

She did accomplish somethings, but also crushed many others. 

Remember she quit the office after she promised she wouldn't, only to work for the Republicans . She also left the city in a financial disaster. 

However, I understand your bias since you worked for her. 

Just for the record, I never worked for Glenda. I did volunteer for her in the 1992 campaign when she was Mayor Bill's heir apparent, but that was just holding signs and knocking on doors as a precinct captain.

1 hour ago, AndyPok1 said:

My only rebuttal to this is that Amway Center is looked upon very favorably in the "arena building" community and is often used as an example of why older buildings need renovated/replaced.  The massive entrance atrium with ample security lanes, outdoor patios, bars that are open during non-game days, advertising looking on I-4, color-changing spire, etc

Are the bars popular on non-game days? That seems about as exciting as drinking at Interstate Mall or something. I confess it's something I've never done so maybe I'm missing out.

[jrs2]

24 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

Just for the record, I never worked for Glenda. I did volunteer for her in the 1992 campaign when she was Mayor Bill's heir apparent, but that was just holding signs and knocking on doors as a precinct captain.

Are the bars popular on non-game days? That seems about as exciting as drinking at Interstate Mall or something. I confess it's something I've never done so maybe I'm missing out.

Monty Cristo, I think.  Yeah, there was a ground level entrance directly to it on the east side.   I went there a few times.  

Aside from that, I've personally never heard anything positive about the O-Rena; rather, that it was undersized with box seats that were way to high.

[spenser1058]

3 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

Monty Cristo, I think.  Yeah, there was a ground level entrance directly to it on the east side.   I went there a few times.  

Aside from that, I've personally never heard anything positive about the O-Rena; rather, that it was undersized with box seats that were way to high.

The original arena was built to NBA specs. They had decided they wanted arenas small and intimate to mimic what was going on in baseball at the time at ballparks like Camden Yards. That lasted about a hot minute until owners decided it was cramping their profits. And, heck, it didn't matter since they weren't paying for most of it, the taxpayers were.

[TRENCH]

passed by it on I-4 and on ground floor and later on W South St. and lord this is gonna be a grand building...wish they made it to 30 floors tough

[AmIReal]

Having been a season ticket holder for the Magic at both arenas I can say for certain the old one did not compare favorably to the new one. Also, as regal as it may have looked sitting up high it was an ADA compliance problem.

[I am Reality]

Amway is generally-recognized as one of the most technologically-innovative stadiums in sports. It's also one of the most environmentally-friendly, having earned LEED Gold certification.

The location is more accessible and the building itself is better looking.

The old O-Rena, along with the old Miami arena, were considered extremely basic when they opened.

[JFW657]

I thought the original O-Rena was more stylish looking on the exterior and I was sad to see it go. Obviously though, it was too small, cramped and not well designed inside. I don't really like the exterior look of the new one. Looks too futuristic.

I think the reason it was so small in terms of seating capacity had to do mostly with money. I think they had the option of building it with something like 19 or 20 thousand seats, but opted for the smaller size to keep the cost in line.

[spenser1058]

That made it easier to swallow, definitely, but they would have built whatever the NBA told them to. Remember at the time, trying to snag the Magic was more important than anything else. 

The Am is fine for its amenities, but architecturally it's meh. And, just like Walmarts are designed for a life cycle of 15 years or less, don't think for a minute the DeVos' (who ran the show on what the new building would be like) didn't plan it that way so they can call this building obsolete asap, to be replaced by yet another.

A great read about the original is "Making Magic" by Pat Williams and Larry Guest, Orlando's two most famous homophobes. Last I checked, it was available through OCLS. (I also have a copy if anyone would like to borrow it.)

[IAmFloridaBorn]

Can someone explain to me why Suntrust Moving makes sense?