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

[nite owℓ]

This development checked off a lot of boxes:

• 28-story office & hotel tower
• ENERGY STAR certified
• 10,000± SF meeting space
• Club / amenity floors
• 200,000± SF office space and 180± hotel rooms
• 9 parking levels with 600± parking spaces
• 7,000± SF Ground floor retail

It's a jam-packed, mixed-use development on a tight rectangle lot... so yeah, it's going to be a bit wide. Not too long ago we were lamenting the lack of meeting space and contiguous office space in the CBD and now we're getting all of that and more lol. Not to mention, we're getting it in a $100 million dollar building (with a new Sunrail platform) on what was once a parking lot on one of the most undesirable lots surrounded by traintracks, ugly parking garages, fugly I4 with it's rural-looking berms , unkempt retention pond and withering palm trees and yet people have the gall to whine about it looking like a fat building LMAO. Bunch of ingrates. If anything, I'm shocked (but very thankful) that Lincoln decided to sink that kind of money into the armpit of downtown Orlando.

[JFW657]

39 minutes ago, nite owℓ said:

This development checked off a lot of boxes:

It's a jam-packed, mixed-use development on a tight rectangle lot... 

It's... Tarzan, Mandrake, Flash Gordon... Bill Shakespeare... Cain, Ulysses, the Flying Dutchman... Lot in Sodom, Deirdre of the Sorrows, Sweeney in the nightingales among trees... miracle ingredient Z-247... immense.... a real slam-bang, honest-to-goodness, three-fisted humdinger...

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/799237-as-far-back-as-yossarian-could-recall-he-explained-to

[JFW657]

2 hours ago, smileguy said:

What brings me back to this building over and over is - from the East, specifically, the different materials really break it up and make it feel like a number of different buildings at quick glance as its screened by other buildings from different angles and vistas.  Viewed from the West, it doesn't have the visual advantage of being mostly screened from view.

I have said basically the same thing. The way they designed the north and south facing facades and varied the materials, at first glance, it sort of fools the eye and almost looks like two buildings connected to each other.

Proportionally, it looks a bit odd, but the exterior materials give it a very interesting and unique appearance.

One thing's for certain... in years to come, when it's pictured somewhere, everyone will immediately know they're looking at downtown Orlando.

[prahaboheme]

4 hours ago, dcluley98 said:

It is quite interesting to me to see the polarization of opinion in this building's particular design. While I am not a fan of the overall proportion of the building vis-à-vis height vs. width and the "pedestal" height vs. the top portion, I think that the variation of materials and style is quite bold. 

Everybody on here always complains about "boring" boxy architecture with lazy details and stupid visor "features" and then something completely different comes along and all of a sudden "OMG, IT IS HIDEOUS BURN IT WITH FIRE, BURN IT NOW BEFORE IT SPREADS!" 

This is not the best architecture in the world, but it is decidedly different than the boring re-hashed stuff we normally get.  Might I note that often contemporary architecture that breaks from the norm is disparaged at the time, but revered later on.  Note recent postings on the Orlando Public Library Brutalist masterpiece. 

Not saying this is a "masterpiece" by any means, but at least it is different and doesn't look like Modera or similar. 

It’s really just quite ugly. I think we can all admit it. This is no brutalist masterpiece (brutalist was a movement - not sure how we can even think about this building in the context of the public library).

Edited June 4, 2019 by prahaboheme

[dcluley98]

Well, no, we "all" can't quite admit it,  as if an artistic opinion is an admission of something. 

The collective people have disparate opinions that disagree. The majority may hate it, but that is not the population or "all" by any means. 
 
Only time will tell if it is ugly or beautiful in its own way.  

You have your opinion; I have mine.  

We can disagree, but there is no basis to say "It is ugly and we can all admit it." 


 

[IAmFloridaBorn]

13 minutes ago, prahaboheme said:

It’s really just quite ugly. I think we can all admit it. This is no brutalist masterpiece.

Well, every great downtown has a little bit of ugly. 

[prahaboheme]

I guess I’m just not in the “pre-cast concrete as art” phenomenon. To each her own.

[dcluley98]

And I respect that a lot of people do not like it.

That's fine. 

It is not an argument to be had with the people holding opposing views, just a matter of personal opinion. 

I kinda like it. It is funky and different. It is not a box. It has interesting textures and patterns and variations.  

It is prominent and memorable. . .  Even if overbearing or displeasing to many, at first. 

Edited June 4, 2019 by dcluley98

[prahaboheme]

Let’s be clear though that having an opinion about this building continues to elicit the response that it’s better than a parking lot because of x-y-z. 

I am quite thrilled to see another lot downtown developed. I also don’t feel the need to defend value engineered crap. 

[Jvest55]

10 hours ago, nite owℓ said:

This development checked off a lot of boxes:

• 28-story office & hotel tower
• ENERGY STAR certified
• 10,000± SF meeting space
• Club / amenity floors
• 200,000± SF office space and 180± hotel rooms
• 9 parking levels with 600± parking spaces
• 7,000± SF Ground floor retail

It's a jam-packed, mixed-use development on a tight rectangle lot... so yeah, it's going to be a bit wide. Not too long ago we were lamenting the lack of meeting space and contiguous office space in the CBD and now we're getting all of that and more lol. Not to mention, we're getting it in a $100 million dollar building (with a new Sunrail platform) on what was once a parking lot on one of the most undesirable lots surrounded by traintracks, ugly parking garages, fugly I4 with it's rural-looking berms , unkempt retention pond and withering palm trees and yet people have the gall to whine about it looking like a fat building LMAO. Bunch of ingrates. If anything, I'm shocked (but very thankful) that Lincoln decided to sink that kind of money into the armpit of downtown Orlando.

I call it like it is. Nothing about being an ingrate, and everything about being brutally honest. 

8 hours ago, prahaboheme said:

Let’s be clear though that having an opinion about this building continues to elicit the response that it’s better than a parking lot because of x-y-z. 

I am quite thrilled to see another lot downtown developed. I also don’t feel the need to defend value engineered crap. 

bingo

Edited June 4, 2019 by Jvest55

[jrs2]

9 hours ago, prahaboheme said:

It’s really just quite ugly. I think we can all admit it. This is no brutalist masterpiece (brutalist was a movement - not sure how we can even think about this building in the context of the public library).

this kind of reminds me of the BCBS building off Randolph in Chicago before they went back and doubled it's height.  They built that one in 2 phases.  

I agree about lauding Lincoln per Night Owl, I do.  It ends up being "ugly" I think after the promise of it being awesome as you approach from South St ala Amway fades as you turn the corner on Garland or view it from the tracks.  The piano keys...I just dunno about that as a design choice...  they kinda look ok from the aerial shots I took from Citrus Center, but, they somehow just don't translate well from other perspectives...

In the end I am happy it's there versus an empty lot. 

[IAmFloridaBorn]

I hope you guys enjoyed the photos. 

Looking like last that will be from me. (Hope I'm wrong) 

[prahaboheme]

4 hours ago, jrs2 said:

this kind of reminds me of the BCBS building off Randolph in Chicago before they went back and doubled it's height.  They built that one in 2 phases.  

I agree about lauding Lincoln per Night Owl, I do.  It ends up being "ugly" I think after the promise of it being awesome as you approach from South St ala Amway fades as you turn the corner on Garland or view it from the tracks.  The piano keys...I just dunno about that as a design choice...  they kinda look ok from the aerial shots I took from Citrus Center, but, they somehow just don't translate well from other perspectives...

In the end I am happy it's there versus an empty lot. 

The difference I see between Chicago and Orlando is that Chicago has the building density to have ugly buildings that don’t significantly alter its skyline. In Orlando, even mid-rise buildings such as this change the overall composition of the skyline. IMO, Orlando’s best skyline shot is coming in from I-4 east with the Suntrust cluster. This certainly changes all that.

[spenser1058]

19 minutes ago, prahaboheme said:

The difference I see between Chicago and Orlando is that Chicago has the building density to have ugly buildings that don’t significantly alter its skyline. In Orlando, even mid-rise buildings such as this change the overall composition of the skyline. IMO, Orlando’s best skyline shot is coming in from I-4 east with the Suntrust cluster. This certainly changes all that.

Maybe we’ll just take a page from our largest employer. We’ll put giant scrims along I4 with pics of what we WISH downtown looked like.

Heck, if Putin’s trying to take over the country anyway, we can embrace the concept with America’s biggest Potemkin Village!

[jrs2]

1 hour ago, prahaboheme said:

The difference I see between Chicago and Orlando is that Chicago has the building density to have ugly buildings that don’t significantly alter its skyline. In Orlando, even mid-rise buildings such as this change the overall composition of the skyline. IMO, Orlando’s best skyline shot is coming in from I-4 east with the Suntrust cluster. This certainly changes all that.

agreed

53 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

Maybe we’ll just take a page from our largest employer. We’ll put giant scrims along I4 with pics of what we WISH downtown looked like.

Heck, if Putin’s trying to take over the country anyway, we can embrace the concept with America’s biggest Potemkin Village!

The US...owned by the Chinese; run by the Russian mafia.   what a melting pot it is...

[prahaboheme]

10 hours ago, IAmFloridaBorn said:

I hope you guys enjoyed the photos. 

Looking like last that will be from me. (Hope I'm wrong) 

Hopefully not - you’ve helped to keep me updated on what’s current.

[IAmFloridaBorn]

Sent from my LYA-L29 using Tapatalk
 

Edited June 5, 2019 by IAmFloridaBorn

[TRENCH]

i usually talk crap about design/architecture of buildings in here but this one is actually nice, its just missing 5 floors on the upper section to look more proportionate as some have said. either that or the base where the concrete part is needed to be 2 floors lower so the skinnier side would look longer 

[JFW657]

2 hours ago, W7edwin said:

i usually talk crap about design/architecture of buildings in here but this one is actually nice, its just missing 5 floors on the upper section to look more proportionate as some have said. either that or the base where the concrete part is needed to be 2 floors lower so the skinnier side would look longer 

The thing about this particular building is that it's got so much "stuff going on" in terms of the sheer variety of exterior materials, it's really difficult to say until after it's finished and we've had awhile to get used to seeing it there, whether or not it's going to be a worthwhile addition to our downtown architecture.

[popsiclebrandon]

I'm actually surprised people hate it. I like it a lot. Its better than almost every other downtown building.

[JFW657]

33 minutes ago, popsiclebrandon said:

I'm actually surprised people hate it. I like it a lot. Its better than almost every other downtown building.

In certain ways it definitely is. Finish materials, and various exterior details, etc.

I think what people don't like about it is it's overall proportions. Kinda boxy looking, depending on the angle of view.

[Uncommon]

37 minutes ago, popsiclebrandon said:

I'm actually surprised people hate it. I like it a lot. Its better than almost every other downtown building.

Far be it from me to dump on any person’s opinion, but you think this building is better-looking than The Vue?? Or Sun Trust building? Every other building is forgettable.

[dcluley98]

The Vue? 

 

? 

[spenser1058]

5 minutes ago, dcluley98 said:

The Vue? 

 

? 

Orlando’s second tallest at 426’ (Rosalind and Robinson).

The architecture is not groundbreaking but I agree it’s not a bad looking building at all.

[JFW657]

For my money, they have yet to best Orlando's original "signature tower"....