Kissimmee | St. Cloud | Celebration

[WAJAS]

12 hours ago, prahaboheme said:

I think these at in addition to the regular street signs intended for cars, whereas these are intended for pedestrians at sidewalk level similar to what I believe Winter Park also has on Park Ave (if I recall).

I would say these are more similar to what Coral Gables has.

[prahaboheme]

Kissimmee dedicated phase 4 of the lakefront redevelopment this past week. This is the final phase of the 30 million dollar investment in the complete overhaul of the Lake Toho waterfront.

Not shy to say that it’s the best redevelopment project in Central FL within the last decade. 

Whats more: it was designed as a catalyst for the future (notably its connections to Neocity).

It should be checked out if you haven’t already. 

[spenser1058]

7 minutes ago, prahaboheme said:

Kissimmee dedicated phase 4 of the lakefront redevelopment this past week. This is the final phase of the 30 million dollar investment in the complete overhaul of the Lake Toho waterfront.

Not shy to say that it’s the best redevelopment project in Central FL within the last decade. 

Whats more: it was designed as a catalyst for the future (notably its connections to Neocity).

It should be checked out if you haven’t already. 

But is it better than Gatorland?

[spenser1058]

A holiday present just for prahaboheme from The Jaxson:

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/a-walk-through-urban-kissimmee/

[AmIReal]

Let's check in on Celebration How are things in that lovely slice of Utopia...?

Celebration, Florida: How Disney’s ‘Community of Tomorrow’ Became a Total Nightmare

In 2004, Disney sold the downtown of utopian Celebration, Florida, to a private equity firm. Residents say it took their money and let the city rot around them.

Long story, short. Disney sells Town Center to PE firm in '04 for $22M. PE firm leverages asset for roughly $40M and no one knows where the $26k monthly in HOA fees has gone.

Lawsuits filed, first appearance in Jan, trial set for Nov.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/celebration-florida-how-disneys-community-of-tomorrow-became-a-total-nightmare?ref=home

 

[prahaboheme]

1 hour ago, AmIReal said:

Let's check in on Celebration How are things in that lovely slice of Utopia...?

Celebration, Florida: How Disney’s ‘Community of Tomorrow’ Became a Total Nightmare

In 2004, Disney sold the downtown of utopian Celebration, Florida, to a private equity firm. Residents say it took their money and let the city rot around them.

Long story, short. Disney sells Town Center to PE firm in '04 for $22M. PE firm leverages asset for roughly $40M and no one knows where the $26k monthly in HOA fees has gone.

Lawsuits filed, first appearance in Jan, trial set for Nov.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/celebration-florida-how-disneys-community-of-tomorrow-became-a-total-nightmare?ref=home

 

So the point of the article (while never actually stating it) is that over the span of 25 years Celebration grown into a real city with real world problems.  Shocking.

[spenser1058]

7 minutes ago, prahaboheme said:

So the point of the article (while never actually stating it) is that over the span of 25 years Celebration grown into a real city with real world problems.  Shocking.

Truth be told, I never understood ersatz towns anyway, given we had the genuine article coming back to life at the same time in places like Winter Garden, College Park and now downtown Kissimmee (Winter Park never died) that felt much less Truman Show-esque than Celebration or Baldwin Park.

To each their own.

[spenser1058]

I had not realized until reading the article above that Kissimmee had rerouted US 17-92 out of downtown. I’m thrilled to see it.

Another disaster of the road planners (there have been so many) was to plow major highways through downtowns. The ones that did ended up with “non-downtowns” like Apopka that no one wanted to spend much time in because of all the traffic.

Places like Winter Garden and Winter Park whose downtowns were bypassed by the multi-lane highways were able to endure (WP, thanks to Rollins) or be rediscovered as lost treasures (WG) years later.

(Delightful!) DeLand seemed to have figured out an alternative by keeping Woodland Ave. (US 17-92) on a road diet through downtown. They also had a captive audience thanks to Stetson students.

Anyway, kudos to Kissimmee and Osceola for being one of the more creative outposts in urban planning hereabouts.

Edited December 27, 2019 by spenser1058

[prahaboheme]

25 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

I had not realized until reading the article above that Kissimmee had rerouted US 17-92 out of downtown. I’m thrilled to see it.

Another disaster of the road planners (there have been so many) was to plow major highways through downtowns. The ones that did ended up with “non-downtowns” like Apopka that no one wanted to spend much time in because of all the traffic.

Places like Winter Garden and Winter Park whose downtowns were bypassed by the multi-lane highways were able to endure (WP, thanks to Rollins) or be rediscovered as lost treasures (WG) years later.

(Delightful!) DeLand seemed to have figured out an alternative by keeping Woodland Ave. (US 17-92) on a road diet through downtown. They also had a captive audience thanks to Stetson students.

Anyway, kudos to Kissimmee and Osceola for being one of the more creative outposts in urban planning hereabouts.

The game changer for downtown Kissimmee and the lakefront will be the multiuse complex on the old Plant factory site fronting the lakefront park. This will extend the geographic footprint of downtown Kissimmee right to the lakefront. Groundbreaking set for Q1 2020.

And if LG does indeed setup in Neocity, I anticipate that further investment in DTK will come.  

[codypet]

It wouldn't take much to have a shuttle service to Neocity from DT Kissimmee either.  From there the Sunrail station could ferry people everywhere else.

Edited December 28, 2019 by codypet

[prahaboheme]

23 hours ago, codypet said:

It wouldn't take much to have a shuttle service to Neocity from DT Kissimmee either.  From there the Sunrail station could ferry people everywhere else.

The Kissimmee Connector shuttle service will likely be extended to Neocity once there is enough activity to warrant expansion. Hopefully it also expands past Neocity to Osceola Heritage Park and VCC just across 192.

[spenser1058]

LG (a South Korean electronics maker) is said to be a “go” for its $800 million Smart City project:

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-bz-lg-smart-city-osceola-county-20200210-llhtcl5bzrfdxjgp767yw2w6lq-story.html

From the Sentinel 

[prahaboheme]

22 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

LG (a South Korean electronics maker) is said to be a “go” for its $800 million Smart City project:

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-bz-lg-smart-city-osceola-county-20200210-llhtcl5bzrfdxjgp767yw2w6lq-story.html

From the Sentinel 

Really great to see the vision for Neocity coming together. 

[spenser1058]

Ya got trouble, my friend. Trouble right here in NeoCity! UCF seeks to cut ties with BRIDG:

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/education/os-ne-ucf-bridg-20200220-v2gjn4rjf5btbjgglprzniycqu-story.html

From the Sentinel 

https://youtu.be/LI_Oe-jtgdI

 

Edited February 21, 2020 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

City Beautiful looks at what New Urbanism is, when it works, when it doesn’t and why. It also shows why Disney largely succeeded with Celebration while many other projects fall short of the idea’s goals.

https://youtu.be/sOaXfc9MuKc

 

[spenser1058]

I haven’t been down this stretch of US 192 in years ( apparently, neither has anyone else) and I admit some surprise it hasn’t filled up with standard suburban sprawl like the stretch from the Turnpike to St. Cloud.

US 192 was poorly conceived from the beginning and it seems to have some distance to go before it becomes something to be proud of. 

https://youtu.be/b-3uwwAvfKo

A but of trivia: unlike many of our other US highways, most of which were designated decades before, US 192 did not come to exist until Disney arrived.

All major roads maintained by FDOT have a state road designation (I4, for example, is actually FL 400). Prior to the late ‘60’s, US 192 was simply known as FL 530 and it’s original junction with I4 was much less grandiose than today’s version.

 

Edited March 29, 2020 by spenser1058

[prahaboheme]

One of the reasons it may not be attracting typical suburban sprawl is because Osceola enacted a growth plan for this stretch that prevents it. It may not be attractive to potential developers who would just come in an build more sprawl for a quick buck.

In the long-term, I think this is the right move.

[spenser1058]

13 minutes ago, prahaboheme said:

One of the reasons it may not be attracting typical suburban sprawl is because Osceola enacted a growth plan for this stretch that prevents it. It may not be attractive to potential developers who would just come in an build more sprawl for a quick buck.

In the long-term, I think this is the right move.

I wondered why so much of it seemed to be just lying fallow, like people just walked away from it. Kudos to Osceola for attempting to do the right thing even if the developers refuse to go along.

Do we know if incentives are being offered?

Edited March 29, 2020 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

Gov. DeSantis vetoes $10 million for BRIDG tech center:

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-bz-bridg-money-vetoed-20200702-qpj7f4onavhg3ofspxgvqlsu2q-story.html

From the Sentinel 

 

[spenser1058]

Both AdventHealth and Orlando Health have opened new facilities in Osceola:

https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2020/07/30/adventhealth-orlando-health-open-new-osceola.html
 

From OBJ (paywall)

[prahaboheme]

Osceola County has purchased 175 acres on the eastern shore of Lake Toho for conservation and recreational purposes. This is just south of the recently completed Brownie Wise Park atTupperware Island and will have direct connections.
This will solidify that lake and park access around Lake Toho will be enjoyed for generations to come. This is in addition to the Shingle Creek Regional trail on the western shore of Lake Toho, which will extend to the recently renovated Kissimmee Lakefront Park.

https://www.aroundosceola.com/news/county-purchase-protects-land-conservation-recreation

Edited August 11, 2020 by prahaboheme

[spenser1058]

A possible replacement for UCF at NeoCity:

https://www.positivelyosceola.com/osceola-county-negotiating-with-possible-ucf-replacement-in-neocity/
 

From Positively Osceola

They just aren’t going to tell us who yet...

[prahaboheme]

4 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

A possible replacement for UCF at NeoCity:

https://www.positivelyosceola.com/osceola-county-negotiating-with-possible-ucf-replacement-in-neocity/
 

From Positively Osceola

They just aren’t going to tell us who yet...

If they are seeking a nonprofit, it must be a non-state funded entity given that the Republicans in Tallahassee gutted the funding for UCF and Neocity this year and UCF was eager to run away.

[prahaboheme]

https://www.growthspotter.com/news/osceola-county-developments/gs-news-beaumont-rfq-20201022-bt4qgtxzbvfprmletgzn6oqtd4-story.html

Mixed-use development proposed for the former Beaumont site in downtown Kissimmee.

[prahaboheme]

More information on what Kissimmee has planned for the former Beaumont site in downtown Kissimmee:

- Entering into deal with NY-based developer SkyView to extend the existing street grid by 10 blocks (23 acres total)

- 5 year build out planned

- Mixed-use with townhomes planned closed to extending residential properties

- Higher density moving toward Osceola Regional with office, hotel, and retail / residential uses

- Possible food hall and farmers market

- Public uses including a new park

More at growthspotter behind the firewall:  https://www.growthspotter.com/news/osceola-county-developments/gs-news-skyview-beaumont-20201104-oenxgslhtzdnre2apmbye5r6ki-story.html