Vertical Medical City | 40-Story Medical High Rise [Proposed]

[jrs2]

16 hours ago, Uncommon said:

They keep calling this “downtown” but is it? All the way up on Orange is still considered downtown? I really wish it were closer to the CBD. It’s gonna look a little weird being that far away from other tall buildings.

I think if you are driving in from Lake Mary, this is downtown.  It's not the CBD, but it's downtown. 

That being said, this goes back to a point I had made on another thread about downtown Orlando being "stretched" out compared to places like Tampa and Jax, where their downtowns' blocks are tighter and have traffic signals at almost every intersection of those grids.  Orlando's blocks are not tight.  For example, Wall Street has a break.  Washington to Robinson is a big block along Rosalind.  So many other examples.   SR 50 to Park Lake is another big block.  Magnolia to Orange north of SR 50 is yet another example. it's ridiculous. 

You have these giant low rise spread out buildings dictated by their respective parcel sizes.  As a result, you have the misconception that, say VMC would only be 6-7 blocks from The Plaza because there are only 6-7 lights in between, but if this were Tampa, that would be more like 12-15 blocks/with traffic signals and the distance would be magnified based on the hassle factor of driving through so many intersections.   I think The Sentinel property is also partly to blame. 

The result is that people "feel" like the North Quarter is part of downtown when it's relative distance from the CBD is farther than we perceive it to actually be.

This is also seen throughout the metro ala the lack of more major thoroughfares because of so many lakes.  Fairbanks to Lee Rd is without another E-W road to get to I-4.  Unheard of in most every other city.  Lee Rd. to Lake Ave?  It really is ridiculous.  We are subsequently conditioned to think Orlando is not that big in that we drive these super long distances and when you count the actual intersections, they are very few, compared to some of these other more urban cities.  Throw Miami into the mix.

People say they don't wider roads and/or highways, but, we unfortunately have LESS roads because of the geography.  Something's gotta give.  So, these fewer roads are handling more traffic.

[JFW657]

Just another way in which we are unique!!!! 

[jrs2]

16 hours ago, JFW657 said:

Just another way in which we are unique!!!! 

isn't Minneapolis (or some place like that) kinda like Orlando ala lakes?

[spenser1058]

20 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

isn't Minneapolis (or some place like that) kinda like Orlando ala lakes?

Which is why LA's basketball team is called the Lakers - it started in Minneapolis (The Land of 10000 Lakes)

[JFW657]

38 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

isn't Minneapolis (or some place like that) kinda like Orlando ala lakes?

I know their downtown area is all interconnected via enclosed, climate controlled, elevated walkways.

Something we Orlandoans would appreciate during the summer.

[JFW657]

20 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

Which is why LA's basketball team is called the Lakers - it started in Minneapolis (The Land of 10000 Lakes)

Almost as ill suited a name as the Utah Jazz, which started out in New Orleans.

But I guess the names LA Arid Desert and Utah Mormon Hymns just didn't have the same ring to them.

[HankStrong]

LA Movie Stars instead of the LA Trolley Dodgers via Brooklyn.

[JFW657]

LA Celebrity Phony-Baloneys? 

[MichaelRizzo]

On 6/18/2019 at 7:53 PM, Uncommon said:

They keep calling this “downtown” but is it? All the way up on Orange is still considered downtown? I really wish it were closer to the CBD. It’s gonna look a little weird being that far away from other tall buildings.

Totally downtown! On a regional scale, (in my mind at least) downtown currently extends from Orlando Health to Advent Health.  Maybe that's a little visionary, but it's really not very hard to imagine.  And it's already filling in right before our eyes.  Welcome to the future, VMC or not. 

[smileguy]

2 hours ago, MichaelRizzo said:

Totally downtown! On a regional scale, (in my mind at least) downtown currently extends from Orlando Health to Advent Health.  Maybe that's a little visionary, but it's really not very hard to imagine.  And it's already filling in right before our eyes.  Welcome to the future, VMC or not. 

I think additional development between Lake Lucerne and Michigan along the Division Ave (someone please change the name soon!) corridor will cement this. 

[spenser1058]

4 minutes ago, smileguy said:

I think additional development between Lake Lucerne and Michigan along the Division Ave (someone please change the name soon!) corridor will cement this. 

The last time they revisited the name, supposedly Graybar Electric (at Division and Michigan) objected because the new name selected, Hughes Avenue, was in honor of their competitors who started Hughes Supply.

That objection no longer holds much weight since Hughes Supply is no more.

I’m more sympathetic to the idea that Hughes sounds too much like Hughey, the road that runs parallel to it from Colonial Drive to South St.

There was also grumbling by those who complained changing letterheads and stuff was too complex for their feeble minds.

They already did that when it was changed from Division Street in the ‘70’s in Carl Langford’s ill-fated halfway measure to go from street names to numbered streets.

In any event, the fallback position, just delete “D” and “I” from the name and call it “Vision Avenue” would reduce the angst from that problem.

As you’ll note, Hughes Supply still existed the last time this was discussed and they’re long gone. I wonder why Buddy and the crew under the Dome are so resistant to try again? It boggles.

 

 

 

[Xander]

21 minutes ago, smileguy said:

I think additional development between Lake Lucerne and Michigan along the Division Ave (someone please change the name soon!) corridor will cement this. 

I don't think the name should ever be changed, honestly. I think it's important for people to know the name, and WHY it's named Division Avenue. 

[spenser1058]

4 minutes ago, Xander said:

I don't think the name should ever be changed, honestly. I think it's important for people to know the name, and WHY it's named Division Avenue. 

I think we change it to show progress and do a plaque prominently placed (say, at the corner where the Am is) to explain the history.

Heaven knows it’s timely, given we just did the July Perry memorial by the old courthouse.

Edited June 24, 2019 by spenser1058

[Xander]

1 minute ago, spenser1058 said:

I think we change it to show progress and do a plaque prominently placed (say, at the corner where the Am is) to explain the history.

I'd be alright with that, as long as there is a clear marker indicating it's history. Though an ugly part of our past, it's a part of our past. Once the park under I-4 opens, maybe rename it "Progress Avenue".

[dcluley98]

Sentinel article on VMC and the other proposed DT projects today:  https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/orange-county/os-ne-orlando-highrises-coming-20190712-tycb6x2gz5grzpx37p6hfwiseu-story.html

Downtown Orlando could be going up, as towering Vertical Medical City moves forward in North Quarter

Downtown Orlando could be growing up.

On about 2.5 acres in the North Quarter, what could be Orlando’s tallest high rise passed a crucial threshold this week, gaining approval from the city council of its site plan and preliminary designs, paving the way for more detailed construction plans to begin.

Called Vertical Medical City, plans show a 444-foot structure — three feet taller than downtown’s current tallest, the SunTrust Center — on Orange Avenue two blocks north of Colonial Drive overlooking Interstate 4. The $1-plus billion project would form the northern gateway into downtown, and would have medical offices, assisted-living and research offices, encompassing two buildings.

[Developer Tabitha Pointe] said they already have financing in place, in hopes of opening at some point in 2023.

Edited July 12, 2019 by dcluley98

[HankStrong]

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh

[jrs2]

1 hour ago, dcluley98 said:

Sentinel article on VMC and the other proposed DT projects today:  https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/orange-county/os-ne-orlando-highrises-coming-20190712-tycb6x2gz5grzpx37p6hfwiseu-story.html

Downtown Orlando could be going up, as towering Vertical Medical City moves forward in North Quarter

Downtown Orlando could be growing up.

On about 2.5 acres in the North Quarter, what could be Orlando’s tallest high rise passed a crucial threshold this week, gaining approval from the city council of its site plan and preliminary designs, paving the way for more detailed construction plans to begin.

Called Vertical Medical City, plans show a 444-foot structure — three feet taller than downtown’s current tallest, the SunTrust Center — on Orange Avenue two blocks north of Colonial Drive overlooking Interstate 4. The $1-plus billion project would form the northern gateway into downtown, and would have medical offices, assisted-living and research offices, encompassing two buildings.

[Developer Tabitha Pointe] said they already have financing in place, in hopes of opening at some point in 2023.

well, if they have financing, then that's more than the Mango's people have for Skyplex.  That is surprising.  Is there any indication about who their major tenants will or might be?  

[HankStrong]

Old people.

[spenser1058]

11 minutes ago, HankStrong said:

Old people.

Old people who can’t wait to live out their lives jammed in between major highways- how idyllic!

[JFW657]

3 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Old people who can’t wait to live out their lives jammed in between major highways- how idyllic!

If that place turns out to be anything close to what the renderings depict, I wouldn't mind spending my last couple of years or so ensconced there myself. On the upper floors the traffic noise would not be an issue, so it would be quiet. Nice views, close proximity to Lake Ivanhoe for outings in the park. I'm guessing that down around the ground floor there will be landscaped gardens with fountains and nice dining areas, etc, etc. Probably look like a Disney resort hotel.

Where do I make reservations????? 

[spenser1058]

40 minutes ago, JFW657 said:

If that place turns out to be anything close to what the renderings depict, I wouldn't mind spending my last couple of years or so ensconced there myself. On the upper floors the traffic noise would not be an issue, so it would be quiet. Nice views, close proximity to Lake Ivanhoe for outings in the park. I'm guessing that down around the ground floor there will be landscaped gardens with fountains and nice dining areas, etc, etc. Probably look like a Disney resort hotel.

Where do I make reservations????? 

“I love strolling along multi lane highways!” said no one ever. There’s a reason folks have always preferred to walk along the Central Blvd side of Eola instead of the Robinson St. side.

But, to each their own, so I say go for it.

The other thing that’s curious to me is that the clustering effect is everything. It’s why cities are successful. 

In none of the things she is proposing (agricultural research, medical facilities, etc.) is there even the slightest hint of others wanting to do the same thing.

Compare that with the extensive discussions of clustering before anything ever got built at Lake Nona. The whole thing has just been odd from day one. 

Nevertheless, I keep waiting to be proved wrong but the date keeps being pushed back. Now we’re up to 2023. I just don’t get it at all.

[JFW657]

11 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

“I love strolling along multi lane highways!” said no one ever. There’s a reason folks have always preferred to walk along the Central Blvd side of Eola instead of the Robinson St. side.

But, to each their own, so I say go for it.

The other thing that’s curious to me is that the clustering effect is everything. It’s why cities are successful. 

In none of the things she is proposing (agricultural research, medical facilities, etc.) is there even the slightest hint of others wanting to do the same thing.

Compare that with the extensive discussions of clustering before anything ever got built at Lake Nona. The whole thing has just been odd from day one. 

Nevertheless, I keep waiting to be proved wrong but the date keeps being pushed back. Now we’re up to 2023. I just don’t get it at all.

Well, speaking strictly in terms of the elder care/nursing home facility, residents of those places don't tend to go outside and stroll along any public thoroughfares, as they tend to be confined to wheelchairs or use those aluminum walker things with the tennis balls on the front legs. Some of the better places probably do supervised outings where aides load a group into a van and take them somewhere like a park. Nearby Lake Ivanhoe for example.

But overall, regardless of its proximity to I-4 and North Orange Ave, I think the inside of the place and the grounds of the property immediately surrounding the building are the most important things to consider. 

[RedStar25]

19 hours ago, JFW657 said:

Well, speaking strictly in terms of the elder care/nursing home facility, residents of those places don't tend to go outside and stroll along any public thoroughfares, as they tend to be confined to wheelchairs or use those aluminum walker things with the tennis balls on the front legs. Some of the better places probably do supervised outings where aides load a group into a van and take them somewhere like a park. Nearby Lake Ivanhoe for example.

This is a rather gross assumption.  My mother and "uncle"  are currently in two of these types of facilities and many of the residents are encouraged to roam about and get out. It all depends on the nature of their condition.  

Lutheran Towers has a tiered system of care, as does Westminster.  

[nite owℓ]

43 minutes ago, RedStar25 said:

This is a rather gross assumption.  My mother and "uncle"  are currently in two of these types of facilities and many of the residents are encouraged to roam about and get out. It all depends on the nature of their condition.  

Lutheran Towers has a tiered system of care, as does Westminster.  

True. Most facilities consist of 2 categories: Independent Living or Assisted Living, with the latter costing significantly more to cover the expense of RN care etc. In some cases, I've seen people (with dementia or other diseases who have no business taking care of themselves) squeak away with Independent Living in order to save money. Kinda sad. Each "resident" will have orders that specify the extent of their activities; either limiting them to on-site only or allowing them to have off-site access to go shopping, etc.

[JFW657]

3 hours ago, RedStar25 said:

This is a rather gross assumption.  My mother and "uncle"  are currently in two of these types of facilities and many of the residents are encouraged to roam about and get out. It all depends on the nature of their condition.  

Lutheran Towers has a tiered system of care, as does Westminster.  

Whatever. I wasn't looking to get into a big to-do over it as it's not a big deal anyway. My mom spent her last six months in a nursing home and yes, a very small few went off property, but almost always under supervision. The vast majority of them, like my mom, were confined to wheel chairs and couldn't get out or go for walks anyhow.

Either way, I just don't see the location of VMC to be so awful or a walk along the sidewalks of North Quarter or Lake Ivanhoe to be so unpleasant.