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Radisson Blu | Mixed Use Hotel/Res./Comm [Proposed]


Jernigan

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4 hours ago, JFW657 said:

Fun fact: I went to jr. high and high school with a girl, last name of Chastain, whose family owned Chastain's. 

True story.

I think it was her uncle who owned Chastain's while her father owned a couple of Burger Chef franchises over in Brevard County. Her father might have also had a percentage interest in Chastain's too, but it's been so long I can't remember such details.

At any rate, one of my two or three best buddies dated her for a couple of years or more. Junior and Senior years and for awhile after HS. Her and I were pretty good friends, too. I took her out on one date a few years after they broke up and she was home on leave from the Army.

The redest of red hair. 

There was a Chastain’s in Brevard for a bit but it was a different part of the family or something so that may well be who you were dating.

When the Donut Dinette At Mills/50 sold (same family that owned Herb’s at 441 and 50 with the monkey), it briefly became a Chastain’s as well.

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4 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

There was a Chastain’s in Brevard for a bit but it was a different part of the family or something so that may well be who you were dating.

When the Donut Dinette At Mills/50 sold (same family that owned Herb’s at 441 and 50 with the monkey), it briefly became a Chastain’s as well.

If that's true, which it may well be (as I said it was a looooong time ago) then the Brevard location would have been the one her dad owned and her uncle's family owned the Orlando location. Since I never ate at either of them, it's hard to remember who owned what.

And just for the record, I only took her out once. One of my best friends from jr high and hs was the one who dated her. They were engaged for awhile, actually.

Here's an article about Chastain's. The portion under "The Empire Expands" talks about her father and the Cocoa location.

http://www.chastaincentral.com/content/restaurant.html#lawrence

Edited by JFW657
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  • 4 weeks later...

Orlando's Appearance Review Board gave high marks to Conor Capital for the design of its proposed 19-story hotel-condo tower on North Magnolia Avenue.

Maybe it was the lecture from Planning Director Dean Grandin at the start of the meeting, or the design tweaks by Baker Barrios, but in either case a planned 19-story mixed-use tower sailed through Orlando's Appearance Review Committee with only minor comments.

Grandin told the ARB members they were offering too many contradictory opinions during courtesy reviews -- often on topics that were outside of their purview. Applicants were leaving with no clear direction on how to proceed.

"It gets back to this issue of personal preference over objective design review," Grandin said. "We're all looking for great architecture that will stand the test of time."

The tower's top four floors would house 40 luxury condominiums. The hotel and meeting facilities would utilize 14 floors, while the ground floor would house the restaurant and bar.

ARB Coordinator Douglas Metzger said he was happy with the preliminary designs, which had been updated to add more transparency and to relocate a stairwell. "The latest elevations are really good. There's not a lot more work that needs to be done."

Associate architect Cory Heck presented on behalf of the developer, Fort Myers-based Conor Capital, for the courtesy review. The project had been submitted as a Radisson Blu -- the first in Florida -- but now is not associated with a hotel flag. 

Vishal Patel, Conor's chief development officer, told GrowthSpotter that whatever brand the company signs, it will be an "upper, upscale" hotel with full banquet facilities.

"The hotel ballrooms are on the second floor with no view obstruction and floor-to-ceiling windows," he said. "We want to be able to host large events. The restaurant and bar will be on the ground level. We’re in talks with a few great chefs out of Miami. We want to bring something unique to Orlando."

Fort Myers-based Conor Acquisitions had filed plans with the City of Orlando for a new, 19-story mixed-use tower downtown that would be anchored by a 256-key Radisson Blu luxury hotel.

Radisson launched the "upper upscale" Blu brand in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, and has more than 300 hotels...

The tower, located at the southeast corner of N. Magnolia and Palmetto avenues, just south of the Skyhouse Orlando apartments, also would feature 40 penthouse condos and shared rooftop amenities.

Patel said the corner units would be oversized and enjoy a 280-degree view of Lake Eola and the downtown skyline. "We feel the condo market very strong," he said. "We want to create a feeling of exclusivity. The condos will be very luxurious and high end."

Conor paid $2.8 million for the .58-acre property, having acquired the final parcel last November. "We were under contract for quite some time," Patel said. "The previous owner was a great friend to us."

The extended due-diligence period allowed Conor's development team, led by S&ME, to get a jump on the site planning and cost engineering. 

"We're on track to submit for permits by mid-March, and we intend to break ground this year," Patel said.

https://www.growthspotter.com/news/hotels/gs-magnolia-hotel-design-sails-through-orlando-arb-courtesy-review-20190222-story.html

Edited by Uncommon
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Well that sucks. This design needed a bit more direction from the planning board, IMHO. 

Sounds like BB pulling some strings. 

I am glad it is going through, though. Good project for the area, adding to the potential critical mass around Livingston that is about to happen.  

Edited by dcluley98
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14 minutes ago, dcluley98 said:

Well that sucks. This design needed a bit more direction from the planning board, IMHO. 

Sounds like BB pulling some strings. 

I am glad it is going through, though. Good project for the area, adding to the potential critical mass around Livingston that is about to happen.  

The mural walls seem to be BB’s new architectural feature lately (maybe even Orlando’s).  It’s showing up both downtown (Modera, Radission) and in the attractions area (the new Universal resort). Can’t imagine that will hold up well with Orlando’s weather and will eventually be painted over.

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"Plans also call for the hotel to include 40 condos at the penthouse levels starting at about $350,000"

Interesting as first new condos in a high-rise for quite some time. Most have been rental projects in the past few years. 

From ARB Report: 

3. Architecture
A. Design Intent—ARB staff supports the development of the Magnolia Mixed-Use Hotel project. However, staff believes the project design, at this Courtesy Review level, still needs additional refinement, articulation and drama so the building design is both cohesive and distinctive. ARB staff will continue to collaborate with the development team in order to advance the building design and to help deliver a distinctive project that will enhance both the Orlando skyline and life at the street level.

B. Skyline Architecture – Additional attention needs to be paid to the skyline architecture so the building is unique and easily identifiable in the downtown skyline during the day and night.

 

One more angle: 

Pages from ARB2019-10003report_Page_1.png

Edited by dcluley98
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On 2/23/2019 at 7:50 AM, Uncommon said:

Orlando's Appearance Review Board gave high marks to Conor Capital for the design of its proposed 19-story hotel-condo tower on North Magnolia Avenue.

Maybe it was the lecture from Planning Director Dean Grandin at the start of the meeting, or the design tweaks by Baker Barrios, but in either case a planned 19-story mixed-use tower sailed through Orlando's Appearance Review Committee with only minor comments.

Grandin told the ARB members they were offering too many contradictory opinions during courtesy reviews -- often on topics that were outside of their purview. Applicants were leaving with no clear direction on how to proceed.

"It gets back to this issue of personal preference over objective design review," Grandin said. "We're all looking for great architecture that will stand the test of time."

The tower's top four floors would house 40 luxury condominiums. The hotel and meeting facilities would utilize 14 floors, while the ground floor would house the restaurant and bar.

ARB Coordinator Douglas Metzger said he was happy with the preliminary designs, which had been updated to add more transparency and to relocate a stairwell. "The latest elevations are really good. There's not a lot more work that needs to be done."

Associate architect Cory Heck presented on behalf of the developer, Fort Myers-based Conor Capital, for the courtesy review. The project had been submitted as a Radisson Blu -- the first in Florida -- but now is not associated with a hotel flag. 

Vishal Patel, Conor's chief development officer, told GrowthSpotter that whatever brand the company signs, it will be an "upper, upscale" hotel with full banquet facilities.

"The hotel ballrooms are on the second floor with no view obstruction and floor-to-ceiling windows," he said. "We want to be able to host large events. The restaurant and bar will be on the ground level. We’re in talks with a few great chefs out of Miami. We want to bring something unique to Orlando."

Fort Myers-based Conor Acquisitions had filed plans with the City of Orlando for a new, 19-story mixed-use tower downtown that would be anchored by a 256-key Radisson Blu luxury hotel.

Radisson launched the "upper upscale" Blu brand in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, and has more than 300 hotels...

The tower, located at the southeast corner of N. Magnolia and Palmetto avenues, just south of the Skyhouse Orlando apartments, also would feature 40 penthouse condos and shared rooftop amenities.

Patel said the corner units would be oversized and enjoy a 280-degree view of Lake Eola and the downtown skyline. "We feel the condo market very strong," he said. "We want to create a feeling of exclusivity. The condos will be very luxurious and high end."

Conor paid $2.8 million for the .58-acre property, having acquired the final parcel last November. "We were under contract for quite some time," Patel said. "The previous owner was a great friend to us."

The extended due-diligence period allowed Conor's development team, led by S&ME, to get a jump on the site planning and cost engineering. 

"We're on track to submit for permits by mid-March, and we intend to break ground this year," Patel said.

https://www.growthspotter.com/news/hotels/gs-magnolia-hotel-design-sails-through-orlando-arb-courtesy-review-20190222-story.html

Something bizarre is going on here.  Sidenote:  I did reach out to the city about the vacancies on the ARB about 3 months ago and the only response I got was that they're not voting on the openings yet, but maybe at the next meeting.  That's been the response every time I've inquired since December.

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On 2/23/2019 at 7:50 AM, Uncommon said:

Maybe it was the lecture from Planning Director Dean Grandin at the start of the meeting, or the design tweaks by Baker Barrios, but in either case a planned 19-story mixed-use tower sailed through Orlando's Appearance Review Committee with only minor comments.

Grandin told the ARB members they were offering too many contradictory opinions during courtesy reviews -- often on topics that were outside of their purview. Applicants were leaving with no clear direction on how to proceed.

"It gets back to this issue of personal preference over objective design review," Grandin said. "We're all looking for great architecture that will stand the test of time."

 

That kind of feedback is alarming. You'd expect board members to have set guidelines to follow to avoid turning into a peanut gallery. Just makes the board seem amateurish and it makes me wonder just exactly how many projects have been delayed due to wasted opportunity only to have agenda items rolled over to the next month with no clear direction. Wasted time = wasted money.

 

2 hours ago, codypet said:

Something bizarre is going on here.  Sidenote:  I did reach out to the city about the vacancies on the ARB about 3 months ago and the only response I got was that they're not voting on the openings yet, but maybe at the next meeting.  That's been the response every time I've inquired since December.

From the ARB's page: Members: The ARB is comprised of seven citizen members nominated by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council after a consultation with the Chair of the Downtown Development Board. At least five members of the ARB live, work, or own property within the Downtown Community Redevelopment Area.

Have you tried getting a consultation with the Chair of the DDB?

Edited by nite owℓ
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17 minutes ago, nite owℓ said:

 

That kind of feedback is alarming. You'd expect board members to have set guidelines to follow to avoid turning into a peanut gallery. Just makes the board seem amateurish and it makes me wonder just exactly how many projects have been delayed due to wasted opportunity only to have agenda items rolled over to the next month with no clear direction. Wasted time = wasted money.

 

From the ARB's page: Members: The ARB is comprised of seven citizen members nominated by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council after a consultation with the Chair of the Downtown Development Board. At least five members of the ARB live, work, or own property within the Downtown Community Redevelopment Area.

Have you tried getting a consultation with the Chair of the DDB?

I hadn't yet, since I was just being told to hold tight.  IIRC February was supposed to be the first month with the new board, so I hadn't pushed the issue yet.  I do know a number of people on the MPB and now that you mention it, I recall they did have to reach out to some people in the DDB as well.

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4 hours ago, codypet said:

Something bizarre is going on here.  Sidenote:  I did reach out to the city about the vacancies on the ARB about 3 months ago and the only response I got was that they're not voting on the openings yet, but maybe at the next meeting.  That's been the response every time I've inquired since December.

Bizzare? Like the Radisson not being associated anymore or with the review board?

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21 hours ago, nite owℓ said:

That kind of feedback is alarming. You'd expect board members to have set guidelines to follow to avoid turning into a peanut gallery. Just makes the board seem amateurish and it makes me wonder just exactly how many projects have been delayed due to wasted opportunity only to have agenda items rolled over to the next month with no clear direction. Wasted time = wasted money.

I was watching the ARB meetings and OC BZA for several months for a couple of projects I was interested in and that's exactly what I took away from it.  They didn't seem to know a lot about what was going on and seemed very focused on their personal likes/dislikes.

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24 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

Radisson is out?


Quoted in the story: "Vishal Patel, Conor's chief development officer, told GrowthSpotter that whatever brand the company signs, it will be an "upper, upscale" hotel with full banquet facilities."

Which sounds like they have not reached a final agreement with the hotel operator/flag as was previously reported to be "Radisson Blu" 

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