200 S Orange Conversion to MF

[codypet]

22 minutes ago, Jerry95 said:

Wow, is that your primary automobile, or do you use it for leisure purposes only?

It's 50/50.  I use it for deliveries and pickups.  It was lopsided into that car's favor 70/30 just before Covid.  Its just so damn easy to keep running.

[JFW657]

1 hour ago, codypet said:

As the owner of a 40 year old car, don't be so sure.

I have a 37 year old Nissan 720 pickup sitting in my driveway rusting out, that my dad bought brand new in 1983, . 

It's not running right now, but that's not because of any major mechanical issues.

I could put a couple of hundred dollars or so into it and it would run quite nicely.

I was still driving in in 2016.

Because it has so many body issues, I'll probably end up selling it to a junkyard who'll part it out and make several times what they pay me for it.

Hate to do it, but I need my driveway back.

I'm going to keep a bunch of the small, hard to find interior and trim pieces and try to sell them online.

[dcluley98]

42 minutes ago, JFW657 said:

I have a 37 year old Nissan 720 pickup sitting in my driveway rusting out, that my dad bought brand new in 1983, . 

I always wanted one of those old 1980's Nissan/Datsun trucks. I knew a friend who had one in the late 90's with 300k miles on it. . . . That truck is probably still running somewhere, lol. 

[JFW657]

10 minutes ago, dcluley98 said:

I always wanted one of those old 1980's Nissan/Datsun trucks. I knew a friend who had one in the late 90's with 300k miles on it. . . . That truck is probably still running somewhere, lol. 

If I had "money to burn" kind of money, I'd take it to a really good restoration shop and get the body fixed back up again. The motor and transmission still run great because the truck only has around 130k ORIGINAL miles on it.

I imagine if I put about $5k into it, I could probably have a really nice truck again.

But then I'd have to pay separate insurance on it, even if it was just a liability-only policy. Insurance companies won't write one liability-only policy for multiple vehicles even if there's only one driver who can only operate one of them at a time.

[jgardnerucf]

4 hours ago, codypet said:

As the owner of a 40 year old car, don't be so sure.

Is this the 'ol Chrysler minivan from 10 years ago forum conversation?    Post a pic. Lol

[spenser1058]

7 minutes ago, jgardnerucf said:

Is this the 'ol Chrysler minivan from 10 years ago forum conversation?    Post a pic. Lol

Is @codypet Lee Iacocca’s long lost cousin? Enquiring minds want to know!

[codypet]

5 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Is @codypet Lee Iacocca’s long lost cousin? Enquiring minds want to know!

I too come from Allentown, PA.

5 hours ago, jgardnerucf said:

Is this the 'ol Chrysler minivan from 10 years ago forum conversation?    Post a pic. Lol

Ode to the side hustle.  11 can fit comfortably, this photo only has 5.  

Hauling shed parts.

A tree fell on the hood and front fender in 2013 so this thing will never be a show car.   The paint doesn't look too shabby for a 15 year old Maaco job.  I did source a new hood and fender that are in the garage in the event I go to repaint it again, but with toddler Codypet around, I doubt Mrs. Codypet would be too happy with me dropping that kind of money on a paint job.   It has some very minor surface rust in front of the drivers rear wheel well, but is completely rust free despite residing in southeast PA for 14 years and driving on the beach pretty much every year after that.  It still runs well and has cold blowing a/c.  That's about all you can ask for with something this age.   While Mrs. Codypet isn't a fan of it, she said she really can't say boo because it costs the least to maintain and operate out of our family fleet.  

Edited September 12, 2020 by codypet

[AmIReal]

I'm not sure if this has been discussed, but Piedmont is now under contract to buy 200 S. Orange. It had been under contract with Lincoln who planned to convert the building to apartments and retail. Piedmont, who owns the neighboring 30 story building opposed the Lincoln plan.  The article does not reference what happened to the Lincoln deal, but I assume it is withdrawn.

Assuming Piedmont goes through with this purchase it appears this renovation is no longer planned.

https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2020/10/14/exclusive-piedmont-to-buy-downtown-office-building.html

[prahaboheme]

Can’t say I’m surprised this fell through - this seemed like an odd conversion to residential. Retaining the office space in the core is important, IMO. Cosmetic updates would still be appreciated though.

Edited October 15, 2020 by prahaboheme

[spenser1058]

25 minutes ago, prahaboheme said:

Can’t say I’m surprised this fell through - this seemed like an odd conversion to residential. Retaining the office space in the core is important, IMO. Cosmetic updates would still be appreciated though.

It would be sort of nice to pay homage to where Orlandoans had the gumption to build what was briefly Florida’s largest bank before, in true Orlando fashion, they sold it all off to become another corporate serf.

Edited October 16, 2020 by spenser1058

[AmIReal]

1 hour ago, prahaboheme said:

Can’t say I’m surprised this fell through - this seemed like an odd conversion to residential. Retaining the office space in the core is important, IMO. Cosmetic updates would still be appreciated though.

I agree this seemed to be an odd conversion plan. I also agree I'd prefer to see more office workers in that space. I worry there may not be any plans for it any time soon.

[prahaboheme]

27 minutes ago, AmIReal said:

I agree this seemed to be an odd conversion plan. I also agree I'd prefer to see more office workers in that space. I worry there may not be any plans for it any time soon.

Is there significant office space being built in cities right now outside of unique situations that likely began pre-Covid?

I don’t think the office cultural mentality is ever going to truly return. If anything, Covid ushered in the remote working style, which was already taking off (especially in some industries where there isn’t a need for office space). It just accelerated it.

[JFW657]

I'm glad the conversion isn't happening.

That is a weird spot for a residential building. 

[Pieson]

27 minutes ago, prahaboheme said:

Is there significant office space being built in cities right now outside of unique situations that likely began pre-Covid?

I don’t think the office cultural mentality is ever going to truly return. If anything, Covid ushered in the remote working style, which was already taking off (especially in some industries where there isn’t a need for office space). It just accelerated it.

This 1000%

There has been a distinct paradigm shift in how we view the working office environment.  We are now bearing witness to the death of the American Office. I don’t think we ever return to what it was before, no so I think we really should.  
 

A Friend who works at Publix said that productively almost doubled since they started remote working. 

That being said, places like publix have too much money invested in their brick and mortar locations to abandon it, so places like that I imagine will return to the office space. 

[AmIReal]

52 minutes ago, prahaboheme said:

Is there significant office space being built in cities right now outside of unique situations that likely began pre-Covid?

I don’t think the office cultural mentality is ever going to truly return. If anything, Covid ushered in the remote working style, which was already taking off (especially in some industries where there isn’t a need for office space). It just accelerated it.

 

19 minutes ago, Pieson said:

This 1000%

There has been a distinct paradigm shift in how we view the working office environment.  We are now bearing witness to the death of the American Office. I don’t think we ever return to what it was before, no so I think we really should.  
 

A Friend who works at Publix said that productively almost doubled since they started remote working. 

That being said, places like publix have too much money invested in their brick and mortar locations to abandon it, so places like that I imagine will return to the office space. 

Maybe... I'm not yet prepared to accept groups don't want to convene, but then I'm older and likely not the right person to ask. I hate skype/ teams/ zoom/ goto/ etc.

"Downtown Orlando companies to return to the office in January 2021, experts say"...  https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2020/10/14/downtown-companies-return-orlando.html

but we could just be papering over the gaps. Orlando is typically a decade or so behind the major movement, so it may be hard to really see where were going before we hit a wall.

From my personal perspective. I feel full office buildings are ta major key to a successful downtown. 

[JFW657]

2 minutes ago, AmIReal said:

From my personal perspective. I feel full office buildings are ta major key to a successful downtown. 

Common sense.

Office workers = $ spent downtown before arriving, during lunch and after work. 

[jack]

17 hours ago, AmIReal said:

I'm not sure if this has been discussed, but Piedmont is now under contract to buy 200 S. Orange. It had been under contract with Lincoln who planned to convert the building to apartments and retail. Piedmont, who owns the neighboring 30 story building opposed the Lincoln plan.  The article does not reference what happened to the Lincoln deal, but I assume it is withdrawn.

Assuming Piedmont goes through with this purchase it appears this renovation is no longer planned.

https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2020/10/14/exclusive-piedmont-to-buy-downtown-office-building.html

It seems odd to me that Piedmont opposed it. This is (was) a good compatible use and decreased the pressure on daytime parking. 

[AndyPok1]

17 hours ago, AmIReal said:

From my personal perspective. I feel full office buildings are ta major key to a successful downtown. 

I absolutely agree with this.  But it also may be a thing of the past.  It's been all but confirmed that my role is permanently remote.

 

18 hours ago, JFW657 said:

I'm glad the conversion isn't happening.

That is a weird spot for a residential building. 

Solaire is diagonally across the street and 55 west is a few hundred yards down the block.  What's weird about it?

[JFW657]

18 minutes ago, AndyPok1 said:

Solaire is diagonally across the street and 55 west is a few hundred yards down the block.  What's weird about it?

The corner of Orange and Church is, to me, just an odd location for a residential building.

Just seems like a commercial office location.

Of course, I thought that the Solaire and 55W were also odd locations for residential buildings, too.

[AmIReal]

I guess we all knew WeWork was not gonna happen.

https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2020/10/16/wework-downtown-orlando.html

1 hour ago, AndyPok1 said:

I absolutely agree with this.  But it also may be a thing of the past.  It's been all but confirmed that my role is permanently remote.

I think the big, major cities will be ok in the long run. In fact there was a story today in NYT about tech companies adding thousands of workers there during the pandemic. I think they are thinking long term and realize they can get below market rates now. The workers WILL want to live in the cities- I don't see that changing.

OTOH, I'm am very unsure about mid size markets like ours.

[codypet]

5 hours ago, AndyPok1 said:

I absolutely agree with this.  But it also may be a thing of the past.  It's been all but confirmed that my role is permanently remote.

 

Solaire is diagonally across the street and 55 west is a few hundred yards down the block.  What's weird about it?

My company is leasing another floor of our building to socially distance the workers.  We won't be packed in as much as we used to be. 

[AndyPok1]

I pretty much agree with all 3 of the above sentiments.  I mean, I'm still looking for NYC relocation possibilities.

[ucfpatriot18]

I’m in the recruiting industry and the number of people relocating to the Orlando area is staggering.    I think we are going to be ok.  

[dcluley98]

My company distinctly said that they will definitely be expecting people back in the office next year, but that they are rethinking  some of the ways they approach office space. 

They highlighted that everyone in the office together promotes creativity and collaboration where people can talk and share ideas with others better than if they were isolated and doing everything virtually. I tend to agree with this to a point, but sometimes a bit more independence is necessary to get work done. 

They basically said that they will be looking to redo some of our space and move from more open office and group settings that had been a trend recently back toward small single space with mutliple break-out or conference areas.  They are looking at building out a new space and will be going for a pods  with full glass front wall and cubicles with higher walls. They will also have several break-out areas to meet and host local folks who come in for the day, but do not have a permanent office, and "isolation areas" that can be private space sealed off for sensitive calls or meetings. 

I think it is all a bit reactionary and just the latest "trend" that management thinks will get the most out of people, personally.  (I'm just glad that whole "open office" bullcrap trend went away before they made me do that. I would quit.)  

[spenser1058]

The first major private office building is often attributed to the British East India Company. It was constructed, not primarily because they needed the office space (it was at a time when most still worked from home), but because the organization had developed a rather unsavory reputation among those they needed to invest and they believed by building a large, grand structure such as the British government would have they would be seen to have the same gravitas.

The history of capitalism from tulip mania to railroads to vastly overbuilt retail (much worse in the US than any other developed country)in the present is making excuses to overbuild and make some entrepreneur wealthy.

There was a time clustering effects made sense, but the technology is so far improved today it’s not as vital as it once was. If it were so totally critical, then industries would consolidate in one city, something that hasn’t been true in decades. 

You need go back no further than the first multinational companies to recognize just how untrue that idea. It may be a nice to have, but hasn’t been a must have for a long time.

Want a great example? Look at the private space industry, which is spread all over the country. These were companies that were developed within the past decade or so and could have located anywhere. All the major players chose to spread out.

The automotive industry? It could take you hours to determine exactly where Fiat’s headquarters is these days and Elon Musk started Tesla in a part of the country hardly known for autos. In most cases, they simply followed the money. When GM started Saturn, they intentionally left Detroit.