KnightBay 26 Report post Posted December 22, 2020 I was on Reddit and I saw this recent aerial view of downtown Orlando and I saw what looks to be a pretty significant project under construction behind City View Apartments. I'm obviously out of the loop but does anyone know what is going up there? 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tim3167 133 Report post Posted December 22, 2020 I think that’s the new Orlando Magic training and practice facility. 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KnightBay 26 Report post Posted December 22, 2020 2 minutes ago, Tim3167 said: I think that’s the new Orlando Magic training and practice facility. That rings a bell and makes sense. Thanks! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tim3167 133 Report post Posted December 22, 2020 AKA - My old preferred parking lot for Magic games . I had been parking at 55w garage for years but since I head west on 408 that lot that’s now a construction site proved to be a big improvement. Getting out of 55 w and turning right onto Pine then Orange at 9:30 pm isn’t ideal. I’m auditioning new city lots or garages . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spenser1058 5430 Report post Posted December 22, 2020 (edited) If only UCF played downtown...or I could move to beautiful downtown Oviedo, raise “free-road” chickens and @jgardnerucf could be my roomie! Edited December 22, 2020 by spenser1058 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
F-L-A 29 Report post Posted December 23, 2020 (edited) 14 hours ago, Tim3167 said: I think that’s the new Orlando Magic training and practice facility. What do they need a new facility for? There's one built into the arena. Was there even a rendering for this? It's telling that they can get started on this but the rest of the complex they were supposed to build is still just a desolate lot. Allowing them to demolish all the previous stuff is really paying dividends. Maybe if we're lucky it'll be finished by the time they win their first championship in 3025. Edited December 23, 2020 by F-L-A Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dcluley98 3465 Report post Posted December 23, 2020 https://www.hok.com/news/2020-04/nbas-orlando-magic-seek-approval-for-new-downtown-practice-facility/ 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spenser1058 5430 Report post Posted December 23, 2020 (edited) 6 hours ago, F-L-A said: What do they need a new facility for? There's one built into the arena. Was there even a rendering for this? It's telling that they can get started on this but the rest of the complex they were supposed to build is still just a desolate lot. Allowing them to demolish all the previous stuff is really paying dividends. Maybe if we're lucky it'll be finished by the time they win their first championship in 3025. Isn’t that when Buddy plans to retire? Of course, he’s the one that handed city property to them on a silver platter without vetting or standards in place to make sure the project progresses. Thanks, Buddy! Edited December 23, 2020 by spenser1058 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jgardnerucf 514 Report post Posted December 23, 2020 Quit bashing the Mayor. (Walking to the Magic game as I type this.) 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spenser1058 5430 Report post Posted December 23, 2020 7 minutes ago, jgardnerucf said: Quit bashing the Mayor. (Walking to the Magic game as I type this.) If he’s so wonderful, maybe we should recruit Magic players that age too! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AmIReal 1067 Report post Posted December 24, 2020 1 hour ago, spenser1058 said: If he’s so wonderful, maybe we should recruit Magic players that age too! That would still make you too old to make the cut, right...? Fyi, some of the best coaches and GMs are in Dyers age bracket. Your comments are becoming more useless with each passing day. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cwetteland 293 Report post Posted December 24, 2020 47 minutes ago, AmIReal said: Your comments are becoming more useless with each passing day. but with so many to choose from, there's likely to be a few worth reading. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HankStrong 1942 Report post Posted December 24, 2020 It's like flinging poo at the wall. Somethings bound to stick! Also, Kettle you are black. As are we all. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spenser1058 5430 Report post Posted December 24, 2020 (edited) It’s been perfectly acceptable in here over the years to bash Mayor Glenda when downtown stopped moving forward. However, as soon as we note Mayor Buddy has reached the same lack of progress (and for a longer period of time now), we dare not say the emperor has no clothes. •Buddy is also clinging to a political model that is no longer representative of the city and its demographics. •Buddy promised to fix Parramore; he hasn’t. •Buddy promised a PAC - it remains unfinished 18 years after he took office (and after he allowed two other venues to butt ahead in line despite polls showing citizens wanted the PAC before anything else). •Buddy said the “Main and Main” intersection of Church and Orange would be transformed by bulldozing historic properties - the district today is worse than when he took office (and even developers said it was dead BEFORE the pandemic). •Buddy has allowed streets like Summerlin and Delaney to fall into disrepair. •Buddy gave a sweetheart deal to the DeVos family for an entertainment complex and bulldozed blocks of downtown for it. They’ve done absolutely nothing with it and shown no competence in moving it forward. Where was the due diligence and competitive bidding? •Buddy has shown absolutely no vision for leveraging the historic core that has been the centerpiece for downtown’s revival. •Buddy has not come up with a plan to attract more retail to the downtown core, even as the number of residents has continued to grow. When Buddy chooses to address these issues, I’ll be happy to contribute to and work on his campaigns just as I did in 2002, 2004 and 2008. Edited December 24, 2020 by spenser1058 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Uncommon 410 Report post Posted December 24, 2020 1 hour ago, spenser1058 said: It’s been perfectly acceptable in here over the years to bash Mayor Glenda over the years when downtown stopped moving forward. However, as soon as we note Mayor Buddy has reached the same lack of progress (and for a longer period of time now), we dare not say the emperor has no clothes. •Buddy is also clinging to a political model that is no longer representative of the city and its demographics. •Buddy promised to fix Parramore; he hasn’t. •Buddy promised a PAC - it remains unfinished 18 years after he took office (and after he allowed two other venues to butt ahead in line despite polls showing citizens wanted the PAC before anything else). •Buddy said the “Main and Main” intersection of Church and Orange would be transformed by bulldozing historic properties - the district today is worse than when he took office (and even developers said it was dead BEFORE the pandemic). •Buddy has allowed streets like Summerlin and Delaney to fall into disrepair. •Buddy gave a sweetheart deal to the DeVos family for an entertainment complex and bulldozed blocks of downtown for it. They’ve done absolutely nothing with it and shown no competence in moving it forward. Where was the due diligence and competitive bidding? •Buddy has shown absolutely no vision for leveraging the historic core that has been the centerpiece for downtown’s revival. •Buddy has not come up with a plan to attract more retail to the downtown core, even as the number of residents has continued to grow. When Buddy chooses to address these issues, I’ll be happy to contribute to and work on his campaigns just as I did in 2002, 2004 and 2008. Agreed on every single point. That being said, the sky is blue, right? If 75% of my posts repeatedly belabored that truth almost to the point of ad nauseum, wouldn’t you begin to get annoyed? “We get it,” you’d probably say. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spenser1058 5430 Report post Posted December 24, 2020 (edited) Because the status quo has practically ossified every discussion in this forum and folks keep assuming we have to operate within a narrow set of parameters that are, at the end of the day, just “the way we’ve always done things”. With downtown, it’s Buddy. The same may be said (and I’ve said it) of Mayor Demings in the county. We’ve seen more innovation in our small towns than in our two urban governments. why is that? Orlando and Orange County are no longer Southern Democrat/Republican areas but yet that’s how we’re still governed. Almost every topic in this room flows from that. It’s as if Martin Andersen and the bankers at First National were still running everything in town. Today it’s the tourism cabal and the downtown developers and none of our leaders are even trying to challenge that. As soon as we broaden our focus a little bit, I’ll be pleased, nay, grateful to move forward. How do we fix it? Term limits in the city would help. However, even in the county, which has term limits, it isn’t helping because we keep going back to the same well to find candidates. Mayor Demings, for example, is the “new” face on the block. Yet, he’s the same age and from the same groupthink as Buddy when it comes to doing anything differently. Where is the next generation of leadership that understands this is a different place with different needs than it was in 1980? Edited December 24, 2020 by spenser1058 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jernigan 2662 Report post Posted December 24, 2020 2 hours ago, spenser1058 said: Because the status quo has practically ossified every discussion in this forum and folks keep assuming we have to operate within a narrow set of parameters that are The only parameters I care about are to stay on freakin topic. There’s a dedicated forum and within that forum a dedicated thread for this repetitive non-informative nor persuasive fixated topic and somehow that’s not enough. Not trying to limit free speech or expression but it’s as counter productive as posting updates about a high rise in Boston in a project thread here. 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
orange87 761 Report post Posted December 25, 2020 That vacant lot is the work (or nonwork) of the DeVos's. As in the family that Betsy DeVos is a part of. Thankfully she won't be Education Secretary anymore, and someone from my home state of Connecticut who actually has knowledge about education will take over. She was so incompetent at her job that even Senate Republicans overrode her decisions on a few occasions. 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jack 393 Report post Posted December 25, 2020 14 hours ago, spenser1058 said: Because the status quo has practically ossified every discussion in this forum and folks keep assuming we have to operate within a narrow set of parameters that are, at the end of the day, just “the way we’ve always done things”. With downtown, it’s Buddy. The same may be said (and I’ve said it) of Mayor Demings in the county. We’ve seen more innovation in our small towns than in our two urban governments. why is that? Orlando and Orange County are no longer Southern Democrat/Republican areas but yet that’s how we’re still governed. Almost every topic in this room flows from that. It’s as if Martin Andersen and the bankers at First National were still running everything in town. Today it’s the tourism cabal and the downtown developers and none of our leaders are even trying to challenge that. As soon as we broaden our focus a little bit, I’ll be pleased, nay, grateful to move forward. How do we fix it? Term limits in the city would help. However, even in the county, which has term limits, it isn’t helping because we keep going back to the same well to find candidates. Mayor Demings, for example, is the “new” face on the block. Yet, he’s the same age and from the same groupthink as Buddy when it comes to doing anything differently. Where is the next generation of leadership that understands this is a different place with different needs than it was in 1980? Maybe they govern that way because its what the voters want. I know turnout is low but what kind of people show up to vote in local elections? highly motivated people that like the status quo. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
prahaboheme 1691 Report post Posted December 26, 2020 On 12/24/2020 at 10:18 AM, Jernigan said: The only parameters I care about are to stay on freakin topic. There’s a dedicated forum and within that forum a dedicated thread for this repetitive non-informative nor persuasive fixated topic and somehow that’s not enough. Not trying to limit free speech or expression but it’s as counter productive as posting updates about a high rise in Boston in a project thread here. So you made Spenser’s point. If it isn’t to your liking, it’s not worthy. On 12/24/2020 at 4:26 PM, orange87 said: That vacant lot is the work (or nonwork) of the DeVos's. As in the family that Betsy DeVos is a part of. Thankfully she won't be Education Secretary anymore, and someone from my home state of Connecticut who actually has knowledge about education will take over. She was so incompetent at her job that even Senate Republicans overrode her decisions on a few occasions. Well you and I agree on something there! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites