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55 West


Tim3167

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me too... around 8am.. I thought it was white stripes on the western face of the fin till I realized it was white neon. can't wait till nightfall.

they are also finishing the west face of el garage; making arches on the top of each window column.

I personally don't care for it. It is just so plain> Looks like they stuck some white lights up there as an afetrthought. To me it is so bright it detracts from the other downtown lights. maybe the hotel that gets associated with this project could put their signage up there!
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I can't seem to get the exposure thing right on my digital; anything that's light always over-exposes; the real pros here need to snap this puppy... but, I'll try tonite as well. I'm thinking a shot from the foot of the garage of the Copper Whopper; great angle.

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OMG, I was right there at that time... maybe a few minutes later--- no, it was about an hour later... b/c I went over to Bliss and saw that they started hosting Bonkerz Comedy Club there on certain nights, and the lights started turning on...

???????? :dontknow:

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I went to Bonkerz that night and watched Dustin "Trust the Dust" Diamond aka Screech from Saved By The Bell. He was OK. It took me about 20 minutes of his show to realize he was doing Carlin. His own jokes, but Carlinesque delivery.

The venue does not lend itself to standup comedy. The area they used as a stage was raised up, which is good, but it had a railing and even one of the comics used it as a prop to make it look like prison bars. He was doing an impression of Lou Pearlman.

There is a bar to the left of the stage. Normally not a problem, but when the bartenders started talking loudly toward the end of the show, it was very distracting. Not good for any type of entertainment.

The service sucked a$$ and the door personnel were snooty like I should have been wearing something different. I always find it funny how these kids that think if you aren't wearing black, you aren't stylish. Black is easy. Black doesn't take any color coordination. "All black" is the opposite of style if you ask me. It says no style and no originality.

And then on the way out, one of the doormen just stood in the way without looking up and it is the only exit way. I said excuse me to the f'ing doorman. He should be catering to my needs. He looked up and just stood there as I had to brush by him to get out. What a dip$hit.

Bliss is trying to portray the image of high class. They do the whole "bottle table service," but don't have a clue on how to give good service. They only understand how to charge for it. I had a drink in a (what I call) glass replica low ball. It was made of plastic. Are you serious? You are trying to be high end and you serve drinks in plastic? WTF is that? Some of the waitstaff was in uniform black shirts and pants with a red tie. Some the girls were wearing jeans and shirts. Make up your mind. Either way, all the servers were kids, which means lack of experience. If you want to act high end, you have to pay the servers more than the basic $3/hr minimum wage to attract people that know how to wait on people and be respectful.

Figures that if they are starting to run comedy shows out of their space, they are starting to hurt for cash. Also, the place looks much smaller now. It looked much more impressive when they used to run nickel beer out of Phinneas Phoggs.

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  • 3 weeks later...

August 12, 2008

Dear 55 West on the Esplanade Purchaser:

As I believe most, if not all, of you know, the Lender on the 55 West Project is in the process of foreclosing on the property. As part of this legal procedure, you will soon, if not already, be provided with a large package of legal documents that represent copies of all the documents that have been filed in the Court system surrounding the foreclosure process. This process forecloses on all interests of any nature on the property (project) which includes your purchase contract for your condominium. It is unfortunate that this process is necessary; however, it is the nature of the proceeding in order for the lender to protect its interest in the property and to be able to successfully complete the project. You may wish to seek you own legal counsel to review these documents and advise you.

Please be advised that our standing offer to you to execute a release and obtain a refund of your deposit with interest is still available to you. I have attached a blank copy of our standard release form should you desire to take advantage of this offer during the final phase of the foreclosure process. I sincerely appreciate your continued faith and patience throughout these challenging times and sincerely hope that once the project is repositioned and placed back onto the market that you will be one of the first to buy back into what I believe will be the most exciting and dynamic property in Downtown Orlando.

Please feel free to call Carri or me at any time should you have any concerns or questions or would like to be placed on our waiting list for the future re-release.

Sincerely,

Carol Veal

Sales Director

And that is that. Second time this building cancelled contracts to raise prices. At least my deposit was put into an interest bearing account. Unbelievable. Hey Carol, don't hold your breath waiting for me to call to be put on your waiting list at a higher price. Hope you don't sell a single unit and the building remains empty. Makes me think that this was planned by the bank and Euro-American in order to raise the prices.

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I never put a deposit down there, so I don't have an opinion about them in that manner;

I just want two things for now:

1) hotel (thanks for the update, jack)

2) the retail to open so I can play there.

the City can really get DT to stay on track for good now entertainment wise. from the Arena down Church to 55W and PTP as "hubs", then north on Orange, with auxilliary corridors on Pine and Central, with Wall St. as the other "hub".

if they devote resources to promote development and fill in the vacancy gaps this zone can become more unheralded. they need to start with 55W retail along Church and Pine, fill in the lot at Pine & Orange where the sub shop burned down, finish out PTP, and lease out the rest of the Exchange. The Firehouse will add aesthetics on Pine & Central, and 55W looks first class at the sidewalk level along Pine.

SODO will have "24 Hr. Fitness". Maybe they should try to sign them for the Exchange as well. wouldn't that be something.

As for the rest of downtown, the Central corridor near Thornton Park and Paramount I think is secure from failure now once Publix opens. If Montage gets built, add those residents to the mix as well. If they lease out 101 Eola, that will help Sanctuary's retail too. Tijuana Flats I hear is going gangbusters in TPC.

But, 55W is the key- or rather a major piece of the puzzle. PTP is the other-- the eateries and bars are good, but the 2nd level upstairs is dead-- it needs life. there is a plan in the works for the cinema.

Edited by JRS1
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OK, here's the deal. I just spoke to the sales office. Out of 300 sales, all but 33 (me being one of the 33) requested and received a refund of their deposit. The lender is now formally foreclosing on the project instead of just completing it, and is canceling the remaining 33 holdouts' contracts and giving their deposit back. The hotel will be announced in the next 60 days and the floors that the hotel will take over will require extensive renovations (don't know why they spent money on working on the interior). As the letter I posted states, they are starting a list of people interested in buying when the units go back on sale sometime in early 2009, Im sure at a much higher price then what I originally paid. I paid $355K for a 1200 sq ft 2/2 with 2 parking spaces. The latest price listed for my unit was $591K with an additional $30K for the second parking spot. Its going to be a beautiful vacant building. :wacko:

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Um, did you say $500 a square foot?

Now what I know about real estate you could fit in a shoebox and have room left over for the shoes...but are these Dutch lenders confusing Orlando with Amsterdam?

Wow, at this rate, my home, with an actual yard, and 2 parking spaces, is worth half a million also. And here I was thinking the value had gone down a little. Silly me!

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The only downside is the hotel is going to take up a significant portion of the retail. But the options for the hotel are nice. I bet the bank thinks it is better to cancel all of the contracts and resell them in a couple of years when the hotel is up and running.

Edited by jack
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The only downside is the hotel is going to take up a significant portion of the retail. But the options for the hotel are nice. I bet the bank thinks it is better to cancel all of the contracts and resell them in a couple of years when the hotel is up and running.

No. It's an old invester/builder trick (Trump is famous for it) Get deposits and use that money in high interest accounts to get the project off the ground. Then cancel all contracts/deposits, pay everyone back, pay the federal penalty, and move on.

Just shady dealing.

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No. It's an old invester/builder trick (Trump is famous for it) Get deposits and use that money in high interest accounts to get the project off the ground. Then cancel all contracts/deposits, pay everyone back, pay the federal penalty, and move on.

Just shady dealing.

The escrow agent holds the deposits...what "federal penalty"?

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OK, a new twist. So, Im sitting at home and my doorbell rings around 6 pm (in New York). This guy is standing there with a crap load (like 2000 pages) of papers asking me if I am me. I say yes. Turns out he's a process server I have been sued by the bank that took over the project. They are (as we already knew) foreclosing on the buidling AND they are laying a claim to my deposit!!!!!! WTF?!?!?!?!?! Now me and the other 33 holdouts need to hire lawyers to answer this suit within 20 days. A pox on these people and their family.

Edited by FrigginGr8est
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