Eola Place/Thornton Commons

[neoanderz]

^ I live east of DT, so I haven't taken it westbound in rush-hour;  but I have always found it a breeze to head east in rush-hour unless there's an accident.

Hmm...are you driving on the same 408 as me?

If I weren't an E-Passer, I might be a little more frustrated of course, because the plazas do suck sometimes....

Ahh, that explains it.

[giselle725]

A new twin condo tower project was announced Wednesday. The complex will have more than 510 units and 1 million square feet, making the project one of downtown's biggest. Construction is expected to start in mid-2006, with units ready for occupancy mid-2008. The towers will be west of Eola Drive, along Mariposa Street and near Lake Olive and Constitution Park.

Link

Plans have been filed with the city. The complex will include 25,000 square feet of retail space and 60,000 square feet of condominium office space. Baker Barrios of Orlando did the design work.

Here's the best part: They say the condos will be marketed to young professionals and entry-level buyers. Prices may range from around $150,000 to as much as $3.5 million for penthouse units. Downtown needs more condos in the $150k range, so that's good news.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Do you know where we can register for this project?

[bic]

The project's web site is www.namethatbuilding.com.

You can register at this link.

[bic]

New renderings:

[sunshine]

Look great, any timeline on this project?

[cwetteland]

I know the description talks about a lot of retail, but the renderings I only shows walls along the sidewalk. I don't see shop doors. I hope you don't have to go through the lobby.

[depechecureguyorl]

Sorry to be the negative one here, but this design looks more like a hospital than residential towers. It's boring, unimpressive, and IMO, very unappealing. I know the finished product is always different than the original design, so I can only hope a HUGE difference happens with this building.

[facilities man]

I agree it does look like a hospital. I would like to see a design that would stand out in the skyline a little more, but it does add density.

[AirJay78]

Never thought of it that way. Looks like ORMC but a different color... lol

But if its starting at $150k, I'd still buy into it

[Topher1]

I like the project for its location and its density. Not every project needs to visually transform the skyline. In fact, the best skylines, IMO, have smaller, dense buildings leading up to them, that though they don't stand alone very well, they are beautiful when viewed as part of the total urban environment.

That's what I feel this area is becoming; A lot of dense midrises that will serve as a foreground to an even stronger downtown skyline. Not to mention the great pedestrian scale that the Lake Eola/Thornton Park has continued to keep. It appears this project will also be inviting from sidewalk level.

I just feel so bad for those poor people that bought on the wrong side of the Jackson

[Dale]

I don't mind that it looks like a hospital.

Now I'd object, were I a resident, if it had that alcohol-y smell to it.

[cwetteland]

That staff report for the Thornton Commons is now linked to the Agenda. It has new renderings that include the (2) 205 S Eola building and the Sanctuary. You start to get a feel for the density of the area. Report says most of retail will be on Mariposa (between) the two phases and it shows a pedestrian bridge at about floor 7.

Oh yeah, I like brick streets.

[bic]

The report also says "the applicant has been working with the Downtown Development Board Review Committee to refine the design and architecture of the proposed structures." It goes on to say that "the applicant has agreed with staff's recommendation to remove the [pedestrian] bridge from the site plan."

[bic]

Phase 1 (North)

200 feet

315 units

22,300 sq. ft.

679 parking spaces

Phase 2 (South)

170 feet

195 units

15,195 sq. ft.

359 parking spaces

[bic]

[sunshine]

When is the construction going to start?

[firemick]

This is a rendering that shows it being built in phases. This is the newer rendering that shows the 16 story tower next to the Jackson and the 20 story tower on the North. I personally like the 20 story tower next to the Jackson...oh well.

This is the way they should have kept it.....it has more urbanic characteristics...to me anyway. I know its better for future Jackson residents though.

see what i mean. ------

[bic]

I like the step-down progression that this design will achieve with the 20-story Phase I building dropping down to the 16-story Phase II, then The Jackson, and eventually the tree canopy. The view looking north from the 408 will show a nice layered skyline. No doubt this is what the Downtown Development Board planners had in mind when they created the height restrictions in this area.

[bic]

Firemick, the buildings in the latter two renderings that you prefer are actually generally the same as in the first image. The 20-story Phase I has always been closer to The Sanctuary, while the 16-story Phase II has been the one designed to back up against The Jackson. The only differences are slight aesthetic design changes and newer models, but the scale of the buildings remain relatively unchanged.

You can even see in the third image you posted that the gray model of The Jackson is peeking from behind the top right corner of the 16-story building.

[prahaboheme]

The thing that bothers me most about this design is that there are going to be two big garages on Church (I believe), the one from the Sanctuary and then the one from the larger building here. Neither condo attempted to do anything to hide them.

[firemick]

^ Yeah i understand the reasoning, but if you look the 16 story tower is now an 11 story midrise. I dont care about a nice layered skyline....I want a Manhattan skyline.

[prahaboheme]

^ Yeah i understand the reasoning, but if you look the 16 story tower is now an 11 story midrise. I dont care about a nice layered skyline....I want a Manhattan skyline.

They may have reduced the height, though the two buildings have never swapped positions.

[firemick]

Firemick, the buildings in the latter two renderings that you prefer are actually generally the same as in the first image. The 20-story Phase I has always been closer to The Sanctuary, while the 16-story Phase II has been the one designed to back up against The Jackson. The only differences are slight aesthetic design changes and newer models, but the scale of the buildings remain relatively unchanged.

You can even see in the third image you posted that the gray model of The Jackson is peeking from behind the top right corner of the 16-story building.

Bic, look at it closer. Its totally changed. The 20 story tower has been turned around and is now on the block north and the building that was 16 stories to the north is essentially gone and this is a newer 11 story building butted up with the Jackson. I dont like it at all.

[prahaboheme]

Looks the same to me...

[bic]

Here's the image from the first post in this thread, showing the rendering that ran in the Orlando Sentinel on August 11, 2005. Note that the image is stamped for the July 27, 2005 Planned Development Application.

Compare it to the first picture you recently posted and you can see that hardly anything has changed significantly other than the height of the Phase II building, which went from 16-stories to 11-stories.

The building locations have not changed.