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Developers buy industrial park for $41.5 million

The investors plan to turn the 2,400-acre tract in east Orange County into homes, shops and offices.

International Corporate Park, a failed industrial park that lay fallow in east Orange County since the mid-1980s, has been sold for $41.5 million to investors who plan to develop a mixed-use project of homes, shops and offices.

Grosse Pointe Development Co. of Fort Myers was the buyer in partnership with Dutch investors.

Robert D. Hensley, Gross Pointe principal, said the investors "are prepared to start immediately."

The 2,400-acre property will be developed by Orlando International Corporate Park LLC, a partnership of Gross Pointe and Bouwfonds Property Finance B.V., a subsidiary of two Dutch commercial property development companies.

Bouwfonds Property Finance recently committed more than $130 million to back development of the 55 West condominium tower on Church Street in downtown Orlando. That project also is supported by Dutch investors, Euro American Advisors Inc.

ICP was sold by Orlando Business Park LLC., a partnership of Dallas-based Oakridge Investments Inc., and Price Legacy Corp., a San Diego-based real estate investment trust.

The partnership bought the park four years ago from Swiss Bank for $16.5 million. Since then, the partnership has pushed for road improvements.

Orange County Chairman Rich Crotty last week announced plans to extend Avalon Parkway south and west to Orlando International Airport. The extension would go through ICP, which now is accessible only via the Bee Line Expressway, a toll road.

Crotty said the road extension would create a high-tech corridor between the airport and the University of Central Florida, two of the area's most potent economic engines.

George Allen, president of Oakridge Investments, part of the selling partnership, said the Central Florida Research Park has tentatively agreed for ICP to be a south campus. The 1,027-acre park is almost built out. ICP has dedicated 200 acres for future use by the research park.

Allen said the former owners "had mixed emotions about selling the park. We saw ICP as the last large fully entitled undeveloped tract of land within one of the fastest growing counties in the nation."

NAI Realvest Partners, a Maitland real estate brokerage, represented Gross Pointe Development in the transaction and will remain involved in the venture to market the property.

In Southwest Florida, Grosse Pointe Development developed Palmas Del Sol in Gulf Harbour Yacht & Country Club and Bell Tower Park, both in south Fort Myers, and Tarpon Point Marina in Cape Coral.

The land for ICP was assembled by investors in the early 1980s and was approved as a 20 million-square-foot industrial park by 1985. The venture failed. By 1990, developers said they had about $50 million invested in the property.

Last year, Beat Kahli, developer of Avalon Park in east Orange County, contracted to buy the park for $32 million, saying he wanted to created a mixed-use community like Avalon Park.

He later backed out of the deal, saying infrastructure, such as roads, wasn't in place to support the development.

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Osceola Brownstones site is being cleared as of Friday...bye bye big trees. The whole North Orange thing seems shady to begin with, doesn't it? It seems like the Thornton Park developers are the only ones building stuff, which is great but I want more downtown stuff. Metropolitan at Lake Eola is currently under renovation.

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News from Orlando Sentinel

Subsidizing the rich

News broke last week that the developers of the 55 West condo project in downtown Orlando had jacked up the prices of these coveted units -- which will now range from $3.5 million to the bargain-basement price of $220,000 for the tiniest unit. So maybe you're sitting in your Orlando home, thinking that you couldn't care less about these lofts for the well-to-do -- until you realize that you're actually subsidizing the well-to-dos' lifestyle.

Yes, the increase in condo prices came the same week that the City Council agreed to use millions of taxpayers' dollars to subsidize this project. That's $12.5 million in tax breaks and loans in a low-wage mecca where the Bureau of Economic Analysis says the per-capita income is $27,695.

If this sounds like freewheeling spending to subsidize the wealthy, just remember that the mayor and majority of the council are Democrats -- the party that claims to be looking out for the little guys.

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Its funny you posted this because I wrote to Scott Maxwell about the final line in this little blurb and told him what a shame I thought it was that the Orlando Sentinel caters solely to the right wing community of Orlando, and he wrote me back a rather snippy email..

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Its funny you posted this because I wrote to Scott Maxwell about the final line in this little blurb and told him what a shame I thought it was that the Orlando Sentinel caters solely to the right wing community of Orlando, and he wrote me back a rather snippy email..

Don't blame him. You can't seriously think that the Sentinel caters to the rightwing, can you ? Have you read the op-eds lately ?

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Photogenic tower

Boosters of the Eola Park Plaza building overlooking Lake Eola in downtown Orlando contend the tower is one of the most visible in the city center.

Jim Barton of Jones Lang LaSalle said the building is photographed more than any other in downtown. Barton said 30,000 cars a day pass the building on Rosalind Avenue, and 500,000 people visit Lake Eola Park each year.

The broker hopes to snare a tenant to take signage on the building, which currently is more than 60 percent leased. Barton has more than 60,000 square feet available.

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  • 2 weeks later...

tm68 posted this over at ssp.com, so thank him...

"interesting news from AJAX Orlando. A possible (likely with foreign investors?) downtown sports complex with a 8,000 seat (soccer) stadium, 250,000 sq. feet of office/retail space and a 1,000 space parking garage. Residential units might even be included. Ajax Orlando is the Exclusive American Affiliate of AFC Ajax (Amsterdam)

If you weren't aware, this stadium complex was proposed late last year, and may now actually get built. The club was looking at several locations around town, and it may end up downtown. My guess would be Parramore, as it's the only area with enough land dt.

this would be a cool addition, especially for downtown, and serve as a new "destination" spot.

stay tuned.

designed by Farmer Baker Barrios *who the hell else, huh? *

here's a look:

aofc%20stadium2.jpg"

I wonder where in Parramore there is room for a stadium? What about the Orlando City Center parcel across from the courthouse that has been dead for years? There are a few other large parcels in that area as well.

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Orange hopes for 2nd crack at Scripps

Palm Beach's wrangling may put Orlando back in contention for the center.

Orlando-area leaders are lining up for another shot at landing the Scripps Research Institute, a fish so big that its potential economic impact has been compared to the arrival of Walt Disney World, Orange County Chairman Rich Crotty said Saturday.

Political infighting and environmental concerns about a proposed site in Palm Beach County have given Orange County officials a glimmer of hope they could be back in the hunt for what promises to be one of the world's top biotech-research centers.

Orange County officials contacted Gov. Jeb Bush's office Friday to learn the status of Scripps' $510 million deal with Palm Beach County, Crotty said.

"I'd be thrilled to be involved in a second opportunity," said Crotty, who stressed he was awaiting Bush's guidance. "It goes without saying that if the opportunity presented itself once more, we'd be on it like a cop on a doughnut shop."

The Florida campus for Scripps, which is based in La Jolla, Calif., is the crown jewel of Bush's efforts to diversify Florida's economy -- a deal expected to create more than 500 high-paying research jobs over seven years and 44,000 others at spinoff ventures and companies that want to be near the research center.

Just nine months ago, Scripps rebuffed a proposed site near Orlando's Lake Nona in favor of a citrus grove west of Palm Beach Gardens.

For months, however, critics have hammered the Palm Beach County Commission for putting together a quick deal with little public input. They've also complained about the impact the facility and its accompanying growth would have on the area's wetlands.

On Friday, the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council issued a report that echoed many of the environmental and planning concerns.

The squabbling prompted incoming state Senate President Tom Lee, R-Brandon, to tell The Palm Beach Post that Palm Beach officials should get their act together or risk losing Scripps to someplace such as Orlando.

To lure Scripps to Orlando, the county and city of Orlando would need to put together a package worth at least $200 million in land, construction costs and other incentives.

That would go along with the $310 million the Legislature has already pledged to Scripps.

Orange County's previous bid was a "competitive offer," said Crotty, who wouldn't say whether the county and its partners would come back with a more lucrative deal.

Orlando, too, is closely following Scripps' troubles in Palm Beach County and would like another shot at the nonprofit research center, said Jose Fernandez, Mayor Buddy Dyer's chief of staff.

In recent weeks, developers and local government officials from across the state have been calling Scripps about the possibility of its leaving Palm Beach County, said Keith McKeown, one of the institute's vice presidents.

"Anyone who owns anything larger than a one-bedroom condominium in Florida has called us to offer it," said McKeown, who stressed that Scripps officials are focused on the proposed Palm Beach County site.

But McKeown stopped short of ruling out a move to another area, including Orange County.

"You never say never," McKeown said. "Until things are settled, everything is open."

The proposed Palm Beach site, 1,900 acres known as Mecca Farms, has outraged environmentalists because of its location next to a wildlife preserve and the likelihood that thousands of rural acres will be transformed into new subdivisions in the wake of Scripps' arrival.

Palm Beach County officials are scrambling to come up with a list of alternative sites, which county commissioners will pare to three or four choices Tuesday. That short list will likely include Mecca Farms and one in Riviera Beach, a more urban, waterfront location that would please environmentalists.

Palm Beach County Commissioner Mary McCarty insisted Saturday that she and her colleagues would not lose Scripps, but she conceded the ongoing controversy is putting her community in a bad light.

"We're playing a very dangerous game," McCarty said. "If we don't unite behind a solid front of moving forward and holding to the contract we have with the state and with Mecca and with Scripps, we could be in danger of losing out."

McCarty supports the Mecca Farms site, saying some of the concerns about urban sprawl and environmental problems are overblown.

The Scripps Research Institute would be built on 100 acres with an additional 400 acres set aside to sell to spinoff businesses, such as pharmaceutical and medical-research companies.

"This is an orange grove, and somehow it has become an environmental jewel," she said. "If people think that these pieces of property are going to sit vacant forever, they're not living in the same country."

If the county moves the research center to another site, it would lose about $10 million spent on consultants and money already spent clearing trees and digging out a lake on the Mecca property, McCarty said.

McKeown, the Scripps official, said the institute already had moved scientists and faculty to temporary laboratories at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

In a state heavily dependent on the tourism industry and its low-paying jobs, Scripps promises to bring new wealth to Florida.

Many of the research jobs at Scripps are expected to pay more than $100,000 a year, with half of them paying more than $40,000. The bigger economic impact is expected to come from other companies that move to be near Scripps.

McKeown made it clear that the institute's top officials are enamored with Palm Beach County and its quality of life compared with Central Florida.

He cited the beaches, schools and transportation network as pluses for Palm Beach County. Those are amenities that are valuable in attracting some of the world's top scientists, he said.

"The Palm Beach area is very much like La Jolla," McKeown said. "The kind of people we want to recruit there can go anywhere in the world."

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^^it would be AWESOME if we could "steal" Scripps away from Palm Beach. They originally were considering land by lake nona. The reason this is coming to florida is b/c of orlando residents anyway.

This project could forever change central florida. I just hope Palm Beach messes up in this one case!

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That stadium looks great. I like the compact design of it -- how the actual stadium sits on top of the parking.

Also, the Scripps situation is interesting. Ofcourse, I'd rather see Scripps come to Tampa Bay as opposed to Palm Beach or Orlando ;) . However, if Orlando does manage to "steal" it from Palm Beach, it will change the entire image of Orlando. Combining Scripps with EA Sports, I could see a boom on the lines of Atlanta's boom in the 1990s taking place in Orlando. If this does happen, is Orlando ready (transportation infrastructure, schools, housing options, etc.)?

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I am very skeptical about the stadium getting built. So those the Inverland and Ivanhoe.

I am also frustrated that so many projects are announced but it take them forever to start construction. How long am I supposed to wait for Orlando to look like a big city...LOL.

Infrasturture wise, we are ok but public transportation is not good enough. School within Orlando city limits are under used. School at the suburbs are over crowded.

Hosuing is not a problem.

Chances of Orlando getting Scripps is small in my opninion. Unless Palm Beach screw it up big time.

It will be great if we get it...

Along with the

JetBlue Training Center

EA Sport

Scripp and

NASA center...

We will be all set.....

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  • 4 weeks later...

From Orlando Business Journal:

... Breaking ground. Another condominium project is coming out of the ground in downtown Orlando.

Real Estate Inverlad's eight-story project -- The Jackson -- will break ground in mid-September.

Construction is projected to take less than 12 months.

As with most downtown projects, the buzz already has begun on The Jackson. To date, 45 of the 58 units have been reserved. The estimated price tag: $15 million ...

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