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Lake Nona - Medical City


scottb411

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17 hours ago, alex said:

The vets could always move to Medical City. Oh, wait, there's no residential in the town center...

Or they could just take a bus.

Again, no matter where you put it, some people somewhere are going to have to travel a longer distance than those who live near wherever it is located. Even if they had located it right next to Sunrail, those who live farther out in the eastern and western ends of town would still need to drive or get a ride. 

You can't please everyone.

If some people have to ride a bus then that's just the way it is. It's not the end of the world. At least it's in the same metro area now. Vets used to have to go to Tampa to visit a VA hospital. 

 

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  • 3 months later...
On 7/10/2017 at 9:35 AM, spenser1058 said:

USTA CEO discusses the organization's new facility on Worth.com:

http://www.worth.com/katrina-adams/

Most interesting for us is that she suggests families are already moving to Orlando to take advantage of the tennis center.

If you take off from OIA SB, you can see it clearly on the left b/c the plane gains altitude quickly upon takeoff.  If you are landing NB at OIA, it's tough to see b/c you are already touching down before you get to it to see it.  It's cool.

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As we prepare for the construction of the new Amazon fulfillment center here, I liked this story about similar projects like those in Tracy, CA to service the Bay Area.

Some of the interesting takeaways include that it requires a more specialized work force to process individual orders than traditional warehouses handling bulk orders.

Also, it points out the infrastructure these facilities can take advantage of. We already have an excellent airport (and one of the dirty little secrets in the airport business is that cargo can be more important to your success than passengers, something the railroads have known even longer.)

One wonders if Port Canaveral will be able to leverage this and finally become a full-service port not as reliant on cruise ship boardings.

From CNBC:

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/15/amazon-other-fulfillment-centers-helping-towns-like-tracy-california.html

 

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On 7/16/2017 at 8:15 AM, spenser1058 said:

As we prepare for the construction of the new Amazon fulfillment center here, I liked this story about similar projects like those in Tracy, CA to service the Bay Area.

Some of the interesting takeaways include that it requires a more specialized work force to process individual orders than traditional warehouses handling bulk orders.

Also, it points out the infrastructure these facilities can take advantage of. We already have an excellent airport (and one of the dirty little secrets in the airport business is that cargo can be more important to your success than passengers, something the railroads have known even longer.)

One wonders if Port Canaveral will be able to leverage this and finally become a full-service port not as reliant on cruise ship boardings.

From CNBC:

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/15/amazon-other-fulfillment-centers-helping-towns-like-tracy-california.html

 

The big news a few years ago was the Publix distribution center off of 551 & Lee Vista, just north of OIA.  I saw it; it's big; about 1M sq ft.  The Trader Joe's Distribution Center in Daytona made big news also, just under 1M sq ft, off of I-95 & LPGA Blvd.  This Amazon Fullfillment Center is making headlines which is great for Orlando.

What is really ridiculously odd, is that over off of US 27 & I-4, over the past 3 years, they have built millions of square feet of distribution space for companies like Wal-mart, Fed Ex, etc.  That's part of the metro, just south of Four Corners and all.  It's crazy quick industrial space development- unseen before so quickly.  It's like Barbara Eden just folded her arms and blinked and...presto!

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 8/13/2017 at 8:21 AM, spenser1058 said:

Awesome!  Downtown can't buy a hotel, and Lake Nona is getting this gem.  What a landmark this will be as you pass by on 417.  Too bad it's not on I-Drive.  UNIQ Hotel would've filled this void if it would just break ground, but...anyway...

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I know this is heresy hereabouts, and it's not the place I'd ever want to live but I think we're giving short shrift to Lake Nona.

Here's a developer, Tavistock, that is willing to spend money on developing a full-throated new part of town. Not just throwing up buildings by the side of the road but making new industries possible besides tourism.

In addition to attracting (and supporting) a medical school, research facilities and job creators for average folks like Amazon, this has the potential to be a well-rounded community. There's a town center underway and they're attracting architectural firms like Arquitectonica.

Whether it's New Paris or Century City in LA, there are precedents for real cities welcoming this sort of development. Heaven knows, there's more planning involved here than growth along the Perimeter in Atlanta and that's where the growth has been happening there.

Finally, there's historical precedence. Cities have always popped up along the primary transportation nodes, whether it be oceans, rivers or railroads. Now, airports are handling the passengers and a large share of cargo so this space makes sense.

If our regional leaders cooperate and tie in OIA with Port Canaveral and given the road network out there isn't yet maxed out, it's amazing to ponder what could happen.

Just last week, Brevard native Sen. Bill Nelson marvelled that the spaceport is finally coming into its own again, with as many as two launches weekly as a possibility in the not so distant future. So far, Brevard has never chosen to host the financial/administrative infrastructure to support the space industry. Lake Nona could easily do that (let's take a moment to remember how few cities in the world have access to space.)

It definitely has the potential to be one of our top two or three economic zones.

 

Edited by spenser1058
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I dunno. Places like Lake Nona and Avalon Park are also prime examples of urban sprawl. All that new development represents more ground being covered with asphalt, more traffic and air pollution, more water being sucked up out of the aquifer faster than it can be replaced, more sprawling neighborhoods full of single family homes with pools and big yards that need to be watered and people taking showers and doing laundry and flushing toilets etc, etc, etc.

I saw a report on the evening news earlier, about Tavistock getting ready to put up yet another six story building out there somewhere. Can't find the rendering anywhere, though. 

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Normally, I'd agree with you. But, unlike Avalon Park, jobs are actually being created at Lake Nona so, theoretically, one need not commute so far. And, as we see withe hotel, there is at least the potential of vertical development. 

Heaven knows I wish we were Portland and I knew we could limit growth within a narrow urban service area. But that has never been Florida and the GOP-control of Tallahassee isn't changing soon.

At least, here seems to be a developer with a well-rounded plan and Lake Nona is, by virtue of being in the city limits moderated by Orlando's relatively green politicians (heck, even OC is coming around.)

Compare that with what happens if that growth goes to hard-right governments in Brevard or Polk and with a developer that doesn't care about anything but dollar signs (remember the Mackle Brothers or Rocket City?)

This seems our best bet to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by spenser1058
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That is all well and good, but it doesn't change the fact that Lake Nona is bringing more development outside the metro area into what was previously undeveloped land.

And it will become a catalyst for even more development.

Whatever the Lake Nona developers do or how well they plan and execute, other less conscientious developers are going to come along eventually, attracted by the demand for more residential and commercial development in close proximity to what they've already built.

Development begets more development.

Eventually, Narcoosee Rd will be a four lane commercial corridor from the airport all the way down to 192 with uninterrupted sprawling suburban neighborhoods, strip malls, fast food joints and 7 Elevens.

Not saying that wouldn't have eventually happened anyway, but I think Lake Nona is bringing us closer to that day sooner.

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16 hours ago, jrs2 said:

Awesome!  Downtown can't buy a hotel, and Lake Nona is getting this gem. 

 

Tremont has a hotel and recent hotel proposal in the vacant lot across from Lake Eola at Washington and Rosalind is stellar, IMO. Downtown has several hotels that recently completed or are in the works.  (Some may not get built but there are plans for hotels at DPAC, Creative Village, and MEC, as well as the recently completed Residence Inn at Orange and Colonial).  

Edited by dcluley98
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38 minutes ago, JFW657 said:

They've already named a new highway and interchange on the Bee Line after Sunbridge.

I refuse to call it the Beach Line.

I concur. I hate this tendency to just go around renaming our infrastructure willy-nilly with often generic names. But that starts a whole discussing of naming including doing name overlays (is it Colonial Drive or MLK Jr. Highway? Roads with several names across their length are confusing enough but an overlay is over the top silliness.) Either have the courage to memorialize the name as the official title or don't bother. Also consider if the name already has history. Other than inconvenience, renaming South St. wouldn't be a big deal. Renaming Herndon Airport OEA just blatantly destroys a name applied for a reason.

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16 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Normally, I'd agree with you. But, unlike Avalon Park, jobs are actually being created at Lake Nona so, theoretically, one need not commute so far. And, as we see withe hotel, there is at least the potential of vertical development. 

Heaven knows I wish we were Portland and I knew we could limit growth within a narrow urban service area. But that has never been Florida and the GOP-control of Tallahassee isn't changing soon.

At least, here seems to be a developer with a well-rounded plan and Lake Nona is, by virtue of being in the city limits moderated by Orlando's relatively green politicians (heck, even OC is coming around.)

Compare that with what happens if that growth goes to hard-right governments in Brevard or Polk and with a developer that doesn't care about anything but dollar signs (remember the Mackle Brothers or Rocket City?)

This seems our best bet to me.

 

3 hours ago, JFW657 said:

That is all well and good, but it doesn't change the fact that Lake Nona is bringing more development outside the metro area into what was previously undeveloped land.

And it will become a catalyst for even more development.

Whatever the Lake Nona developers do or how well they plan and execute, other less conscientious developers are going to come along eventually, attracted by the demand for more residential and commercial development in close proximity to what they've already built.

Development begets more development.

Eventually, Narcoosee Rd will be a four lane commercial corridor from the airport all the way down to 192 with uninterrupted sprawling suburban neighborhoods, strip malls, fast food joints and 7 Elevens.

Not saying that wouldn't have eventually happened anyway, but I think Lake Nona is bringing us closer to that day sooner.

I agree with both of you.  I like the Lake Nona development for what it will develop into.  I like that there is another economic engine independent of the traditional office parks Orlando has and downtown.  The State gave a lot of money for this to happen with Sanford Burnham.

But, at the same time, I also wish that all this development was west of I-4 between the Citrus Bowl and the OC Cthse redeveloping that part of town.  It would have elevated downtown tremendously.

I'm not a fan of the finger pointing that crosses party lines, because, both parties are guilty as charged when $$$ is involved and they BOTH cater to special interests.  Just because the voices from one party on these altruistic endeavors are heard more or magnified more than the other doesn't mean they don't exist on the other side of the aisle.  Take John Mica, he did a lot for transportation for Orlando yet was thrown to the curb because he was a Republican.  What's the Democrat newbie new girl gonna do for Orlando on this front?  Not a damn thing.

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It's always wonderful to say "let's be bipartisan!" but in Florida today, that dog won't hunt. The Republican legislature and the Republican governors and the Republican county commissions have disproportionately gutted the growth management statutes originally implemented by a Democratic governor and a Democratic legislature. That's not being partisan, those are simple facts.

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I really don't have too many complaints with Lake Nona. They're "town center" seems to be being built with parking garages and walkablity. Yes, there's the sprawl around it, but its gotta be somewhere, and its at least built with bike paths to a real jobs center that seems to also be getting real shopping and dining as well. Having places like Winter Garden is generally viewed as a positive on this forum, and from what Lake Nona appears to be doing, it should be more dense, and IMO better looking then that. They dedicated much more land to their town center then Avalon Park, and seem to be building it right. It seems like it could eventually develop into a true asset that really adds to the area like other nearby cities, such as Winter Park. Yes, it'd be nice if everyone there located in downtown and we were able to redevelop the west side of I4, but it was clear from day 1 that a few of the players involved just had no interest at all in being downtown. This was, IMO, just about the best we could have got with the players we had.

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2 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

It's always wonderful to say "let's be bipartisan!" but in Florida today, that dog won't hunt. The Republican legislature and the Republican governors and the Republican county commissions have disproportionately gutted the growth management statutes originally implemented by a Democratic governor and a Democratic legislature. That's not being partisan, those are simple facts.

I'm just saying, for example, Bloomberg (as in Bloomberg Tower & former NYC Mayor), is and was a big developer in NY and is and was very liberal, and is credited with codifying Big Gulps out of circulation.  I'm saying the big development money is on both sides of the aisle across the board.  I haven't dug into the specific Florida example...yet...but I'm sure Florida is no different than up north.  You mention politics; I'm talking developers; and developers grease the politicians to get what they want.  It's business no matter who's in charge or in office, whether its the Winter Park City Commission, the Orange County Commissioners, or, taking it even higher yet, Gollum.  Anyway...

News about Sanford Burnham's future plans:

http://orlando-rising.com/florida-hospital-may-turn-sanford-burnham-into-cancer-research-center/

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