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Downtown Orlando Project Discussion


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On ‎8‎/‎19‎/‎2018 at 12:41 PM, AndyPok1 said:

Definitely one of the coolest pics I've seen.  Impressed they were able to get that from a plane.

it must have been on a turn.  I didn't realize jets flew that close with course adjustments just south of downtown.   Well, maybe I did...I have seen jets flying south looking west past I-4.

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3 hours ago, Dale said:

Count me as disgruntled for not getting the kind of architecture that ten-times-bigger global mega-city LA is getting.

Ummm….you do know great architects don't just work in "global mega-cities" like LA, right? 

Frank Gehry in San Jose, Las Vegas, Cambridge (Mass), Cleveland, and Toledo (Ohio)

But we don't even need a Frank Gehry.   There are tons of really innovative designs floating around.  All it takes is a little imagination, which local developers and govt officials seem to lack. 

 

Frank Gehry San Jose.jpg

Frank Gehry, Las Vegas.jpg

Frank Gehry Cambridge Mass.jpg

Frank Gehry Cleveland.jpg

Frank Gehry Toledo.jpg

Edited by I am Reality
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4 hours ago, I am Reality said:

There are tons of really innovative designs floating around.  All it takes is a little imagination, which local developers and govt officials seem to lack. 

So I got a question: of all those designs you just posted (and the question is posed to everyone, not just you), which of them do you think would get approved by the DDB ?

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Some of the celebrity architects who have designed buildings in the area: Michael Graves, Robert A.M. Stern, Cesar Pelli, Frank Lloyd Wright.

Also, Nils Schweizer (acolyte of Wright) and Barton Myers, who both designed noted buildings downtown.

Onward to Addison Mizner (helped plan the design for Rollins, which has won kudos as one of the most attractive college campuses in the U.S.)

Also: Milton Medary, architect of Bok Tower, whose fusion of Deco with Gothic is virtually unparalleled. While we're there, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. who designed the grounds.

Once again, there's this obsession that everything has to be in downtown Orlando. To assume that is to miss the very essence of the region.

 

Edited by spenser1058
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50 minutes ago, jgardnerucf said:

Is pic #3 the Marriott Residence Inn at Mama B's? :silly:

The Stata Center at MIT - a building universally hated by MIT students and administration alike for its inefficient design and a host of structural problems (Gehry was sued by the school shortly thereafter). Needless to say, Gehry hasnt worked in Boston ever since.

46 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

Some of the celebrity architects who have designed buildings in the area: Michael Graves, Robert A.M. Stern, Cesar Pelli, Frank Lloyd Wright.

Also, Nils Schweizer (acolyte of Wright) and Barton Myers, who both designed noted buildings downtown.

Onward to Addison Mizner (helped plan the design for Rollins, which has won kudos as one of the most attractive college campuses in the U.S.)

Also: Milton Medary, architect of Bok Tower, whose fusion of Deco with Gothic is virtually unparalleled. While we're there, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. who designed the grounds.

Once again, there's this obsession that everything has to be in downtown Orlando. To assume that is to miss the very essence of the region.

 

A few others:  Graham Gund, John M Johansen

Edited by Ivanhoe
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Based on the responses, I must assume everyone is just delighted with the local architecture. 

I personally think it sucks.  It's totally unimaginative.  And everyone here knows it.  Everyone here talks about it frequently.  But I mentioned it . . . and now everything has changed.   Whatever.

In a related note . . can we end this notion that ANYONE is happy with the decentralized nature of Orlando?  If that is the case, everyone's comments totally belie them.  All  I hear are people desperate for Orlando to be a big-city with loads of downtown development.  That's my whole take-away from this.  

Let's at least be honest about our comments and our intentions on UrbanPlanet.  This is not an exercise in community boosterism.  It's a website about URBAN development with commenters literally begging for more urban development.  When I make a comment though, all of the sudden Orlando's greatest asset is it decentralized nature.  I say bullsh*t.  

Can we at least attempt to be consistent?

And if you'd rather talk about Lakeland or Bok Gardens, that is best saved for another website.  They have as much relationship to Orlando as Ocala.  They have no place on a website called UrbanPlanet. 

 

Edited by I am Reality
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57 minutes ago, I am Reality said:

Based on the responses, I must assume everyone is just delighted with the local architecture. 

I personally think it sucks.  It's totally unimaginative.  And everyone here knows it.  Everyone here talks about it frequently.  But I mentioned it . . . and now everything has changed.   Whatever.

In a related note . . can we end this notion that ANYONE is happy with the decentralized nature of Orlando?  If that is the case, everyone's comments totally belie them.  All  I hear are people desperate for Orlando to be a big-city with loads of downtown development.  That's my whole take-away from this.  

Let's at least be honest about our comments and our intentions on UrbanPlanet.  This is not an exercise in community boosterism.  It's a website about URBAN development with commenters literally begging for more urban development.  When I make a comment though, all of the sudden Orlando's greatest asset is it decentralized nature.  I say bullsh*t.  

Can we at least attempt to be consistent?

And if you'd rather talk about Lakeland or Bok Gardens, that is best saved for another website.  They have as much relationship to Orlando as Ocala.  They have no place on a website called UrbanPlanet. 

 

It’s your attitude we don’t like.

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1 hour ago, I am Reality said:

And if you'd rather talk about Lakeland or Bok Gardens, that is best saved for another website.  They have as much relationship to Orlando as Ocala.  They have no place on a website called UrbanPlanet. 

 

You should spend more time in these places. It’s everything you rally for. A bit funny you are so unaware.

Edited by Ivanhoe
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28 minutes ago, Ivanhoe said:

It’s your attitude we don’t like.

I don't give a rip if you like me or not.  There are very good odds I wouldn't like you either (if I actually knew you).  But I will withhold judgment.  That's how rational people think.

But given your distaste for me, kindly block me. I don't expect to ever hear from you again.  If I do, I will not respond. 

Edited by I am Reality
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1 hour ago, spenser1058 said:

As Jernigan noted earlier, the Nunziata brothers have purchased the historic Church Street depot.

Now, they'd like to know what national retail tenant that you'd get all hot and bothered to have there.

They've even created a website so you can vote for your favorite:

https://www.makeorlandogreat.com/

Chelsea Market concept? Yes please! 

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19 minutes ago, HankStrong said:

Agreed on the Chelsea Market concept.

It's the first thing that popped into my husband's head when I said Ferg's closed. I know Brandon had mentioned there was once a proposal to do one somewhere downtown but someone really needs to make this happen. 

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Please, don’t vote for Chelsea Market! We need to wait it out on that one because the building simply won’t work for that kind of concept.  A restaurant would work best if we want this business to stick around. Is the top floor large enough to be the restaurant by itself with a retail concept on the first floor?

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The problem with a national chain restaurant is the kitchen can not be placed inside the building due to limits on modifications and historic designation of the building. Ferg had the kitchen in the box cars outside the building. That will work for a small kitchen, but I don't see a national seriously considering it.

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I love the idea of a food hall.  I think we need to dial back the expectations though. 

The Chelsea Market is economically viable for a number of reasons. First, it is located in a huge (1 million+ square feet) office building.  There are a number of successful businesses and studios there.  My wife and kids attended a Food Network taping upstairs.  

The Chelsea Market is also the center of NYC's Google campus. The building itself is owned by Google.  Thousands of Google employees work in the market and surrounding buildings.  

The Chelsea Market is also located in NYC's most fashionable neightborhood and it's located on the High Line. It's also located a few minutes from the Financial District, one of the great employment centers in the world.  

My point is that the Chelsea Market is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of place. It cannot be easily reproduced just anywhere.  There is a reason why it make economic sense.

We need to think about something much less grandiose in Orlando.  A small food hall with a beer garden might work (and it would be my preferred choice).  Maybe something like the East End.   A Foxtail would work there as well (it would be preferred over ubiquitous Starbucks).  

I would avoid any soulless chains.

Edited by I am Reality
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