Downtown Orlando Project Discussion

[JFW657]

6 hours ago, prahaboheme said:

No I don't - I've been following the ace Cafe Facebook page because they have been chronicalling the restoration of the Leu building. This is a screenshot from a video posted there.

Update: Don Bell Signs

Don Bell has a long standing reputation. 

Back in the 90's, they built the giant Fender Stratocaster that used to adorn the roof of the downtown Miami Hard Rock Cafe.

[spenser1058]

What's not captured in still photos is the sheer joy of dynamic neon. Things like the Tour-O-Tel sign (just north of Parliament House) where a fat man in polka-dot trunks with a cigar jumped off the diving board. Also, the Western Way shopping center (across from the Magic Mall on W. Colonial) sign where the cowboy on a horse lassoed the "WESTERN WAY" letters. The Ronnies sign had thousands of small light bulbs on the inside which lit up from the top of the "R" and went across all the letters before going dark and starting again. Those movements fell out of favor in the 1970's and Orlando passed an ordinance prohibiting it. I imagine it was also OK with the sign owners as the first energy crisis took place and the price of electricity soared. That led to 70's earth tones in architecture as well such as the switch from the red and white McDonald's with the Golden Arches over the roof (somewhat like the retro model at Colonial and Primrose) to the utterly bland mansard style which first appeared locally at OBT/Oak Ridge and 17-92 in Winter Park just north of Orange Ave.

Edited May 6, 2017 by spenser1058

[Jernigan]

New rendering for renovation of old AT&T building just across Amelia from Crescent Central Station.  Growthspotter has an article as well behind paywall 

 

 

Edited May 11, 2017 by Jernigan

[JFW657]

Looks like an attached parking garage on the North end.

I like seeing old buildings reused like that.

[alex]

19 minutes ago, Jernigan said:

New rendering for renovation of old AT&T building just across Amelia from Crescent Central Station.  Growthspotter has an article as well behind paywall 

The article also had a daytime rendering. From the article:

• Q1 2018 completion 
• 118,500 sq ft Class A office space + 10,000 new sq ft of retail
• 200-space garage

[gibby]

Disappointing that they won't be expanding the building toward Amelia.

[JFW657]

Short of doing that, it would be nice if they'd create some kind of open courtyard area.

Maybe outdoor dining with umbrella covered tables ala Rockefeller Center.

And lots of trees.

[codypet]

Looks to me like that's what they're planing.  Perfect spot for an outdoor cafe.   I can't wait to see when "Signage" moves in.

Also isn't that garage exactly where Firestone is or am I confused?

*Nevermind.  I see Firestone in the background.

Edited May 11, 2017 by codypet

[bqknight]

According to the OBJ, Walgreens has opened. 

[metal93]

I always imagined that building getting the wrecking ball, nice to see that is being reused.

I agree with gibby that it's a missed opportunity that the building isn't extended to Amelia. I may be in the contrary to the general opinion here, but I would rather that corner be built on than become another plaza. And even then it looks like some of the parking in front of the Amelia side of the building is going to be maintained, judging from the cars parked under "Signage." I did some rough Google Earth measurements and there's around 70 feet from the building to the edge of the sidewalk, ignoring the fence. That's a good spot for a narrow building to go in. A building about the size of 800 N Orange could fit, while maintaining the setback on Orange created by the original building to be used for outdoor cafe space. Of course this would block the "Signage" though.

[jack]

1 hour ago, gibby said:

Disappointing that they won't be expanding the building toward Amelia.

That would not be very smart of  them or cost effective. They would get a greater impact if it was outdoor dining or something along the lines next  to the Foxtail. 

[gibby]

Outdoor patio area would be great but it looks like they plan to continue to have about 12 parking spaces over there.  Anything other than parking in that area and I'll be happy.

[JFW657]

1 hour ago, jack said:

That would not be very smart of  them or cost effective. They would get a greater impact if it was outdoor dining or something along the lines next  to the Foxtail. 

Gotta agree. I think the main reason for refurbishing rather than demolishing and building new, was to save money. 

[JFW657]

31 minutes ago, gibby said:

Outdoor patio area would be great but it looks like they plan to continue to have about 12 parking spaces over there.  Anything other than parking in that area and I'll be happy.

I dunno. There's plenty of surface parking in the back for the retail-restaurant customers without having to use the south end too.

That could be what is depicted in the rendering.

Of course, I'm not saying they won't, but they certainly don't need to.

[codypet]

The only negative for a cafe I would see is that it does seem to be facing the service bays at Crescent Central.  Not a whole lot you can do with that.

[popsiclebrandon]

Retail going to be a tough sell there. Maybe UCF will help.

[dcluley98]

I drove by the old Police Headquarters building today, and they had an 8 foot chain link fence they were installing around the site.  I haven't seen any news on the Magic Entertainment Complex lately, but looks like demo of the police building will start soon. Has anybody seen any news or can find permits on potential demo on the site?  Sorry I couldn't snap any photos, as I was driving in traffic. 

But, they said it would start construction "this year" last I heard, so demo starting now is quite feasible. 
 

[Jernigan]

Agreed - there's still no tenant in the large restaurant space in Crescent 

[JFW657]

1 hour ago, codypet said:

The only negative for a cafe I would see is that it does seem to be facing the service bays at Crescent Central.  Not a whole lot you can do with that.

Doesn't look like too bad of a view...

Nothing a row of hedges wouldn't block.

 

[WAJAS]

2 hours ago, dcluley98 said:

I drove by the old Police Headquarters building today, and they had an 8 foot chain link fence they were installing around the site.  I haven't seen any news on the Magic Entertainment Complex lately, but looks like demo of the police building will start soon. Has anybody seen any news or can find permits on potential demo on the site?  Sorry I couldn't snap any photos, as I was driving in traffic. 

But, they said it would start construction "this year" last I heard, so demo starting now is quite feasible. 
 

 

 

The current plan is to start construction on all phases immediately after the Police Station is leveled.  They want all phases finished by early 2020 at the latest, so they have a good chance at winning the bids for the NBA All-Star Game.

Edited May 11, 2017 by WAJAS98

[WAJAS]

2 hours ago, JFW657 said:

Doesn't look like too bad of a view...

Nothing a row of hedges wouldn't block.

 

 

I can think of one upside to this.  It increases the chance that BRT lanes could be built here as a part of the plans for the northern extension of Lymmo.  They actually just changed the route of Lymmo Orlando - North Quarter to better fit the long-term plan, so it goes turns west on Amelia from Orange then south into Lynx Central Station then east on Livingston.

 

LYMMO_Map-April-30-2017.pdf

[Jernigan]

That's technically true but the change was to give the driver a layover at LCS.   So if you are trying to get to the Courthouse from NQ, your best bet is to get off there and walk.

Ever notice the Grapefruit line is always parked on Church and Magnolia?   

[WAJAS]

@Jernigan I only use Lymmo on game days, so I never actually noticed that. Interesting.

Whatever happened to the Southern and Northern Lymmo extensions? Wasn't the study on them done a few years ago now?

[Jernigan]

The leg work on public involvement and other studies on the possible routes were done during that time.  The result was a "locally preferred alignment" but the missing piece is the funding.   I think the SoDo extension has more legs because of the existence of a self-taxing district in that area.  

The nub of an extension up to Marks was done within the existing budget by changing the Orange Line frequency from 5 to 7 minutes.  There was talk of a southern nub down to Gore to serve Crescent Lucerne once that is complete and Westminster Towers.

[IAmFloridaBorn]

Not so sure I like that old building being re-used. But ehh, it's Orlando.