Downtown Orlando Project Discussion

[JFW657]

That's awesome, but being true to form, can't resist throwing a ittle shade on this sunny picture.

And yes, I know it's a bit of a picayune point, but I'm sure the mast arm traffic signals they'll be putting up there will be the same as on Orange Ave and the rest of downtown.

Like this...

...with the signals mounted vertically and perpendicular to the arm.

Those are fine, but I've always kinda wished ever since they first installed them back in the 80's, that ours had been the kind they use over in downtown Tampa...

...with the signals mounted horizontally, in line with the arm.

Just a matter of personal preference with me, because I always felt the horizontally mounted type look more sleek and modern, giving the area a more modern look.

JMHO. 

[prahaboheme]

^Agree.

The vertical signals look better when the mastarm rises vertically and arches over the street:

 

Edited October 7, 2018 by prahaboheme

[WAJAS]

1 hour ago, JFW657 said:

That's awesome, but being true to form, can't resist throwing a ittle shade on this sunny picture.

And yes, I know it's a bit of a picayune point, but I'm sure the mast arm traffic signals they'll be putting up there will be the same as on Orange Ave and the rest of downtown.

Like this...

...with the signals mounted vertically and perpendicular to the arm.

Those are fine, but I've always kinda wished ever since they first installed them back in the 80's, that ours had been the kind they use over in downtown Tampa...

...with the signals mounted horizontally, in line with the arm.

Just a matter of personal preference with me, because I always felt the horizontally mounted type look more sleek and modern, giving the area a more modern look.

JMHO. 

I believe they use those same designs in downtown Miami after all of their old mast arms got destroyed in the early 2000s by hurricanes.

[spenser1058]

1 minute ago, WAJAS98 said:

I believe they use those same designs in downtown Miami after all of their old mast arms got destroyed in the early 2000s by hurricanes.

A similar design was used in the late 1970's for the Jacksonville Main St. refurb.

[Urban Mail Carrier]

 I don’t like the building on the far left by the railroad tracks, the way it obscures the pedestal and stairs of the pedestrian bridge.  To me at least it’s not aesthetically pleasing.  Not a good sight line.

[JFW657]

That's the old China and Glass Factory something or other building. One of Orlando's few remaining oldies. 

The only thing I don't like about it is that ugly street light smack dab in the middle of the facade. Not really wild about the color scheme either.

But heaven forbid they ever think of tearing it down.

[spenser1058]

Hey, that's the 'Toon Building! It was Acme Glass for years. Olde Town made lofts of it about the same time they did Thornton Park Central, but I don't think anyone wanted to pay as much as they were asking to live right on 50 and by the railroad tracks back when the coal trains were running day and night.

[orlandouprise]

16 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

Hey, that's the 'Toon Building! It was Acme Glass for years. Olde Town made lofts of it about the same time they did Thornton Park Central, but I don't think anyone wanted to pay as much as they were asking to live right on 50 and by the railroad tracks back when the coal trains were running day and night.

are they still loft units?

4 hours ago, prahaboheme said:

^Agree.

The vertical signals look better when the mastarm rises vertically and arches over the street:

 

those are the type they use on park ave in WP...really nice IMO

[spenser1058]

Just now, orlandouprise said:

are they still loft units?

An excellent question and I'm not sure what became of them. If they are, either the price came way down or they went through workout (hardly unusual for downtown condos.)

[aent]

4 hours ago, JFW657 said:

That's awesome, but being true to form, can't resist throwing a ittle shade on this sunny picture.

And yes, I know it's a bit of a picayune point, but I'm sure the mast arm traffic signals they'll be putting up there will be the same as on Orange Ave and the rest of downtown.

Like this...



...with the signals mounted vertically and perpendicular to the arm.

With that base, It will probably be the thicker metal, quite probably the large thick metal mast arms FDOT's been using everywhere lately, since it is SR 50. I hope it retains the high mast lighting to provide better lighting for the intersection.

I personally hate any diagonal lighting over the intersections, it is so much harder to see if you're first in line and I don't think it looks pretty. Although I don't know why Orlando hasn't switched to horizonal signals yet, much of the rest of the state has already made that switch as they do better in hurricanes. Orange County is really, really bad when it comes to traffic lights compared to the rest of the state.

[WAJAS]

12 minutes ago, aent said:

With that base, It will probably be the thicker metal, quite probably the large thick metal mast arms FDOT's been using everywhere lately, since it is SR 50. I hope it retains the high mast lighting to provide better lighting for the intersection.

I personally hate any diagonal lighting over the intersections, it is so much harder to see if you're first in line and I don't think it looks pretty. Although I don't know why Orlando hasn't switched to horizonal signals yet, much of the rest of the state has already made that switch as they do better in hurricanes. Orange County is really, really bad when it comes to traffic lights compared to the rest of the state.

I believe the reason why Orlando doesn't have them is because 1) they are way more expensive and 2) the storm surge that those masts were designed to sustain doesn't occur in inland Orlando.

Edited October 8, 2018 by WAJAS98

[aent]

Just now, WAJAS98 said:

I believe the reason why Orlando doesn't have them is because 1) they are way more expensive and 2) the storm surge that those masts were designed to sustain doesn't occur in inland Orlando.

Changing the direction from vertical to horizontal increases the price? Going up to Alachua County which should have weaker wind codes then Orlando there standard installation is horizontal. I definitely see the absolute worst signal installations of the whole state in this area, by far, like not even comparable.

[JFW657]

What do we think of using the style used at OBT and Oak Ridge Rd at Colonial and Orange? 

Maybe at Magnolia as well?

I kind of like them.

[Uncommon]

50 minutes ago, JFW657 said:

What do we think of using the style used at OBT and Oak Ridge Rd at Colonial and Orange? 

Maybe at Magnolia as well?

I kind of like them.

I like them. They have them on Alafaya near Waterford too. They look cool.

[WAJAS]

1 hour ago, aent said:

Changing the direction from vertical to horizontal increases the price? Going up to Alachua County which should have weaker wind codes then Orlando there standard installation is horizontal. I definitely see the absolute worst signal installations of the whole state in this area, by far, like not even comparable.

Not the direction so to say. The design used in Miami and Tampa does happen to have the lights horizontal. Those masts were specifically designed to sustain storm surge during hurricanes, which Orlando doesn’t deal with as much.

You guys mentioned Tampa as an example, and those in use in downtown Tampa are more expensive.  Other horizontal ones exist, but those in Tampa are more expensive.

[nite owℓ]

9 hours ago, orlandouprise said:

are they still loft units?

Yes, the China Glass Warehouse lofts are privately owned condos, zoned as live/work space, and usually rented out by the owners. Each loft unit is different, parking and amenities are shared with Camden. IMO, it's one of the most unique yet underrated properties vs the abundance of cookie cutter apartments downtown.

[RedStar25]

They are lofts.  I sold three of them back when they opened.  They sold very well. I would have loved to have lived there. 

[aent]

11 hours ago, JFW657 said:

What do we think of using the style used at OBT and Oak Ridge Rd at Colonial and Orange? 

Maybe at Magnolia as well?

I kind of like them.

While I like that style, they make the traffic lights much harder to see. They really need to add at least one front side signal for each movement to those to overcome the visibility issues (although Orlando never cares about visibility, and if there will be a red light camera then its better for them to be hard to see, safety be damned)

[sunshine]

Dr. Phillips expanding Packing District, revising development plan

http://www.growthspotter.com/news/residential-property-developments/gs-dr-phillips-expanding-packing-district-revising-development-plan-20181005-story.html#nt=oft03a-1la1

[Urban Mail Carrier]

20 hours ago, JFW657 said:

That's the old China and Glass Factory something or other building. One of Orlando's few remaining oldies. 

The only thing I don't like about it is that ugly street light smack dab in the middle of the facade. Not really wild about the color scheme either.

But heaven forbid they ever think of tearing it down.

Appreciate that it’s one of Orlando’s few remaining oldies. Still an ugly sight line.  I’m not one for keeping old buildings for the sake of it , unless  something historical occurred  or something unique architecturally can be pointed out. 

[JFW657]

29 minutes ago, Urban Mail Carrier said:

Appreciate that it’s one of Orlando’s few remaining oldies. Still an ugly sight line.  I’m not one for keeping old buildings for the sake of it , unless  something historical occurred  or something unique architecturally can be pointed out. 

I agree with that. 

I just don't think the building in question is architecturally insignificant or that opening up the sight line of the pedestrian bridge is a valid reason to demo it.

[codypet]

I'm gonna speak about the mast arms since that's something our group does a lot.   The mast arms at Livingston and Orange are from a bygone era.   The non-fixed mount ones have been replaced with fixed mounts and thicker bases due to new requirements for hurricane wind loads.   FDOT has moved over to galvanized for their signals, but being that SGL is maintaining these new mast arms and sign trusses, they may go for black.  I would suspect it will match what you've seen go up at Princeton St.

[sunshine]

Not sure if everybody have seen the DTO Amazon proposal. Here are some graphics used

Under I

 

http://orlandoedc.com/Orlando/media/Orlando/Why-Orlando/DTO-AmazonHQ2_Orlando_RFP_Response.pdf?utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.orlandoedc.com%2Fblog%2Forlando-amazon-hq2-proposal

[gibby]

It's great to see Pine Street poking through on that map.  Hopefully, the City will stay committed to that.

[JFW657]

Interesting report on the local news this evening regarding plans for the old Firestone building. It's in the process of being converted to a concert and special events venue. According to the news bimbos, when it's finished, "The Vanguard" as it will be called, will be able to seat "thousands" of people, but looking at the design drawings and renderings, I don't see how.

Also mentioned in the report was the old Bell South building next door. Looks like that project isn't dead yet after all.

Here's a glimpse of an updated rendering:

If WFTV ever posts the video to their website, I'll post a link.

 

 

Edited October 13, 2018 by JFW657