Downtown Orlando Project Discussion

[smileguy]

4 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Oh my. And to think that for years there were restaurants (the Skyline, 94th Aero Squadron) where the whole attraction was to watch the planes take off and land.

I like Herndon.

Sheltair is still looking for a restaurant tenant for their top-floor space at their new FBO!  Spread the word.

[JFW657]

9 hours ago, IAmFloridaBorn said:

Thank you for this post. Orlando's architecture and high limit sucks and will keep it in the shadows. If it's comfortable being that way, so be it. 

 

Height aside, I love the idea of that awful airport beco"ming a public park. 

I don't really want to see downtown Orlando get "too big", or lose that smaller town feel.

I'd be comfortable with our future buildings remaining in the current height range.

A couple more SunTrust/Vue height buildings in the right places wouldn't be bad.

Especially north of Colonial.

[bqknight]

1 hour ago, JFW657 said:

I don't really want to see downtown Orlando get "too big", or lose that smaller town feel.

I'd be comfortable with our future buildings remaining in the current height range.

A couple more SunTrust/Vue height buildings in the right places wouldn't be bad.

Especially north of Colonial.

Agreed. Density is more important at this point. We really need some buildings to connect the CBD with the courthouse area.

[JFW657]

2 hours ago, bqknight said:

Agreed. Density is more important at this point. We really need some buildings to connect the CBD with the courthouse area.

I'd like to see something pretty tall north of Colonial.

One or two more would be enough.

I guess VMC will fit the bill, though I'd like to also see something a little farther south and over toward Magnolia.

[IAmFloridaBorn]

15 hours ago, JFW657 said:

I don't really want to see downtown Orlando get "too big", or lose that smaller town feel.

I'd be comfortable with our future buildings remaining in the current height range.

A couple more SunTrust/Vue height buildings in the right places wouldn't be bad.

Especially north of Colonial.

Unfortunately I just cannot agree and I never will with the notion of not having height for a City. 

 

It's not the most important thing but I don't think those of us who admire height she continued to hear that it's not needed

[ucfpatriot18]

[codypet]

No wonder Vinyl Arts Bar is so desperate to reinvent itself.

[popsiclebrandon]

1 hour ago, codypet said:

No wonder Vinyl Arts Bar is so desperate to reinvent itself.

That guy is trying everything to first keep his liquor license he has a year to get food sales up and second he is also trying to sell it before that year is up. I always see like free drinks with food purchase so he can skew his % over the 51% he needs.

[spenser1058]

I’m curious what Lauren Nicole is doing right. Despite all the comings and goings, it seems to be the non-edible retail that keeps hanging in there. (Interestingly, they closed the Delightful Downtown DeLand store where they started and the other one is in WP Village).

[orange87]

Is Bags Inc. still getting a HQ near Amway Center? They were bought by a company called SP+ in 2018, so I don't know if that's still happening.

[AmIReal]

11 hours ago, orange87 said:

Is Bags Inc. still getting a HQ near Amway Center? They were bought by a company called SP+ in 2018, so I don't know if that's still happening.

No

[popsiclebrandon]

There is a rumor going around that the 7-11 building on the edge of the park has been put under contract by the city and the Rosalind Club. Guess they are divvying it up or something. They really don't want a highrise next to their precious club so it makes some sense and maybe the city wanted more park land.

No idea how reliable that is but maybe someone here can dig around on that.

[nite owℓ]

Too bad the city couldn't buy out that entire corner (including the Rosalind Club) because IMO, the Rosalind Club needs to go too. At least the highrise would clean up and contribute to that corner of the park.

[spenser1058]

10 minutes ago, nite owℓ said:

Too bad the city couldn't buy out that entire corner (including the Rosalind Club) because IMO, the Rosalind Club needs to go too. At least the highrise would clean up and contribute to that corner of the park.

I’ll lay down in front of Buddy’s Bulldozers before they take out the Rosalind Club.

[JFW657]

I hope they leave that corner alone.

IMO, the only thing a high rise on that spot would contribute to is the ruination of the Lake Eola Park.

[JFW657]

7 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

I’ll lay down in front of Buddy’s Bulldozers before they take out the Rosalind Club.

Same here.

Except I'm not just being facetious.  

(OK, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit)

[spenser1058]

Actually, if necessary I would. Recently, I had to grapple with whether I was prepared to accept a charge of contempt of court if I chose to follow my conscience.  I decided I was (thankfully, it did not come to that).

As Scotty said, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” We know Buddy simply has no interest when it comes to preserving our past and he has decimated the HPB and ARB boards. 

It’s time to take our city back. This time, I’m ready because we’re well on our way to turning the City Beautiful into Casselberry and that cannot stand.

[spenser1058]

That corner has three historic buildings which are worth saving and two are well down the road to demolition by neglect. 

The house if restored could be an amazing restaurant and the old Masonic Lodge (assuming Cameron Kuhn didn’t chop it up beyond repair when he did the ‘90’s redo) could be a fun venue for smaller groups.

Thankfully, the ladies of the Rosalind Club have maintained their facility. It would be great if they considered opening it up a few times a year so the public could get a better look at it, but it is after all a private club.

Ironically, the 7-Eleven building got a refresh at one point when it was anchored by Stirling Realty and looked really good for a mid-century modern retail/office structure. Why its owners let it fall back into disrepair so quickly is concerning to me.

[popsiclebrandon]

1 hour ago, spenser1058 said:

That corner has three historic buildings which are worth saving and two are well down the road to demolition by neglect. 

The house if restored could be an amazing restaurant and the old Masonic Lodge (assuming Cameron Kuhn didn’t chop it up beyond repair when he did the ‘90’s redo) could be a fun venue for smaller groups.

Thankfully, the ladies of the Rosalind Club have maintained their facility. It would be great if they considered opening it up a few times a year so the public could get a better look at it, but it is after all a private club.

Ironically, the 7-Eleven building got a refresh at one point when it was anchored by Stirling Realty and looked really good for a mid-century modern retail/office structure. Why its owners let it fall back into disrepair so quickly is concerning to me.

Is the Masonic Lodge the 5-6 story one next to the 7-11? I always liked that building and thought be cool to see a restaurant go in the top floor.

[JFW657]

I don't know if it's feasible from a structural/engineering standpoint or from a financial one, but I'd like to see them add a couple of floors to the 7-11 building like they did with the old JCPenney building.

7 minutes ago, popsiclebrandon said:

Is the Masonic Lodge the 5-6 story one next to the 7-11? I always liked that building and thought be cool to see a restaurant go in the top floor.

Yes, "The City Centre" building.

[spenser1058]

8 hours ago, popsiclebrandon said:

Is the Masonic Lodge the 5-6 story one next to the 7-11? I always liked that building and thought be cool to see a restaurant go in the top floor.

It is. I think Cameron renamed it City Centre or something like that.

[AmIReal]

Each administration for the past 40 years has had the opportunity to deem these properties of historic value and none have. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe any of these buildings have Orlando Historic Landmark or National Register designation. I agree the old Lubbe house is beautiful as is the Rosalind house, but City Centre is a bad renovation of non-historic value structure and the 7-11 building may be a representation of a time but it is a very bad representation of that time. Either building could be saved, but at what cost to the owner and is it worth their time.

Because, in the end, what is done with these properties is the decision of the owners. As long as the plans meet zoning and ARB then the Mayor has very little legal authority to stop an owner from developing within guidelines.

Think of it this way- you own the property and decide you want to retire and set up a trust for your family  so you decide to sell the property. The City says you can't sell to someone who is going to demo it and you can't change the exterior of the structure and you need to better maintain it, oh and here's your $50k property tax bill...

Again, some of these buildings are very nice and I'd love to see them saved. I just recognize that decision is not mine or Mayor Dyer's or Commissioner Sheehan or any one else with the City. 

from 2015 https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-historic-demolition-20150624-story.html

some old photos below...

[spenser1058]

This administration from almost the first day of office thumbed its nose at preservation and ignored a lawful proclamation by the City to preserve the facades of the Jaymont Block.

Buddy’s appointments to the the HPB and ARB have been largely toothless.

Orlando has a strong mayor form of government and can fight to strengthen ordinances where necessary.

We heard those same tired arguments when Mayor Bill saved Eola Heights and Lake Lawsona but he prevailed.

The simple fact is Buddy doesn’t care. It’s time to elect a mayor again who does.

I might add that it’s not like we don’t have plenty of room to build all the high rises you want. The fact we wasted many of them on totally forgettable structures like Camden Orange Court along North Orange Ave is a failure to use the bully pulpit.

Sorry, but that dog won’t hunt.

[JFW657]

42 minutes ago, AmIReal said:

Each administration for the past 40 years has had the opportunity to deem these properties of historic value and none have. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe any of these buildings have Orlando Historic Landmark or National Register designation. I agree the old Lubbe house is beautiful as is the Rosalind house, but City Centre is a bad renovation of non-historic value structure and the 7-11 building may be a representation of a time but it is a very bad representation of that time. Either building could be saved, but at what cost to the owner and is it worth their time.

Because, in the end, what is done with these properties is the decision of the owners. As long as the plans meet zoning and ARB then the Mayor has very little legal authority to stop an owner from developing within guidelines.

Think of it this way- you own the property and decide you want to retire and set up a trust for your family  so you decide to sell the property. The City says you can't sell to someone who is going to demo it and you can't change the exterior of the structure and you need to better maintain it, oh and here's your $50k property tax bill...

Again, some of these buildings are very nice and I'd love to see them saved. I just recognize that decision is not mine or Mayor Dyer's or Commissioner Sheehan or any one else with the City. 

from 2015 https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-historic-demolition-20150624-story.html

some old photos below...

I would think that the city zoning commission could enact stringent height restrictions for that property based on it's proximity to the park which in turn would make it unattractive to developers by lowering the profit potential.

I believe some group was formed and an effort begun to prevent the Lubbe house from being demo'd back when the last high rise developer was eyeing it.

[spenser1058]

Being thoughtful about preserving the best parts of a city gives you a Savannah. Taking the laissez faire approach gives you Casselberry.

Orlando has plenty of space downtown for high rises without destroying the structures that connect us with our history.

In fact, there is space on the east side of Lake Eola to do just that. Personally, I’d rather keep the EO Inn and buy the two lots available to extend the park to Summerlin, but I know that will never happen with this administration.

The truth is that Buddy has been mayor for so long that people just assume the areas he has chosen to ignore can’t be touched due to some holy writ. That’s definitely not the case.

The reason the mayor of Orlando has long called the shots on what happens in Central Florida even though the city is relatively small is because of the power granted by a strong mayor form of government. 

An awful lot can happen if the occupant of the office chooses to address a given issue. The venues happened and Parramore as a neighborhood got ignored because that’s what Buddy wanted to happen.

By the same token, Orlando’s intown neighborhoods were preserved (a rarity among Sun Belt cities) and downtown revitalization happened because Mayor Bill made it a priority.

Baldwin Park became what it did and didn’t simply lie fallow like so many former military bases because of Mayor Glenda (along with Bill behind the scenes back in commercial lawyer mode).

We can have the downtown we want. Our mayors starting with Carl Langford have all burned out sometime in their third terms. We currently see the process repeating itself.