Orlando Attractions Area News & Developments

[jrs2]

1 hour ago, I am Reality said:

You people are oddly defensive over criticism of a double-decker highway.  How weird.  I wasn't passing judgment on anyone on this website, their mothers, perfect Orlando, the governor, Roseanne Barr, The Rock,  Mark Zuckerberg, or anyone else.  

No need to be so damn defensive. 

Building a double-decker highway seems like a poor choice to me.  It's overkill.  I base that opinion on common sense and what other cities are doing. Is that alright with you guys?  Granted, I didn't pull the freaking emgineering renderings or look-up Slide #34 of the Beyond the Ultimate PowerPoint presentation.  

I didn't realize it was such a sensitive issue.

Everyone can carry on now.  Get back to blindly agreeing with other.  "Yes yes yes!!!! We NEED a double-decker highway!!!! What a glorious idea!!!!" the group chants in unison. 

 

Well,  per above, the doubled decked viaduct system is actually cheaper than purchasing ROW.  Isn't that a good thing?

As for your original commentary on bad corporate neighbors not wanting to donate land to Ultimate, initially, I agreed with you.  But, I-4 is close to Vistana & WDW and related properties and there isn't a whole lot Ultimate can do there.  And, why should any company give up real estate for free or cheap anyway?  It's the classic American Dream, owning real estate, isn't it?

56 minutes ago, dcluley98 said:

I was also going to add that they are doing it to keep the Rail ROW in the middle for future HSR planning.  This makes a lot more sense and will save money in the long-run when future needs have the ROW already available and planned. Calling this a boondoggle is very shortsighted, IMO. 

 

I wondered about that...

[AndyPok1]

1 hour ago, I am Reality said:

Building a double-decker highway seems like a poor choice to me.  It's overkill.  I base that opinion on common sense and what other cities are doing. Is that alright with you guys?  Granted, I didn't pull the freaking emgineering renderings or look-up Slide #34 of the Beyond the Ultimate PowerPoint presentation.  

I spent 20 minutes before posting doing exactly that so that I could base my opinion on the engineering renderings as opposed to what other cities are doing.  I try my best to research all the facts and attempt to remove preconceived notions.  I don't believe discussions are worth having otherwise.

[spenser1058]

3 hours ago, codypet said:

The acquired a ton of land through downtown and into Winter Park and they're double-decking through Ivanhoe.

Obviously, I missed something here. One of Glenda Hood's biggest bugaboos back when they first began talking about what became I4 Ultimate (admittedly before they decided to enrich a lot of foreign investors, their lobbyists and certain politicians by building Lexus Lanes) was that double-decking downtown would be an eyesore and hence a no-go. I take it from this discussion that's changed along the way? I can't say I'm shocked, just apparently out of the loop.

[I am Reality]

Did you consult an engineering firm and do  a land survey also?

Let's not get carried away here.

I made a simple observation.  Nothing more.  The article said the double-decking would be built in extended areas.  I relied on that.  I don't care about engineering renderings.  And I didn't feel the need to fact-check the writer. 

 

Edited April 11, 2018 by I am Reality

[shardoon]

Interesting local presentation for DP area. Looks like Daryl Carter extension is starting August 2018. Also, the new "urban style" high school with a height of 84 feet is scheduled to be online in 2022. 

http://www.orangecountyfl.net/Portals/0/Resource Library/open government/Dr. Phillips Town Hall Presentation Master.pdf

 

 

[jrs2]

1 hour ago, shardoon said:

Interesting local presentation for DP area. Looks like Daryl Carter extension is starting August 2018. Also, the new "urban style" high school with a height of 84 feet is scheduled to be online in 2022. 

http://www.orangecountyfl.net/Portals/0/Resource Library/open government/Dr. Phillips Town Hall Presentation Master.pdf

 

 

great post. 

Daryl Carter west is very good; gets you out of the fray quickly.

Kirkman extension to 528.  They would have to completely redo the SLR interchange for that, right?  Right now it's this broad big looped outdated thang that if they redid more tightly, they could start the angled turn and go around Martin's in use property.

 

3 hours ago, I am Reality said:

Did you consult an engineering firm and do  a land survey also?

Let's not get carried away here.

I made a simple observation.  Nothing more.  The article said the double-decking would be built in extended areas.  I relied on that.  I don't care about engineering renderings.  And I didn't feel the need to fact-check the writer. 

 

consider this... an elevated portion is cheaper than purchasing ROW.  with that in mind, it's really not that infeasible a direction to go in.

[jgardnerucf]

Moderator: Beyond the Ultimate thread please! 

[aent]

Universal has apparently settled its lawsuit for its south park, paving the way for construction to begin on the new theme park. We don't know yet if they acquired more land as part of the settlement, but it seems likely they did.

[shardoon]

3 hours ago, jrs2 said:

great post. 

Daryl Carter west is very good; gets you out of the fray quickly.

Kirkman extension to 528.  They would have to completely redo the SLR interchange for that, right?  Right now it's this broad big looped outdated thang that if they redid more tightly, they could start the angled turn and go around Martin's in use property.

 

consider this... an elevated portion is cheaper than purchasing ROW.  with that in mind, it's really not that infeasible a direction to go in.

I could be completely off, but I thought the entire SLR/Kirkman interchange was being replaced with the current construction that is taking place. 

Another interesting tidbit was the extension of Mandarin Drive (Tangelo Park) to Universal BLVD. ..... since this is now all Universal property,  this will probably be a back entrance to the Universal resort through their warehouses/backstage area etc similar to how Disney has one off Winter Garden Vineland. 

1 hour ago, aent said:

Universal has apparently settled its lawsuit for its south park, paving the way for construction to begin on the new theme park. We don't know yet if they acquired more land as part of the settlement, but it seems likely they did.

Its mind boggling how that guy was able to squeeze money out of this.  Universal was the one who originally placed the provision in there when the sold it off decades ago.  Talk about coming back to haunt them. At some point, they owned everything. I am sure they are hitting themselves in the head considering that they would have owned the whole enchilada fronting the entire East side of Universal Blvd from SLR all the ways to Shingle Creek Resort. 

[WAJAS]

57 minutes ago, shardoon said:

I could be completely off, but I thought the entire SLR/Kirkman interchange was being replaced with the current construction that is taking place. 

Another interesting tidbit was the extension of Mandarin Drive (Tangelo Park) to Universal BLVD. ..... since this is now all Universal property,  this will probably be a back entrance to the Universal resort through their warehouses/backstage area etc similar to how Disney has one off Winter Garden Vineland. 

Its mind boggling how that guy was able to squeeze money out of this.  Universal was the one who originally placed the provision in there when the sold it off decades ago.  Talk about coming back to haunt them. At some point, they owned everything. I am sure they are hitting themselves in the head considering that they would have owned the whole enchilada fronting the entire East side of Universal Blvd from SLR all the ways to Shingle Creek Resort. 

It wouldn't be an extension to Universal Blvd because it already ends there, but I get what you're saying.  It might be backstage in a way, but other property owners (namely TopGolf and an apartment complex) also bump against the ROW carved out for the extension.  Keep in mind Universal has already filed plans for warehouse developments on the north side of the property next to the Kirkman and Sandlake.

[jgardnerucf]

Didn't see that post until afterwards. Still shaking fist.

[cwetteland]

20 hours ago, codypet said:

The acquired a ton of land through downtown and into Winter Park and they're double-decking through Ivanhoe.

I've looked at the ultimate plans more than a dozen times over the years, and I drive the length several times a week now.  I've seen no mention of double-decking in the plans nor evidence in the construction.  In downtown, they do come close to buildings and might have acquired land to do so, but haven't taken down existing structures.  Mostly, they're just using land that had been part of berms.  It looks like they're overhanging Garland in a few spots, but that's not double-decking, in my opinion.

[codypet]

They have a acquired a ton of land downtown including the former Magic Fan Attic, the ABBA desks store, countless homes in the College Park Neighborhood, many homes west of I-4 near Michigan and several low income apartment complexes off of Gore.  Obviously the Express Lanes haven't been constructed yet, and I don't know that your definition of double-decking is, but if you look at Ivanhoe there's a small stretch where the entirety of the eastbound lanes will be hovering over the access for the Express Lanes.  Judging by your contexts its sounding like you're considering double-decking as EB over WB or vise versa.  In that case, no, nothing like that is happening.

[shardoon]

It appears Universal got more land out of the settlement. Does anybody know how much land?

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/brinkmann-on-business/os-bz-universal-acquires-more-property-20180412-story.html

[codypet]

18 hours ago, jrs2 said:

Kirkman extension to 528.  They would have to completely redo the SLR interchange for that, right?  Right now it's this broad big looped outdated thang that if they redid more tightly, they could start the angled turn and go around Martin's in use property.

I had seen a map in the county's public works office that showed the entirety of Kirkman Road shift to the east under that is now the NB exit for Lockheed.   Kirkman would continue south, just to the east of Lockheed, and appear next to the Westin.  I don't know if that's still the plan.

[shardoon]

19 minutes ago, codypet said:

I had seen a map in the county's public works office that showed the entirety of Kirkman Road shift to the east under that is now the NB exit for Lockheed.   Kirkman would continue south, just to the east of Lockheed, and appear next to the Westin.  I don't know if that's still the plan.

However, wouldn't that split Lockheed in two? They have buildings to the east of that NB exit. 

[spenser1058]

An update on the demise of Crossroads from the Sentinel.

Maybe the most interesting tale to come from it is that we may lose the last Gooding's.

Jim Gooding started with his single IGA in Maitland in the '60's and might have followed a similar trajectory to Mr. George at Publix but decided to hold off until his kids were grown to expand.

Once that happened in the '80's, Gooding's was arguably Central Florida's most upscale grocery chain, with stores from Daytona to Celebration.

Particularly after the Daniels family sold Fairway Markets and Gooding's picked up Fairway's deli-bakery unit, no other Florida chain could touch them for quality.

Sadly, after Jim Gooding decided to retire and pass daily operations to his son, things went downhill quickly. Just like with Dano Davis at Winn-Dixie, the kids never took their responsibilities seriously and two successful family-operated chains were destined to fail. (So far, the Jenkins and Hollis clans at Publix have avoided the trap, although the CEO is from outside the family for the first time. Thankfully, he's been a lifer at Publix starting in NSB and knows the business well.)

Disney-built Crossroads shopping center counting final months
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/consumer/os-bz-crossroads-i4-535-interchange-20180411-story.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 12, 2018 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

Disney patent to turn hotel rooms into an immersive show experience:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/news-stories/disney-files-patent-for-immersive-multimedia-hotel-room-shows/amp/

From The DIS

Look for this to come into play at the new Star Wars Resort at DHS.

Apparently, this may be a first use of this technology right here in Orlando, where nothing interesting ever happens , right?

[JFW657]

11 hours ago, shardoon said:

It appears Universal got more land out of the settlement. Does anybody know how much land?

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/brinkmann-on-business/os-bz-universal-acquires-more-property-20180412-story.html

http://www.wftv.com/video?videoId=731388585&videoVersion=1.0

 

[shardoon]

11 hours ago, JFW657 said:

http://www.wftv.com/video?videoId=731388585&videoVersion=1.0

 

So they essentially just doubled their land overnight with an extra 400 acres. However, looking at a lot of the land that formally was owned they that Stan guy, it appears that a lot of it will not be buildable since it is Shingle Creek.  However,  I am sure that the smaller pieces will do wonders with making their original land acquisition more continuous. 

[JFW657]

[codypet]

This is all land they owned, sold, and bought back.  Right?

[klstorey]

Just now, codypet said:

This is all land they owned, sold, and bought back.  Right?

Yes. And ironically, it was Universal who had originally placed the deed restrictions baring theme parks from being built there. They sold 1,200 acres in 2003, they now look to have acquired around 700-1,000 acres back but have paid more than double what they sold it for. I tried to give a rundown of the history of the deed restrictions in my article on it .  One interesting thing yet to come out of this is what land Stan Thomas has remaining and what will happen to it.  That and the Ripley's lot are the two big question marks outside of Universal's holdings. 

[shardoon]

5 hours ago, klstorey said:

Yes. And ironically, it was Universal who had originally placed the deed restrictions baring theme parks from being built there. They sold 1,200 acres in 2003, they now look to have acquired around 700-1,000 acres back but have paid more than double what they sold it for. I tried to give a rundown of the history of the deed restrictions in my article on it .  One interesting thing yet to come out of this is what land Stan Thomas has remaining and what will happen to it.  That and the Ripley's lot are the two big question marks outside of Universal's holdings. 

I read in one article that Stan only retains 4 small plots of land and Universal placed restrictions on them not to be direct competition with entertainment attractions or timeshares. I guess small hotels like a Hilton Garden Inn etc is permitted. 

[aent]

28 minutes ago, shardoon said:

I read in one article that Stan only retains 4 small plots of land and Universal placed restrictions on them not to be direct competition with entertainment attractions or timeshares. I guess small hotels like a Hilton Garden Inn etc is permitted. 

Did Universal put in a really clear exemption for themselves this time? lol