Other Metro Area Projects

[bic]

Oops..sorry, I meant Apopka Vineland.

My house can be seen in that picture, so I should know these things...

Edited July 12, 2005 by bic

[downtowninvestor]

whos the developer of this development? or does anybody know about a sales office or interest llist for the project?

[bic]

Unicorp Development (unicorpdevelopment.com)

I don't believe there is a sales office or waiting list yet, as the project still has to go through some approval meetings. I think the next meeting is August 23, so perhaps we'll hear more then.

The developer stated that they are looking to sell the 120-130 2-story townhouses for a whopping $500,000-700,000. They claimed to not know the square footage of the units yet.

[JRS1]

Ok, you guys were debating a couple weeks back over height restrictions in Orlando and Buddy's statements. Well, here's what an Orlando Architect told me a few weeks ago regarding downtown:

He said that when Sunbank announced their intention to build the Suntrust building (by SOM) in 1988, they made the city "agree" that no building built or proposed by 2006 would be taller than Sunbank.

The guy who told me this has been in downtown since the mid eighties. He swears on it. I can't believe that this type of agreement could or would ever be made-- it makes no sense to me. It would definitely explain why the courthouse was cut from its original height of 500+ feet. And remember, the Pizzuti "cube" tower, they wrote in the Sentinel, was not liked by the city council-- they hated the design- and of course the faa thing.

Orlando City Center now shows up with some tall proposals and 2006 is 5 months away. keep track of the height proposal as things get more detailed when the proposal goes before the board.

[otowner]

That seems very odd that Sunbank would make that kind of demand. Or that the city would agree to something like that. There has to be more to this story.

[Dale]

Trminds me of the supposed 'gentlemen's agreement' they had in Minneapolis not to build taller than IDS.

Never found out for certain whether there was anything to it.

[JRS1]

yeah, but what I don't get is that the "gentlemen" must have changed by now- you would think. Buddy Dyer is the mayor now... I dnk...

[JRS1]

Think of how awesome the central region of Orlando/Winter Park will be in 5 years: College Park & Wellesley phase 1 and maybe 2; Winter Park downtown- Mills redevelopment; Fla Hosp additions; ORMC additions; THornton Park construction; general downtown construction-- it will truly become a great city at its core.

[bic]

Sand Lake Road to expand

OrlandoSentinel.com Staff

Posted July 25, 2005, 10:52 AM EDT

Orange County Mayor Richard Crotty and Congressman Ric Keller announced a $21 million road-widening project for Sand Lake Road this morning.

The major east-west thoroughfare, which serves about 50,000 motorists each day, is what officials call one of the gateways to what is becoming known as Downtown Orange County.

On the agenda is widening Sand Lake Road from 4 to 6 lanes over a 3 1/2- mile section, which has seen about 700 car crashes from 1999 to 2003 -- or 53 percent above the state average, Crotty said in a prepared statement. Crotty and Keller hope the widening will help meet future traffic needs and improve pedestrian safety.

Major intersection improvements also are planned, including replacing the bridges over Shingle Creek and widening the bridge over Kirkman Road.

Congressman Keller is working in Washington to secure more than $6 million in federal funding for the project.

Source - Orlando Sentinel

[prahaboheme]

Sand Lake Road does not need to be widened. That is going to be disasterous and much, much more dangerous. When are these fools going to learn...

[bic]

I'm not sure about that. Sand Lake road is always super congested between I-Drive and the Florida Mall in both directions at any time during the day. For such a major east-west thoroughfare, I think it could stand to be a bit wider than 4 lanes in that ~5 mile corridor.

The part of Sand Lake Road that needs the most help is the I-4 eastbound onramp/offramp intersection. I would venture to say that about one out of every four times I pass through there, an accident has recently occured. The frequency of accidents there is just insane. A few years after I moved into the area, they redesigned that particular intersection a *little* bit and added strobe lights that went on when the signal turned red. Apparently that wasn't enough to fix the problem.

[prahaboheme]

I'm not saying it doesn't need to be redesigned. It definitely does, especially around the Kirkman interchange. Widening is simply not the answer. I would say that the quality of life in that area of town is already pretty much destroyed so it doesn't really matter, but that would be counterproductive, so i'll say that until people get out of the psychology of "road widening=less traffic" then we are never going to truly solve the problem. We need our roads to be narrower, more traffic buffers, more trees, etc., things that SLOW people down, not SPEED them up. Wide open six-lane highways make people go faster. Its simple urban psychology.

[bic]

I agree with all of your points. That said, I think this might be a warranted exception.

With the exception of the fairly recent development of the Sand Lake Road (SR482)/John Young Parkway intersection, SR482 is pretty much an industrial wasteland between Universal Blvd. and OBT. It seems to me like the majority of drivers on that stretch of road are using it to get from areas west of Kirkman to areas east of OBT and not so much places in between (with the exception of JYP). Until there is more development in that area, people will want to get through there as fast as possible without any delays. Currently, however, there is so much volume in this corridor that congestion has reached critical levels. Unfortunately, a major mass transit system servicing this corridor is far from becoming a reality, so something needs to be done in the meantime.

Perhaps synchronizing traffic signals or having longer dedicated turn lanes would help out a bit, but I think expanding it to 6-lanes would be the most efficient way of mitigating the congestion. It's not like expanding SR482 through this short stretch of road is going to infringe on any pedestrian friendly areas or park space. It's basically just an entrance to a neighborhood, a fire station, gas station, water treatment facility, Walmart, industrial parks, and vacant land. I think having cars sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic in this bleak area makes it more of a wasteland than if they were clipping along at speed.

Hopefully the road improvements will help to brighten up the area (a la OBT a few years back) and help to lure some more development.

[JRS1]

I respect everyone's viewpoint on this road widening issue but I must make a point.

Sand Lake Road, from OBT to Universal Blvd. is a flat out joke of a road with inadequate egress lanes and a horrible interchange w/ Kirkman. It needs to be widened and rebuilt big-time. It is such a white-trashy road now. (See US 192 before 1999 and now, including the part being paved now from Kiss. city limits to 535)

When they widen these roads, like they did with 192, OBT in 1997 and 436 in various phases and Alafaya this year, they add lanes of traffic and egress lanes and sidewalks and sewer drains and sometimes street lighting-- but always improving the traffic signals. It's night and day. A community can't expect to modernize with outdated roads with decrepid signage and old street lights and very short turn lanes that are half gravel at some points. How can you ingress onto a 4-lane road with no ingress lanes w/o risking your life?

The best stretch of Orlando road is 436 from Red Bug south to Aloma. Aside from the heavy traffic patterns, its a good example of how 8-lane roads can be designed to work perfectly.

[bic]

Former Sheraton Maitland to be rebuilt, reflagged

New owners will replace hotel's Irish pub with upscale restaurant.

Bob Mervine

Staff Writer

MAITLAND -- A landmark Maitland hotel, shuttered this week after being purchased for an undisclosed amount, is slated to be revived into "the premiere hotel in Maitland," according to the new owners.

Read More - Orlando Business Journal

Edited August 1, 2005 by bic

[bic]

12-story condo tower set to rise in Altamonte Springs

By Jack Snyder | Sentinel Staff Writer

Posted August 1, 2005

The skyline in Altamonte Springs is about to undergo radical change. Tower One of Emerson Plaza will soon be rising at CenterPointe On The Park. Developer Emerson International Inc. has selected Hoar Construction LLC of Birmingham, Ala., to built the $25 million, 12-story condominium tower.

....

Broad Street Partners LLC, Charleston, S.C., and Orlando, is building the $35 million, 303-unit The Heritage at Millenia apartments near the Mall at Millenia in south Orlando. The project is expected to be completed next fall. . . .

Read More - Orlando Sentinel

Edited August 1, 2005 by bic

[OCF]

Emerson condos in Altamonte have began to go vertical. They were working on the second floor when I walked by today. The rest of Altamonte's Centrepointe development is now in full gear also. Parts of Crane's Roost park have now been closed for construction and the old Marshal's plaza has been completely demolished and new walls starting to rise. This area will really add alot to the area when it's finished. Next to Lake Eola, Crane's Roost may be the best urban park in Central Florida. Once everything is complete it will be surrounded by Condo's, restaraunts, a movie theater is already complete, and plenty of shops including the Altmamonte Mall. It won't be a downtown to rival Orlando's current resurgence but it will be a great town center to add an identity and character to some of our other communities. Sorry no pics because I dont have a good digital cam yet.

[EngineerNole]

Emerson condos in Altamonte have began to go vertical.  They were working on the second floor when I walked by today.  The rest of Altamonte's Centrepointe development is now in full gear also.  Parts of Crane's Roost park have now been closed for construction and the old Marshal's plaza has been completely demolished and new walls starting to rise.  This area will really add alot to the area when it's finished.  Next to Lake Eola, Crane's Roost may be the best urban park in Central Florida.  Once everything is complete it will be surrounded by Condo's, restaraunts, a movie theater is already complete, and plenty of shops including the Altmamonte Mall.  It won't be a downtown to rival Orlando's current resurgence but it will be a great town center to add an identity and character to some of our other communities.  Sorry no pics because I dont have a good digital cam yet.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What about that Superchannel tower? I was staying at the Ivanhoe Plaza Hotel (the old Radisson next to "The Travelers" Building) and I saw the tower in the distance. It looks like it had a lot done since I was last in Orlando. Any new pics or updates on the progress of that?

[OCF]

What about that Superchannel tower?  I was staying at the Ivanhoe Plaza Hotel (the old Radisson next to "The Travelers" Building) and I saw the tower in the distance.  It looks like it had a lot done since I was last in Orlando.  Any new pics or updates on the progress of that?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Most of the glass has been placed on the upper portions of the tower but the bottom 3-5 stories are still bare. It is coming together slllloooowwwlllly. I wouldn't be surprised if Emerson condos and the rest of Centrepointe are finished before this tower. The inside still appears to be bare, no wiring, ventiliation or internal infrastructure as far as I can tell. No work on any areas surrounding the project either such as driveways or landscaping. Fortunatly when the entire building is glass enclosed it will appear like a working office tower from a distance during the day.

[bic]

Ironically, there is a proposal for two large mixed-use buildings on Sand Lake Road at Kingspointe Parkway (think of that barren land between Kirkman Road. and the Industrial Parks). Phase I will consist of about 163,133 sq. ft. of mixed-use office/retail, and Phase II will add a 69,690 sq. ft. office building. Phase I will be 65-feet tall and Phase II will be 50-feet tall.

Nothing ground-breaking about this project, but the renderings make it look like it will clean up that part of Sand Lake Road quite well. Check out the plans here.

[Jaybee]

Nothing ground-breaking about this project, but the renderings make it look like it will clean up that part of Sand Lake Road quite well.

Cool! Trevi Fountain and a Bike Path!

[facilities man]

The condos at Cranes Roost are going up a floor per week to week and a half. There's also some vertical activity at the Altamonte town center. It looks like the apartment building is up about six or seven stories.

[cwetteland]

Nothing ground-breaking about this project, but the renderings make it look like it will clean up that part of Sand Lake Road quite well. Check out the plans here.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Has one of my pet pieves ... and reminds me of several more.

1) Lots of surface parking ... I hate pavement.

I also hate ... overhead power and phone lines and ...

You know when the yellow line next to a road median is 4' out from the median on either side ... that means the median could have been 8' wider ... more greenery less pavement. If you can't drive on it .. don't pave it!

You know those suicide turn lanes that go on and on ... often with no driveways to turn into on either side of the road ... I hate pavement for pavement sake.

You know when they paint diagonal yellow stripes to simulate a median ... put a curb around it and plant some grass, damn it.

[GRS328]

I also hate ... overhead power and phone lines and ...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm totally with you on this one. It may seem like a minor detail, but it makes a big difference.

Another pet peeve of mine, while a bit off topic but kind of related to power/phone lines, are the hanging wire street lights. I despise these. Aesthetically speaking, they are hideous in comparison to poled lights. And I would also make the argument they are not as safe and can be visually confusing as they are configured on diagonals, with some lights virtually directly overhead the stop line. Depending on the vehicle you are in and what lane you are in, it can be very difficult to see what the light is.

[bic]

I completely agree with the comments about above ground power/telephone lines. Burying them underground should be the first step towards beautifying areas like I-Drive north of Sand Lake Road, where unsightly wooden power poles and massive amounts of overhead wires suffocate the airspace and add further clutter to an already tacky road.