Other Metro Area Projects

[VistaLakes01]

That is exactly where it was. Caddycorner across from J.C.Penney.

There was another Monkey Wards on SOBT where the big Goodwill store is now.

That's correct about Sears, I knew it was on that side of the street, just wasn't sure if the building was still standing. I know the Sears at Fashion Square was a stand alone for about 10 years before they built the mall. It was supposed to be a flagship new design. There was a discount store in the building where LA Fitness is called Miller's, and there was a discount store called JM Fields that was first located where Home Depot is on East Colonial near 436, then it moved across the street from Fashion Square, then later became KMart and now is that new shopping center. The executive airport really keeps the population density down in that area, I see even the Denny's has closed down. Hope something happens soon to liven up the area, if possible. That damn airport keeps a lot of stuff from happening!

[spenser1058]

That's correct about Sears, I knew it was on that side of the street, just wasn't sure if the building was still standing. I know the Sears at Fashion Square was a stand alone for about 10 years before they built the mall. It was supposed to be a flagship new design. There was a discount store in the building where LA Fitness is called Miller's, and there was a discount store called JM Fields that was first located where Home Depot is on East Colonial near 436, then it moved across the street from Fashion Square, then later became KMart and now is that new shopping center. The executive airport really keeps the population density down in that area, I see even the Denny's has closed down. Hope something happens soon to liven up the area, if possible. That damn airport keeps a lot of stuff from happening!

I took a little trip over to Fashion Square Thursday to get a feel for how things looked these days. First, it was somewhat busier than I might have expected. Second, there were a lot of empty storefronts, and the ones lost tended to be the more upscale retailers. Given the demographics of the shoppers I saw and the stores that seem to be holding out (not to mention the brand selections the anchors are choosing to emphasize), it appears that OFS's destiny is to be an inner-city mall. I got no sense that the folks in Baldwin Park, Winter Park or even the more upscale downtown areas such as Eola Heights are going there these days, if my brief snapshot in time is any indication. What that means going forward, I leave our esteemed posters to determine.

An update from today's Sentinel:

Orlando Fashion Square is losing its latest tenant: FYE, a store that sells DVDs, CDs and video games.

Today is FYE's last day. The store is to close at 5 p.m.

FYE has several other locations around Central Florida.

Orlando Fashion Square has lost about a dozen tenants in the past several months.

Edited July 6, 2009 by spenser1058

[demon]

I took a little trip over to Fashion Square Thursday to get a feel for how things looked these days. First, it was somewhat busier than I might have expected. Second, there were a lot of empty storefronts, and the ones lost tended to be the more upscale retailers. Given the demographics of the shoppers I saw and the stores that seem to be holding out (not to mention how the brand selections the anchors are choosing to emphasize), it appears that OFS's destiny is to be an inner-city mall. I got no indication that the folks in Baldwin Park, Winter Park or even the more upscale downtown areas such as Eola Heights are going there these days, if my brief snapshot in time is any indication. What that means going forward, I leave our esteemed posters to determine.

An update from today's Sentinel:

Orlando Fashion Square is losing its latest tenant: FYE, a store that sells DVDs, CDs and video games.

Today is FYE's last day. The store is to close at 5 p.m.

FYE has several other locations around Central Florida.

Orlando Fashion Square has lost about a dozen tenants in the past several months.

I think Fye is closing because of technology updates. I can't remember when myself or anyone I know bought a CD.

[VistaLakes01]

I think Fye is closing because of technology updates. I can't remember when myself or anyone I know bought a CD.

Fashion Square can be busy and I think it's got a very nice looking interior, but the clientele don't match the neighborhood. If you go across Maguire to Pei Wei, Starbucks, Chipolte, LA Fitness, etc. and the customers are very "Thornton Parkish". The mall seems to be avoided by that crowd or has nothing to offer that crowd. It's hard to match up to Millenia. Altamonte has a decent tenant list, if fashion Square could get some similar retailers. Once a mall loses The Gap.........downhill from there. West Oaks is in the same situation and the new Lifestyle center in Winter Garden has worsened the situation....too bad H &M chose Seminole Towne Center as well as Florida mall. That could have been a draw to OFS.

[cwetteland]

Reading the metrowest and spenser posts I get opposite stories. I could be wrong. Spenser says the stores that have been forced to close are the upscale ones. Metro seems to say that the problem is they don't have enough upscale stores.

Which came first, quiet mall or upscale departure?

[spenser1058]

Reading the metrowest and spenser posts I get opposite stories. I could be wrong. Spenser says the stores that have been forced to close are the upscale ones. Metro seems to say that the problem is they don't have enough upscale stores.

Which came first, quiet mall or upscale departure?

I think it was hardly sudden. Fashion Square began a slow, inexorable decline starting with the 1991 recession, not unlike a lot of other malls around the country. Then, NTC close and other malls started opening. Also, as Florida Mall went upscale and Millenia opened that way to begin with, the "general purpose mall" began to fall out of favor.

And, as often happens, the East Colonial retail corridor is hitting its midlife crisis. It could continue to sink (much as Casselberry and Pine Hills once did) or it could be revitalized (as College Park was and Downtown is).

Perhaps an interesting story: In 1986, when the Herndon Plaza Publix opened, leading to the closure of the Colonial Plaza Publix, one of the suits there from Lakeland told me that there would never be another Publix between the new location and downtown. It's fascinating how perspectives change: that store is long gone and not 1, but 2, Publix stores have since opened to the west (Colonialtown and Eola). So who knows. As for me, I'm hoping OFS will just drop its claim to the retail we need to allow a renaissance of downtown shopping, but I could easily be as much in error as the poor Publix management type 23 years ago.

[VistaLakes01]

I think it was hardly sudden. Fashion Square began a slow, inexorable decline starting with the 1991 recession, not unlike a lot of other malls around the country. Then, NTC close and other malls started opening. Also, as Florida Mall went upscale and Millenia opened that way to begin with, the "general purpose mall" began to fall out of favor.

And, as often happens, the East Colonial retail corridor is hitting its midlife crisis. It could continue to sink (much as Casselberry and Pine Hills once did) or it could be revitalized (as College Park was and Downtown is).

Perhaps an interesting story: In 1986, when the Herndon Plaza Publix opened, leading to the closure of the Colonial Plaza Publix, one of the suits there from Lakeland told me that there would never be another Publix between the new location and downtown. It's fascinating how perspectives change: that store is long gone and not 1, but 2, Publix stores have since opened to the west (Colonialtown and Eola). So who knows. As for me, I'm hoping OFS will just drop its claim to the retail we need to allow a renaissance of downtown shopping, but I could easily be as much in error as the poor Publix management type 23 years ago.

In it's prime in the 70's and 80's OFS was never "upscale" but it wasn't "small town" either. It had all the main stores that an average mall in a large metro would have. Gap, Chess King,Jeans West, Florsheim Shoes, Casual Corner, Foxmoor, Lerner, etc. It was anchored by Sears, Burdines, and Robinsons. Robinson's closed and was replaced by New Orlean's signature department store Maison Blanche. The mall then expanded and built a new Maison Blanche where Dillards now is, the old Robinson's store became the second level with OFS's first food court and JCPenney was added probably because Winter Park Mall was failing fast. The original decor of OFS was very upscale looking for it's time, it wasn't like your average Simon mall. It had huge marble fountains and pretty impressive art sculptures. When they added on and remodeled it went to the horrible pink and teal colors, I'm happy to see they've got a more upscale look on the interior design now. Maison Blance was then bought out by Gayfers, an awful department store from the Gulf Coast somewhere, Mobile or Biloxi or something. When Dillards bought it they don't seem to have done much to "Dillarize" it, I'd say it's probably the worst Dillards around. In the meantime the Ivey's at Winter Park mall became a Dillard's clearance store. Oh, in between all this when Ivey's closed in Winter Park, the built a brand new store on the front end of Colonial Plaza, and also sometime in the 70's Belk moved from the front parking lot (Where the big wine store is) to a whole south mall addition on the other side of Jordan Marsh. When Jordan Marsh/Maas Brothers combined with Allied Stores (Burdines) they chose to shutter Jordan Marsh and keep the Burdines across the street at Fashion Square. The Jordan Marsh at Altamonte Mall became JCPenney. When Dillard's bought Ivey's, Dillards was at Colonial Plaza for a short time. Then Dillards took over Gayfer's and moved to Fashion Square. That was the end of the Colonial Plaza Mall and most of it was demolished. If you look at the back of the Marshall's store you can see the original brick wall of the Belk that was there. So then the 91 recession happened, the Navy Base closed and Florida Mall expanded. They built a single level women's Dillard's where the current Dillards is and a men's Dillards store where the whole newer expansion is now. Belk closed and surprisingly became Saks, The Robinson's/Maison Blanche/Gayfers store became Lord and Taylor after remaining empty several years. Then Dillards rebuilt their current store which is a really nice and larger than average Dillard's. Then the mens' Dillards was torn down and the mall expanded to the Burdines/Macy's wing, and then finally the Nordstrom wing was added. Also the JCPenney expanded and nearly doubled it's size to become one of the largest JCP's in the world. There had been a sign since the late 60's about Florida Mall coming soon on that spot. Every so many years they would repaint the sign and change the opening date. When it opened in 1985 it was pretty much the crappiest mall around, lacking the Jordan Marsh anchor where Dillard's is, and the only anchors were Sears, Robinson's, JCPenney, and Belk. It was a quiet mall until Dillards came in and got really busy when the Burdines and Nordstrom opened. Millenia doesn't seem to have to bad of an impact on it, it's still one of the busiest malls in the country per square foot. As far as Fashion Square and the departure of upscale, about as upscale as they got was when they moved the Gap to another location, and added a huge Limited and a Structure store. There was a Banana Republic on Park Ave. and also a Structure and there was a Benneton in Florida Mall. If OFS manages to keep it's anchors and builds the lifestyle component their could be a rebirth there . The Palm Beach Mall was planning something similar and Macy's and Dillard's pulled out before they could start building their new lifestyle section. Now Palm Beach mall is in the top 10 most struggling malls, I think there is still a JCPenney there. The movie theaters are new to Fashion Square although through the years they had a triplex in the parking lot, destroyed that and build six theaters and AMC built 8 theaters next door called Fashion Village 8. While all this retail madness was going on, Orlando was trying to get "Galleria Orlando" built where Universal Studios is now, the only anchor that ever committed was Ivey's. Colonial Plaza Mall also failed because it was not allowed to add any more restaurants or a food court, the restaurant Ronnie's had a contract with the mall not to add anymore restuarants. The only other eateries in CPM was the McCrory's restaurant and in the south wing a little restaurant called "The Snack Bar." Once OFS added a food court it was the end of CPM. The developers promised to build a "Marketplace Village" with Big Box stores, but it was one of the first in the country and is not pedestrian friendly at all. Winter Park Mall was demolished except for the Penney's building which became Albertson's, now Publix, and the Dillards building where the Cheescake Factory is and the Loft apartments. Whew!

[OCF]

In it's prime in the 70's and 80's OFS was never "upscale" but it wasn't "small town" either. It had all the main stores that an average mall in a large metro would have. Gap, Chess King,Jeans West, Florsheim Shoes, Casual Corner, Foxmoor, Lerner, etc. It was anchored by Sears, Burdines, and Robinsons. Robinson's closed and was replaced by New Orlean's signature department store Maison Blanche. The mall then expanded and built a new Maison Blanche where Dillards now is, the old Robinson's store became the second level with OFS's first food court and JCPenney was added probably because Winter Park Mall was failing fast. The original decor of OFS was very upscale looking for it's time, it wasn't like your average Simon mall. It had huge marble fountains and pretty impressive art sculptures. When they added on and remodeled it went to the horrible pink and teal colors, I'm happy to see they've got a more upscale look on the interior design now. Maison Blance was then bought out by Gayfers, an awful department store from the Gulf Coast somewhere, Mobile or Biloxi or something. When Dillards bought it they don't seem to have done much to "Dillarize" it, I'd say it's probably the worst Dillards around. In the meantime the Ivey's at Winter Park mall became a Dillard's clearance store. Oh, in between all this when Ivey's closed in Winter Park, the built a brand new store on the front end of Colonial Plaza, and also sometime in the 70's Belk moved from the front parking lot (Where the big wine store is) to a whole south mall addition on the other side of Jordan Marsh. When Jordan Marsh/Maas Brothers combined with Allied Stores (Burdines) they chose to shutter Jordan Marsh and keep the Burdines across the street at Fashion Square. The Jordan Marsh at Altamonte Mall became JCPenney. When Dillard's bought Ivey's, Dillards was at Colonial Plaza for a short time. Then Dillards took over Gayfer's and moved to Fashion Square. That was the end of the Colonial Plaza Mall and most of it was demolished. If you look at the back of the Marshall's store you can see the original brick wall of the Belk that was there. So then the 91 recession happened, the Navy Base closed and Florida Mall expanded. They built a single level women's Dillard's where the current Dillards is and a men's Dillards store where the whole newer expansion is now. Belk closed and surprisingly became Saks, The Robinson's/Maison Blanche/Gayfers store became Lord and Taylor after remaining empty several years. Then Dillards rebuilt their current store which is a really nice and larger than average Dillard's. Then the mens' Dillards was torn down and the mall expanded to the Burdines/Macy's wing, and then finally the Nordstrom wing was added. Also the JCPenney expanded and nearly doubled it's size to become one of the largest JCP's in the world. There had been a sign since the late 60's about Florida Mall coming soon on that spot. Every so many years they would repaint the sign and change the opening date. When it opened in 1985 it was pretty much the crappiest mall around, lacking the Jordan Marsh anchor where Dillard's is, and the only anchors were Sears, Robinson's, JCPenney, and Belk. It was a quiet mall until Dillards came in and got really busy when the Burdines and Nordstrom opened. Millenia doesn't seem to have to bad of an impact on it, it's still one of the busiest malls in the country per square foot. As far as Fashion Square and the departure of upscale, about as upscale as they got was when they moved the Gap to another location, and added a huge Limited and a Structure store. There was a Banana Republic on Park Ave. and also a Structure and there was a Benneton in Florida Mall. If OFS manages to keep it's anchors and builds the lifestyle component their could be a rebirth there . The Palm Beach Mall was planning something similar and Macy's and Dillard's pulled out before they could start building their new lifestyle section. Now Palm Beach mall is in the top 10 most struggling malls, I think there is still a JCPenney there. The movie theaters are new to Fashion Square although through the years they had a triplex in the parking lot, destroyed that and build six theaters and AMC built 8 theaters next door called Fashion Village 8. While all this retail madness was going on, Orlando was trying to get "Galleria Orlando" built where Universal Studios is now, the only anchor that ever committed was Ivey's. Colonial Plaza Mall also failed because it was not allowed to add any more restaurants or a food court, the restaurant Ronnie's had a contract with the mall not to add anymore restuarants. The only other eateries in CPM was the McCrory's restaurant and in the south wing a little restaurant called "The Snack Bar." Once OFS added a food court it was the end of CPM. The developers promised to build a "Marketplace Village" with Big Box stores, but it was one of the first in the country and is not pedestrian friendly at all. Winter Park Mall was demolished except for the Penney's building which became Albertson's, now Publix, and the Dillards building where the Cheescake Factory is and the Loft apartments. Whew!

Wow Metrowester. You should be appointed the official Orlando Retail Historian. Of course you would have to work for free until this economy turns around but I would vote for you in a heartbeat.

[JFW657]

In it's prime in the 70's and 80's OFS was never "upscale" but it wasn't "small town" either. It had all the main stores that an average mall in a large metro would have. Gap, Chess King,Jeans West, Florsheim Shoes, Casual Corner, Foxmoor, Lerner, etc. It was anchored by Sears, Burdines, and Robinsons. Robinson's closed and was replaced by New Orlean's signature department store Maison Blanche. The mall then expanded and built a new Maison Blanche where Dillards now is, the old Robinson's store became the second level with OFS's first food court and JCPenney was added probably because Winter Park Mall was failing fast. The original decor of OFS was very upscale looking for it's time, it wasn't like your average Simon mall. It had huge marble fountains and pretty impressive art sculptures. When they added on and remodeled it went to the horrible pink and teal colors, I'm happy to see they've got a more upscale look on the interior design now. Maison Blance was then bought out by Gayfers, an awful department store from the Gulf Coast somewhere, Mobile or Biloxi or something. When Dillards bought it they don't seem to have done much to "Dillarize" it, I'd say it's probably the worst Dillards around. In the meantime the Ivey's at Winter Park mall became a Dillard's clearance store. Oh, in between all this when Ivey's closed in Winter Park, the built a brand new store on the front end of Colonial Plaza, and also sometime in the 70's Belk moved from the front parking lot (Where the big wine store is) to a whole south mall addition on the other side of Jordan Marsh. When Jordan Marsh/Maas Brothers combined with Allied Stores (Burdines) they chose to shutter Jordan Marsh and keep the Burdines across the street at Fashion Square. The Jordan Marsh at Altamonte Mall became JCPenney. When Dillard's bought Ivey's, Dillards was at Colonial Plaza for a short time. Then Dillards took over Gayfer's and moved to Fashion Square. That was the end of the Colonial Plaza Mall and most of it was demolished. If you look at the back of the Marshall's store you can see the original brick wall of the Belk that was there. So then the 91 recession happened, the Navy Base closed and Florida Mall expanded. They built a single level women's Dillard's where the current Dillards is and a men's Dillards store where the whole newer expansion is now. Belk closed and surprisingly became Saks, The Robinson's/Maison Blanche/Gayfers store became Lord and Taylor after remaining empty several years. Then Dillards rebuilt their current store which is a really nice and larger than average Dillard's. Then the mens' Dillards was torn down and the mall expanded to the Burdines/Macy's wing, and then finally the Nordstrom wing was added. Also the JCPenney expanded and nearly doubled it's size to become one of the largest JCP's in the world. There had been a sign since the late 60's about Florida Mall coming soon on that spot. Every so many years they would repaint the sign and change the opening date. When it opened in 1985 it was pretty much the crappiest mall around, lacking the Jordan Marsh anchor where Dillard's is, and the only anchors were Sears, Robinson's, JCPenney, and Belk. It was a quiet mall until Dillards came in and got really busy when the Burdines and Nordstrom opened. Millenia doesn't seem to have to bad of an impact on it, it's still one of the busiest malls in the country per square foot. As far as Fashion Square and the departure of upscale, about as upscale as they got was when they moved the Gap to another location, and added a huge Limited and a Structure store. There was a Banana Republic on Park Ave. and also a Structure and there was a Benneton in Florida Mall. If OFS manages to keep it's anchors and builds the lifestyle component their could be a rebirth there . The Palm Beach Mall was planning something similar and Macy's and Dillard's pulled out before they could start building their new lifestyle section. Now Palm Beach mall is in the top 10 most struggling malls, I think there is still a JCPenney there. The movie theaters are new to Fashion Square although through the years they had a triplex in the parking lot, destroyed that and build six theaters and AMC built 8 theaters next door called Fashion Village 8. While all this retail madness was going on, Orlando was trying to get "Galleria Orlando" built where Universal Studios is now, the only anchor that ever committed was Ivey's. Colonial Plaza Mall also failed because it was not allowed to add any more restaurants or a food court, the restaurant Ronnie's had a contract with the mall not to add anymore restuarants. The only other eateries in CPM was the McCrory's restaurant and in the south wing a little restaurant called "The Snack Bar." Once OFS added a food court it was the end of CPM. The developers promised to build a "Marketplace Village" with Big Box stores, but it was one of the first in the country and is not pedestrian friendly at all. Winter Park Mall was demolished except for the Penney's building which became Albertson's, now Publix, and the Dillards building where the Cheescake Factory is and the Loft apartments. Whew!

Just a suggestion, mw'er...... "paragraphs".

[cwetteland]

... Winter Park Mall was demolished except for the Penney's building which became Albertson's, now Publix, and the Dillards building where the Cheescake Factory is and the Loft apartments. Whew!

You're right about Ivey's/Dillards being the Cheesecake Factory, Loft etc., but Penneys was demolished. Penneys had 3 or 4 rows of parking between it and Canton street to the South, whereas, Alberson's/Publix south side is out to the sidewalk. Albertsons/Publix was built along with the rest of the WP Village.

[VistaLakes01]

You're right about Ivey's/Dillards being the Cheesecake Factory, Loft etc., but Penneys was demolished. Penneys had 3 or 4 rows of parking between it and Canton street to the South, whereas, Alberson's/Publix south side is out to the sidewalk. Albertsons/Publix was built along with the rest of the WP Village.

You are probably right about the Penney's being demolished, I didn't actually witness it, but I know the Ivey/Dillards building remained. Sorry about the lack of paragraphs, I always end up saying more than I plan to. I get carried away when it comes to retail. I could tell a lot of retail stories about Miami and Tampa also!

[cwetteland]

You are probably right about the Penney's being demolished, I didn't actually witness it, but I know the Ivey/Dillards building remained. Sorry about the lack of paragraphs, I always end up saying more than I plan to. I get carried away when it comes to retail. I could tell a lot of retail stories about Miami and Tampa also!

I do believe that Chamberlin's in the SW corner pre-dates the village. I saw the old mall get built on an empty plot of land with oaks, and then get demolished. That doesn't date me, does it? Lived off Lee on the N. side of Lake Killarny. Lee was 2-lanes when we moved there from College Park; I-4 was under construction.

In the old OFS ... I remember a great german deli / pub. Was it Dunderbock's or something like that?

[sunshine]

OMG...how old r u guys?

[cwetteland]

OMG...how old r u guys?

Remember when Bumby and Summerlin were people's names?

Remember when the best place to stay in Orlando was the Wigwam Village?

Remember when the Old Cheney Highway was the New Cheney Highway?

[VistaLakes01]

I do believe that Chamberlin's in the SW corner pre-dates the village. I saw the old mall get built on an empty plot of land with oaks, and then get demolished. That doesn't date me, does it? Lived off Lee on the N. side of Lake Killarny. Lee was 2-lanes when we moved there from College Park; I-4 was under construction.

In the old OFS ... I remember a great german deli / pub. Was it Dunderbock's or something like that?

Herr Dunderbach's was a chain that was in several malls, I know there was one in Dadeland Mall in Miami. Chamberlins pre-dates the Village. There was a strip of stores on the outside of the Winter Park Mall where Chamberlins is located and I believe there was a JCPenney automotive. On the other corner of the parking lot was Morrison's cafeteria, where Borders is at now. I graduated class of 1981 from Colonial High School. There was no Semoran Blvd. My parents bought a house in a subdvision called Montclair Manor which had two entrances with signs off of Lake Barton Road. (Semoran). Lake Barton Rd was a two lane road that ran from Old Cheney in the north and ended at Curry Ford in the South. You had to take Conway Rd. to get to the airport. (Our house in Montclair Manor was on Lido St. and was a small newer section of Monterrey Homes.) Dover Shores neighborhood was the more upscale subdivision off of Conway between Curry Ford and Lake Underhill. If you are driving south on Lake Underhill before Semoran near Andes Ave, there is a street that runs parallel to Lake Underhill, the homes are brick. That was called Villa Monterrey and was the most expensive part of Monterrey Homes. I was in 4th grade at Azalea Park Elementary School while the E-W was being built. You could here them pounding the pilings into Lake Underhill to build the bridge accross. They pounded every day for a few months

Yes, I am ancient, I'm 46 years old. I was born at the Orlando Air Force Base Hospital, where Baldwin Park is now located. McCoy Air Force base was located where OIA is now.

Steak and Shake still had waitresses on roller skates to serve you in your car. The first McDonald's on East Colonial was located near Old Cheney and Colonial. You probably all ready know that Cheney Hyw was Hyw 50 I'm sure. There was also a beach on Lake Barton, and there was a beach on Mills Ave near the Art museum. And there was also a beach for military familys on Lake Baldwin.

Also the Sentinel Star had a contest to name the new highway 436 (Orlando By-Pass). The winner was Semoran, it's dirivitive being SEM(Seminole county) and ORAN (Orange County). Any other questions for the old, wise and ancient??

[cwetteland]

OMG...how old r u guys?

It's a secret ... but for you sunshine: SECRET

[JFW657]

I graduated class of 1981 from Colonial High School. There was no Semoran Blvd. My parents bought a house in a subdvision called Montclair Manor which had two entrances with signs off of Lake Barton Road. (Semoran). Lake Barton Rd was a two lane road that ran from Old Cheney in the north and ended at Curry Ford in the South. You had to take Conway Rd. to get to the airport.

Wait wait wait wait wait........ you're saying there was no Semoran Blvd. in 1981??????

I lived here in 1981 & was going to UCF then. A good friend of mine lived in an apartment complex on Semoran that's still there.

You must have your date wrong, because I drove on Semoran Blvd. in the 70's.

[VistaLakes01]

Wait wait wait wait wait........ you're saying there was no Semoran Blvd. in 1981??????

I lived here in 1981 & was going to UCF then. A good friend of mine lived in an apartment complex on Semoran that's still there.

You must have your date wrong, because I drove on Semoran Blvd. in the 70's.

There was no Semoran Blvd when I was a kid living on Lido St. Sorry 'bout that. I can tell you that the Beeline Expressway started at Narcoosee Rd. in 1981 and McCoy/Sand Lake Rd. was where the expressway is now and the terminal was right next to the road. You went directly through the traffic light at Semoran and McCoy and you were in the terminal parking lot. (I thinnk Semoran opened in the late 60's, early 70;s)

[neon9]

Has no one mentioned the disaster out at the strange Venetian themed development over in Metrowest? The one where OUC is shutting off the power and water because of unpaid bills while people are living in the buildings? Once that happens, code enforcement is kicking everyone out.

[VistaLakes01]

Has no one mentioned the disaster out at the strange Venetian themed development over in Metrowest? The one where OUC is shutting off the power and water because of unpaid bills while people are living in the buildings? Once that happens, code enforcement is kicking everyone out.

Do you man Verandah Park?There's also supposed to ba a 12 screen movie complex; Tavern on The LaKE is located there as well as Taquitos Jalisco. Was hoping for a success but guess the timing is way off on that one. Condo's were suposed to be selling for half a million. Hearde One sold for $99,000. It's sstrang place, hopefully it will be completed one day. Metro West is a nice neighbordhood and sure would like it to stay that way!

[JFW657]

Let's hope it doesn't turn into a ghetto.

[demon]

Do you man Verandah Park?There's also supposed to ba a 12 screen movie complex; Tavern on The LaKE is located there as well as Taquitos Jalisco. Was hoping for a success but guess the timing is way off on that one. Condo's were suposed to be selling for half a million. Hearde One sold for $99,000. It's sstrang place, hopefully it will be completed one day. Metro West is a nice neighbordhood and sure would like it to stay that way!

I would have liked to see that movie theatre developed when I was living in MetroWest. I honestly see Azzouz the owner being dragged into court over this.

[demon]

Let's hope it doesn't turn into a ghetto.

I don't think it would turn into a ghetto. What will probably happen is that it will be condemned, since there is no power in the hallways and elevators. It will probably become something similar to the Colony Hotel in Ocoee.

[codypet]

I don't think it would turn into a ghetto. What will probably happen is that it will be condemned, since there is no power in the hallways and elevators. It will probably become something similar to the Colony Hotel in Ocoee.

Then we can start a never ending thread about it until in 60 years it will be demolished.

[VistaLakes01]

Then we can start a never ending thread about it until in 60 years it will be demolished.

Dude, I didn't know the situation was that bad! I hear radio advertisements for "Tavern on the Lake" on Hip Hop radio stations. Will MetroWest become another Rosemont in the future. That sucks because I really did love living in the area. How Wal-<Mart got their sticky little hands on that property remains a mystery. The area could have been helped out some if that WalMart could have been built at JYP and Princeton. I see no connection between the Walmart and College Park. How Many CP residents ever venture past the train tracks to OBT? It's not like it's right next to CP like Fairvilla Video is. It could've made a major shift of the Metrowest Walmart traffic. The West Colonial Super Target should have been built at that Metrowest entrance, or Whole Foods or something. The Ocoee Walmart is plenty close to M-west, with lots of Windermere customers. And the new Vineland Walmart ir right in the area, too.

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