Orlando development thread?

[knglewy92]

So Initiald. That last photo you posted is like right by my house. And its not new. They have been building it slowly for 5-6 years. Some church is building it and they don't wont take a loan out (against there beliefs I guess) so they have been taking their sweet old time. It's funny too, because when they first started building it My Dad took me to the site, and thats when I first wanted to design skyscrapers.

[Wheelingman04]

I would also like to see more Orlando news here.

[Francis P Monaco]

Originally Posted by initiald

Looks like a new development:


That's all I got.

Oh God, the Majesty Building. You can read about it here. In short, it's a building being built by religious TV station SuperChannel and as someone who lives near Orlando, I can tell you it's not a popular place amongst many of the locals; "eyesore" and "mistake by the lake" are used, for example. One blog I read even compared it to the The Ryugyong Hotel! Ouch.

The computer generated photos of what it'll look like once completed don't look bad, but with the economy the way it is and their method of getting money for the building, who knows when it'll get completed. For all I know, the Crazy Horse Memorial will be finished before this is.

[NitekKetin]

^That silly abstract triangle window cladding could be removed in order to make it a bit more tolerable. Those support columns at the 'penthouse' level should either be removed, as well, or at least finessed into something more stylish.

[Sulley]

Any Orlando-ians post here?

[Civvik]

I live in Orlando. I moved here in 07 from the Midwest, but the company I worked for laid me off (along with much of the company) this past spring.

I don't want to use language like "Orlando is dead!" But, not much is going on here development-wise other than continuing construction on the new Arena downtown. Depending on the metro, Florida has a 5-10 year supply of new condo construction now. If it isn't U/C, it's a dead project. The last one to go U/C was 55 West, and is in some kind of strange limbo and remains unfinished. Orlando is not a real economy by northern standards, nearly the entire skyline is residential. Therefore, my sense is that the skyline will remain as it is for quite a while.

Some personal stories: At least half the people that were laid off with me left Florida, as it looks like I will do to pursue grad school. I had some family move to town this year but they find the area horrendous and are moving away. It's a very transient population, with few important industries, low wages and a lot of poorly developed areas.

[Atlguy33]

I was born in Florida. My family moved to Atlanta metro when I was a kid. I love to visit Florida, but would never move back. I have had people tell me, (friends who have moved down there from Atlanta), the way the economy is in Florida, unless you already have money when you move there (like a retiree would), it's very tough to make a decent living there.

[RedStar25]

We are around...
By en-large we were all pushed away by the silly behavior of some of the other Florida posters *Cough Tampa Cough*

We are all at Urbanplanet.com

Orlando is still growing.

[Dale]

FL Senate passes SunRail 27-10:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com

This removes all obstacles to construction of a 61.5 mile commuter rail line, in Orlando, and paves the way for possibly receiving $2.5 billion in stimulus funds to build an Orlando to Tampa HSR line.

[Dale]

Originally Posted by Civvik

I live in Orlando. I moved here in 07 from the Midwest, but the company I worked for laid me off (along with much of the company) this past spring.

I don't want to use language like "Orlando is dead!" But, not much is going on here development-wise other than continuing construction on the new Arena downtown. Depending on the metro, Florida has a 5-10 year supply of new condo construction now. If it isn't U/C, it's a dead project. The last one to go U/C was 55 West, and is in some kind of strange limbo and remains unfinished. Orlando is not a real economy by northern standards, nearly the entire skyline is residential. Therefore, my sense is that the skyline will remain as it is for quite a while.

Some personal stories: At least half the people that were laid off with me left Florida, as it looks like I will do to pursue grad school. I had some family move to town this year but they find the area horrendous and are moving away. It's a very transient population, with few important industries, low wages and a lot of poorly developed areas.

Naturally, if you're comparing Orlando, a mid-tier Sunbelt city to Chicago, you're going to be disappointed. But you're being unduly harsh. Orlando's three tallest buildings are office towers, and Orlando added more office space downtown, this recent boom, than any other Florida city save Miami.

[Rail>Auto]

Does anyone know what kind of groups are interested in purchasing Amway Arena? I know the city plans on selling it but I don't know whose interested. I sure hope whoever purchases' it doesn't demolish it. It would look really good in the skyline with the Amway Center.

[Prahaboheme]

Additional aerial rendering:



Interior:

[Prahaboheme]

Arena Spire as seen from above I-4.


The garage u/c to the South of the Arena (left hand corner). The square shaped section on the facade will be the jumbotron.