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Developer Kuhn nixes plans for office tower By Jack Snyder Sentinel Staff Writer March 18, 2005 Orlando developer Cameron Kuhn said Thursday he's scuttling plans for a 10-story office tower in a downtown block targeted for redevelopment, though he's pushing ahead with retail plans that include a luxury-car dealership. Earlier this year, Kuhn said he would build a 400,000-square-foot office tower atop a city parking garage in the block bounded by Orange Avenue, Washington Street, Jefferson Street and a city parking lot. Kuhn said "several factors" prompted his decision to cancel the tower, including rising construction costs and the political uncertainty caused by Mayor Buddy Dyer's indictment and suspension from office last week. City Commissioner Patty Sheehan said she was surprised at Kuhn's decision and she wonders if he had "too many balls in the air" with his other development projects downtown and is "using this as an excuse." Nevertheless, Sheehan said Kuhn's action is something of deep concern to the city. The political and economic ripples from Dyer's indictment has created "tremendous uncertainty. Investors get leery. My hope is that we can get this behind us very quickly. I'm hoping that the council can create a level of certainty for the community." Kuhn insisted he doesn't think the area's office-condominium market is overbuilt, despite several projects in the pipeline. "I may yet do a tower on another site in the future," he said. Redevelopment of the block's retail space and the former JC Penney department store will continue, he said. The JC Penney building is being renovated for office-condo and retail space. Work is to be finished in June. The developer said he has a deal for an "exotic car" dealer to open a showroom in 25,000 square feet of retail space within the block. He said Exotic Cars Inc. of New York plans to open dealerships for such cars as Rolls Royce and Bentley in Orlando, Miami and West Palm Beach. The car dealership would be the second to locate in the city center in recent years. Downtown Mini Inc., which sells the British Mini cars, opened in 2001 at 131 N. Orange Ave. That dealership moved into retail space renovated by Kuhn. Two other dealerships -- one for cars and another for motorcycles -- are considering locating downtown, he said. He would not identify those dealerships. When Downtown Mini opened, it was the first center-city car dealership in more than a decade. Kuhn's redevelopment of the so-called Jaymont Block at Orange Avenue and Church Street is under construction. That project -- called Premiere Trade Plaza -- includes two office-condominium towers; a residential tower with 306 condominiums; 105,000 square feet of retail, and a 12-screen movie theater. The city provided $22.5 million in incentives for the project.

I think I posted the article about the Bentley dealership on here a while back but haven't heard about it since. Of course, you could be losing it anyway.

More Winter Park NIMBYism: Some dislike plans for more Winter Park Village condos By Christopher Sherman | Sentinel Staff Writer Posted May 19, 2005 WINTER PARK -- Winter Park Village -- the successful experiment in retail and entertainment -- may soon get more than 200 condominiums to complete the village concept. Developer Casto Lifestyle Properties unveiled plans for the next phase Wednesday to about 150 residents at the Rachel D. Murrah Civic Center. The reception was cool, with concerns focused on the four-story height, the density of multifamily buildings, and the impact on traffic and city services. "Winter Park is going to turn into a four-story condo community," said Mary Randall, who lives about four blocks south of Winter Park Village. Lurline Fletcher, whose mother lives in the neighborhood of single-family residences across Denning Drive from where the proposed condos would be built, worried that the proposal would not mesh with the existing neighborhood. Read More

Maybe so, but what's already there is much worse. And it's not like you're going to get anything much better than what's been proposed when you're out in the 'burbs.

I received a letter today about a community meeting for a new development near Dr. Phillips. Here's what it said: Project Information: Project Name: Granada PD/DRI Amended LUP Southeast Quadrant

You might be interested to know that the old Gooding's store has been ripped apart to make way for what looks like smaller retail spaces. Right now most of the front facade has been demolished and interior walls are being constructed.

Resort planned in south Orange David Siegel will build a time-share development on 50 acres near his Westgate Lakes Resort. By Jack Snyder | Sentinel Staff Writer Posted May 14, 2005 Time-share magnate David Siegel has bought 50 acres in south Orange County for $22.5 million for a new development near his Westgate Lakes Resort. Design work on the new resort west of Interstate 4 will start immediately, with a construction start possible by early next year, Siegel said Friday. Plans call for about 1,500 time-share units in several mid-rise towers of six to nine stories. About 80,000 square feet of retail space also will be developed. The 1,500-unit Westgate Lakes is almost sold out, Siegel said. The new resort, on Big Sand Lake off Palm Parkway, hasn't been named but will carry the Westgate brand, Siegel said. read more

Ah yes, you're right. Wow, how did I miss all of that?

Well, here's the story on the Days Inn property. Looks like another exciting project: Orlando Business Journal: Wilder Cos. pays $9.3M for Orlando site, preps new project The Wilder Cos. says it has paid $9.3 million for the Days Inn Orlando in Florida, which it plans to demolish to build a $75 million retail, luxury residences and office development called Rialto. The 695-room Days Inn Orlando was foreclosed on several years ago and the owners filed for bankruptcy, according to a press release from Boston-based Wilder Cos. The hotel fell into disrepair while the community around it grew into a dynamic neighborhood and commercial district, according to the statement. The new 350,000-square-foot Rialto will break ground this year and will consist of approximately 20 shops, fine dining restaurants and caf

FYI, while driving out of Dr. Phillips this morning, I noticed that the eyesore of a Days Inn on Sand Lake Road on the west side of I-4 has been vacated. Not only that, there is a fence up around the property, cranes have dismantled a large billboard that used to be on-site, and the hotel sign announced a sale for the contents of the hotel. Seems like somebody bought the property or perhaps Days Inn will be constructing a new building. Either way, the current Days Inn looks like it's being prepped for demolition. Those familiar with the Dr. Phillips area will certainly enjoy seeing this blemish gone.

I just thought this was cool enough to share: Orlando Business Journal: Winter Park adds free valet parking on Park Avenue The city of Winter Park, working with the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce, now offers complimentary valet parking for Park Avenue's retail shops beginning May 15. The parking service will be available from 8:30 a.m. until 11 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays, and noon until 1 p.m. on Sundays. One parking station will be located at Canton Avenue, east of Park Avenue, and the other on New England Avenue, west of Park. "Valet parking is the missing piece to the parking options in downtown Winter Park," says chamber President Sam Stark in a prepared statement. " This makes Park Avenue a much more desirable shopping and dining venue than the malls." A new signage plan is being developed throughout the summer to direct visitors to the parking service locations and various other public parking options. For information, go to (www.cityoffwinterpark.org).

I'm not so sure that's true. Up until now, the NBA has only had cities with NBA teams host the All-Star game, but it looks like Las Vegas will be hosting the game in 2007. This even after the NBA saying that they will not put a team in Vegas (though that may change in the future). I think that in the far future--once we resolve our stadium/traffic/infrastructure issues--Orlando would be a good candidate to host the Superbowl. The NFL would like to keep the big game in fun sun belt cities (I doubt it will be in Jacksonville for a while) and so it will cycle between Miami, Tampa, New Orleans, Atlanta, Houston, Phoenix, San Diego, and possibly Pasadena. Orlando is right in the middle of the gigantic Florida footbal market, has great winter weather, plenty of hotel rooms, lots of attractions, and good nightlife. Once the city distances itself from the Mouse after the downtown construction boom and renovates the Citrus Bowl to NFL standards, I could see Orlando being a viable candidate for the Super Bowl. If the NBA All-Star Game goes well in Las Vegas in 2007, I could also see Vegas as a potential Super Bowl site in the future. Although I have to admit that I have no idea what the stadium situation is like in that area. And at the very least, if we aren't able to snag the Super Bowl, perhaps we could haggle our way into snatching the Pro Bowl from Hawaii once or twice.

Correct, this new Point Orlando is at the corner of Universal Blvd. and Carrier Dr., near Wet n Wild. These are the renderings (may be old by now) that have been in the Orlando Attractions Area sticky thread for a while:

Two more condo-hotels announce plans Bob Mervine Staff Writer ORLANDO -- Two more condominium-hotels are on the way that will add more than 2,400 units to the market inventory during the next five years. Counting those already in various stages of design and construction, that means the Orlando market in the next half-decade is expected to explode with more than 10,000 condo-hotel units. "Orlando has very good potential for growth," says Alex Pludwinski, a Realtor for Re/Max who is representing the Point Orlando Resort & Spa, one of the new properties. Point Orlando will be located on an 8.4-acre parcel at Universal Boulevard and Carrier Drive. The project, built on land held by Seymour International Inc., will be highly vertical. article