GRS328

You heard pretty much correct. The proprietor did indeed have a falling out with his investors and shut down shop. I agree it is sad. It was unique and very good. Some of the best cafe con leche I've had, not to mention the mimas.

Close.... but American Airlines Center in Dallas was more expensive than Staples, coming in at $412MM - $125MM of which was publicly funded.

I don't know, is there??

I couldn't agree more. I do love quality infill!

There were two other condo developments proposed for Lake Monroe a couple of years ago, 12 story and a 24 story structures, that drew all sorts of outrage from the public because of their heights... I believe that was what O'native was probably thinking of. reference to them here...

Got it. So that ties into Camillo's point about MCO/GOAA being at the mercy of the "signatory" airlines. While MCO draws many international travelers, many, if not the majority, go through customs elsewhere before flying onto MCO. That might explain why there is a lack of interest on the part of local leaders to push for any sort of international terminal, or improved international proceedings at the very least.

I've never had the privilege to fly international, so I'm hoping someone can clear this up for me. While Orlando sees throngs of international travelers, most don't fly directly into Orlando. My question is, do international travelers go through the whole international, customs process, etc. at the initial U.S. airport they stop at, and then fly on to Orlando on what would essentially be a "domestic" flight? Or do these travelers go through the customs process at the ultimate destination airport, in our case MCO?

I'm sure bulldogger can elaborate more than I can, but according to the article, it stemmed from contract demands on the part of the local Teamsters chapter over pay rates & work assignments. The production co deemed the demands excessive and apparently the Teamsters refused to negotiate. Anyway, the slant of the article is that this is damaging to Florida's bid to attract more film production, etc., which is exactly what bulldogger mentioned a few days ago. If you want to read the article, PM me with your email add. and I can email it to you as I'm a subscriber. Can't post it here though due to copyright, forum rules, etc.

^^ Not sure. The article doesn't mention where specifically. It just mentions that the movie was to be produced in ORL, but because of a bitter dispute between the production co. and the local Teamsters, it will no longer be produced here. The article mentions it may move to JAX or to Atlanta, or even possibly somewhere in Louisianna. I'd post a link to the article, but it is not available unless you have a subscription to the print edition.

Seems your comment was a perfect prelude to this weeks OBJ, which features a front page article detailing a labor dispute which caused HBO Films to move production of its film Recount 2000 out of Orlando, possibly to Jacksonville or Atlanta.

that's a hot pic, frankie. the gradient in the sky is stunning. nice job

metrowester, do you have access to the density figures for those top CSA's? I always have a hard time finding density figures on census.gov.

They demolished the Fern Park Shopping Center (empty Kmart) on 17-92 (just south of 436) this past week. There was a mention in the OBJ several months back that Lowe's was looking to occupy the space, though the article didn't mention demolition of the entire plaza. Interestingly, looking at Seminole County records, the land has not changed hands from the long time owner of the property, so I wonder if Lowe's is still in the picture, as they typically buy the property they occupy. I had always hoped they would rezone that tract and build condos or townhomes there, with retail fronting the road.

Praha & JRS are right, that side of Int'l Dr needs some serious beautification improvements. But I think the crime issue has more to do with the tenants on that portion of the strip than anything else. Denny's, 7-11's and $5 t-shirt shops attract a different crowd than some of the nicer establishments south of Sand Lake Rd. De-annexing from the city isn't going to change the tenant quality.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

You're right, I've found a lot of places that have them. Just none that are particularly great, at least of the ones I've been to. Though the place MAntoniazzi mentioned, on Semoran, I believe he's referring to Greek Flame Taverna. Place is great. Excellent gyros, but they serve it traditional style, on a plate. I'm looking for a sandwich-style gyro that I can take on the go. I'll have to try the place on Colonial & Orange. They're usually closed though whenever I'm DT, unfortunately. Bosphorous sounds pretty interesting. I'll have to check it out.

Can anyone recommend a place that has good gyro sandwiches in or around town?

Any idea of where the double-tracking is supposed to occur? That's one of the things I've wondered about the project, how effective it will be on a single track.

I find it troubling that local business operators don't pay attention to local business news, especially when it directly impacts their own operation.

Trevi sales are going nowhere. Met the developer two weeks ago at a Maitland Chamber function where he was inquiring about financing. He was informed he would need pre-sales around 50% to secure anything, at which he scoffed. I asked if he had presales, to which he said "No". I'm sure he has some, but nothing substantial. He has gone to three major lenders in the region so far, with the same result. He has been paying out of pocket for all the site work that has/is being done - est. $2.5 million so far. So he has deep pockets, but surely not deep enough to construct the thing without financing.

Those are great pics, Progress. Is that HDR?

Yea. It was in today's paper too, on the backside of the "Orange" section. The funny thing about it to me is how they transpose an image of a commuter train on the rail into a picture of Central Park, presumably to portray how unsightly it will look in their precious landscape - yet it looks exactly like it does when the Amtrak trains come through the same tracks, just a different colored train. It's ridiculous. Look, I fully respect WP citizens' right to oppose a station, or whatever they want to oppose. But their opposing arguments are so ludicrous. This idea that commuter rail is going to "destroy" Central Park is mind-boggling. Last I checked, the train is still going to ride on the tracks and not come sliding through the park itself. The appearance issue also is ludicrous. The same ad mentions how the train will be some 20 feet tall, as though that is some hideously tall height. This outrage against all things tall is starting to get ridiculous. Soon they are going to want to ban six foot tall men and woman from the city as well, so as to preserve the city's "character." I will say there is one valid claim that the Central Park-huggers make - that no traffic study has been done on the effects of a station. A traffic study should be performed so that contingent plans can be discussed and arranged to accommodate for whatever effects a station may have on the area. Of course the they won't use the results for that purpose - they will claim the results, whatever they were to be, are reasons not to have station.

jack is right, they won't tell you - or at least they shouldn't. It's a violation of the Fair Housing Act to do so.

The Olympia Centre plans remind of the current City Place idea... in 15 years or so, someone will pull out a rendering of those grand plans, and all we'll have to show for it is the Lexington.