GRS328

Today's OBJ states Blue Rose has reconfigured their plans to add an additional 252 rooms due to strong demand. It also notes the FAA has approved the towers' height up to 450 feet. Construction slated to begin at the end of the year.

Ok, I've been dying to get in on this one all day long, but haven't had the time. And since praha has pretty much anything I could wish to add, I'll keep it short. I'll grant eastbank makes some decent points in his argument. But based on the posts, it seems there is a scripture-like reverence for WP's comprehensive plan - and the only issue with the Carlisle is the fact that it is a variance thereof. If that is the case, how do you and supporting residents expect WP to adapt with future changing needs if the comprehensive plan is "set in stone," as seems to be the context? The conclusion I come to based on this series of posts is that maybe WP needs to take a look at its comprehehnsive plan and consider some adjustments, as opposed to the Carlisle requiring variances from it.

I caught this as well. Good news to hear; however, I wonder just how extensive a study can be for $350k these days. It seems that wouldn't result in much more than a little Power Point presentation..

I don't think anyone's really trying to lay any blame on anyone here... I mean, I presume all of us who participate in this forum are here because we wish for a more urban existance, even if we disagree as to what extent. But you touched on an interesting point regarding where you work. The fact that we live in a community where there are so many centers of employment, or maybe more accurately, lack of one true center, is as much a part of the problem as the residential development we love to bicker about. Chicken or the egg?

It's funny - you were generally responding to my post, yet I very much agree with you in many respects. It's even more funny that you mentioned Skokie:Chicago, as I grew up in Skokie, and commuted to downtown Chicago for a year & 1/2 prior to moving here. But I do agree with you that the whole sprawl concept is very loaded and some people do take it to the extreme. But I truly don't consider myself to be one of them. I just get very frustrated when I see these massive subdivisions being built here in Central FL farther and farther out. You're right, Clermont is it's own city and enjoys the rights entitled to it. But the develolpment going on there is not generally "smart-growth" friendly. Nor is Clermont really an economic center where those who are buying houses there will be working there as well. I have no data to back it up, but I would presume a vast portion of those folks living there work in or around the metro core, with no real way to get there but drive. Comparing that with Skokie, where I could walk a block from my house to pick up the Pace 215, which took me to the Howard St station to catch the El from there, the concept of "suburban" or "sprawly" gets kind of blurred. I've rambled on. But anyway, my point was I agree with you, but only to an extent with respect to Orlando. We just have so much open and underutilized space/land that is being ignored in favor of tracts of land farther and farther out. And as I've stated int he forum before, I am not suggesting every new residential development be a gigantic highrise. I respect people may wish to live in a traditional home as opposed to a condo unit. But again, there are better ways to accommodate that then what we are doing.

^^ I did catch it as well. I was glad to see it given such prominence. It's gotten to the point where I feel like we have to just shove it down people's throats before they'll get a clue. In fact, I showed the article to a co-worker of mine, who lives in Ocoee. After reading it, she said "Well, that's not really the case. I have everything I could dream of right near my house." She was referring to the endless strip centers and Wal-Marts, etc. along HWY 50. Of course she has to drive to them, lest be killed trying to cross 50. Not to mention, she neglected to consider she drives 15 plus miles to her job in Clermont. The whole exchange just reinforced to me that people just don't get it.

Why is that? No thanks. Consolidating would be horrendous for those who live in city propers (not just Orlando). It shouldn't be about consolidating county and city governments - it should be about separating their functions to those that are suited to their respective aptness. The idea that cities and counties and virtually the same thing and should just be consolidated is ludicrous to me. County and municpal government are, and should be, different beasts. They inherrenatly require different levels of localization, and thus differnet services and approaches. Unfortunatley, we live in an area where that is hardly clear, as the county acts as both a county and a muncipality.

Maybe so. But the fact is the basic logic of NIMBY's was just sealed into public office in two areas that had big plans for new development. I can't speak for WP as much, but in Maitland, the citizens who elected this new mayor into office are the same ones who had their kids running around in "Down with Density" t-shirts earlier in the year. To me, it's a sad commentary on just how much that logic is entrenched in the minds of the citizenry in the general metro area. Far more than I had presumed it to be, anyway.

Definitely not a good day for Winter Park and Maitland. Both mayoral contests went to the "anti-development" candidates. Strong(WP) is dead set against the Carlisle, so I suppose it won't be wise to hold our breath on this one. The NIMBY's won the day. Kind of nauseating if you ask me.

O'Native - Obviously using this method meets code, otherwise they wouldn't be doing it - but does it produce a weaker structure than typical methods?

Or similarily, "Big and hulking doesn't belong in Winter Park... except, of course, when it comes to our residences and our SUV's."

What it confirms is how insane the cost of bureaucracy is. Yet here we see it happening again with commuter rail, and saw a few years back with light rail, where everyone takes there sweet time, needs to weigh all the options, do this study and that study... yet the price just goes up and up every single day.

Keep Shaq... send us Dwayne Wade!

You're not going to abandon the Orlando forum, are you??

Very disappointing article. What bothers me is that there is always mention of how there is no more land to develop in the core of the metro (Orange, most of Seminole, etc.). Yet while that may be true for the most part, no one recognizes, or wants to recognize that so much of the land that is already developed is extremely underutilized. Obviosuly not to say condo towers should go up all over Orange, but there are so many neighborhoods where projects similar to Osceola Brownstones could work well. But as Jaybee alludes to, everyone loves the cul-de-sac subdivision. It's like the consensus is, "we're facing growth, we need more housing, lets build more subdivisions."

You're right, I can't count. My bad. Soon enough, though, we'll have several taller than that.

lol... well, orlandonative started useless trivia in one of the other threads, i'll do it here. the taller of the two Sears Tower antennas is 283 feet tall, which ironically (sort of) would be taller than all but three of our currently built towers. completely useless fact, but fun.

The Bosendorfer Lounge... It's more of martini lounge-type place than a jazz club, i'd say. It's very nice, laid-back. It's not cheap, but it's not as bad as the Blue Martinis out there. The music is more Chill than true jazz, at least the times that I've been there. All in all, it's a nice place, but not really a jazz club, at least in the traditional sense that I'm thinking was implied in the earlier post.

Praha is right. Blending in doesn't necessarily equate to 'boring'. Take a look at the firm's website and check out some of their projects. They do have some really unique designs. The PAC they did in Cerritos, CA seems to be a good example of blending in, yet is not dull. I like this choice.

Center for arts, Florida style? Barton Myers, chosen as architect, wants a building that reflects Orlando. Elizabeth Maupin | Sentinel Staff Writer Posted January 25, 2006 An architect who says he's concerned about "the soul and the spirit" of the city has been selected to design a performing-arts center for downtown Orlando. At a news conference this morning, leaders of the Orlando Performing Arts Center intend to announce their choice of Barton Myers Associates as architect and the New York firm Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects as the proposed project's master planner. from Orlando Sentinel, 1/25/2006

Dumb question, but I'm not downtown during the day enough have an accurate perception - does Lymmo get good ridership during traditional business hours?

I'll have to agree with the assertions on how the media distorts the funding picture. I admit to being completely ignorant when it comes to understanding how fed funding works for local projects, etc. But when you read these stories in the paper, it comes across as though the fed just writes one big check and says "Here ya go! Good job", when in fact it is obviously not that way at all.

I like this mix. I think it will work well. I think you're overreacting, sunshine - it's not like these establishments are slum-city type places. Sure, they're not super upscale, but that would've be a mistake. Theses choices should draw a nice range of patrons and allow the businesses to solidify their presence downtown. And Urban Flats and PJ's Coffe and Wine are both fairly trendy places, so you're not completely shut out

I love Lake Eola, but every picture we get from the east has that hideous bandshell in it. I wish they would build a new one, or at least paint it a more appealing color.

Not sure if anyone caught this, but there's an interesting article in this weeks Orlando Weekly regarding the city using third party corps to buy properties in blighted Parramore areas. Orlando Weekly - Deception 12/8/05