FLClarkKent

My dude, I’m as corporate as they get. Open your eyes. We’re all in for a real crapshow for the next few months.

If Nancy Pelosi wasn’t around, the only stimulus package would have been more tax cuts to corporations. And there would never be talk of a “phase 4” stimulus package. Trump is a charlatan who’s going to get hundreds of thousands killed because of his incompetence and indifference. Spare me the “social justice” bs and right wing talking points.

Word on the street is that the property owner (who owns both plazas) is taking down the large trees to create "more visibility" from Curry Ford. In addition, they will be renovating both plazas, giving them a more cohesive look - and have referenced the look of the Foxtaile/Hour Glass Social House down the street. In the smaller plaza, Family Dollar is closing to make way for the Dollar Tree in the former Walgreens.

I saw it too. Looked nice. Apologies for the poor image quality.

Is K&G a local store?

RIP, Carol’s Diner. But you live on in television. It was featured pretty prominently in an episode of OWN’s “David Makes Man.”

They had a bus service running on game day. You could catch one at Amway.

Proud Alabama grad, so of course I was at the Citrus Bowl today to see them beat Michigan. I walked down Church to and from the game. My anecdotal observation was that street level activity was quieter than what I’ve seen when there are events at the Amway. Not a ghost town, but not packed. Of course, the stadium is quite a bit further away than the Amway. And there’s not much there for folks to enjoy (although the brewery and Stonewall were hopping). In a few years, I can definitely see that part of town taking off. For now, though, it seems that the bulk of bowl game attendees are tourists, and they’re staying in the tourist district. When the game is over, most head back to their hotels. But more than a few were also filling up places like Ceviche, Mary’s, Wahlburgers, all seemed busy enough (particularly for a Wednesday night). There’s a ton of potential for this area.

My dude, you used it as an insult. When in a hole, just stop digging. P.S. I'm gay.

I'm assuming that when you wrote "how gay that sounds" you meant that it sounded perfectly reasonable, intelligent and even impeccably dressed. Because I know that in 2020, a reasonable person wouldn't use the word gay as an insult.

Not a foodie by any means, but when I’m looking for a restaurant, I want good food, reasonable prices, and good service. Quite frankly, that’s hard to find downtown. And I blame that on the restaurant owners, not the city. I understand rental rates are quite high, so many places will charge a premium. But if you have to do so, make sure the food is good and your service is on point. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried places downtown and the service was indifferent at best, crappy at worst. There’s too much competition for any restaurant to take a customer for granted. And the “Church Street is a ghost town” excuse is bull puckey. Amura has been there for years. Mary’s, too (although I’m not a fan). And while I’m on a rant, why is that these restaurants can’t get their act together when there are events at the Amway? Every time I’m down there for a game or concert, these places operate like it came out of the blue. As if they’re surprised there’s a massive crowd. Wasted opportunities.

Here's an unpopular opinion: After spending the last weekend in downtown Tampa, I really began to miss....7-Eleven. I needed to pick up a few necessities, and there were none to be found.

Did they save the sign?

Yeah, it looked like they are adding some detail work/finishes when I drove by this morning.

I think one of the most promising aspects is the addition of convention/event space.

When you get on I-4 eastbound at Ivanhoe, that area is really quite something (Advent buildings + the two apartment buildings whose names have escaped me at the moment). It really extends the visual of what's considered the downtown core.

I pity the fool that don't like this building.

It's not too terrible. The walkway is actually below the roadway, so there's more separation than you first might think.

The mural looks great. Will try to grab a photo on my way home.

Very exciting designs! Thank you for sharing!

While this is no doubt a complex land deal (what with the various property owners, multiple leases, etc. ), I find it thoroughly depressing that construction won't begin until late 2021. Guess we get to continue the mall decay and become an even bigger blight. I wish the city were more aggressive in tackling issues such as this. With our status as one of the fastest growing metros in one of the fastest growing states, there's little excuse for such highly-visible urban decay. You'd think there would be developers lined up around the block for such a prime piece of real estate.

From my vantage point, there's been an uptick of OPD presence downtown this month. Maybe related to opening of downtown UCF/Valencia campus. But I've seen more police on foot and on bike downtown than I've seen in quite some time, Just this morning they were moving a few homeless folks away from the Magnolia/Central 7-11. Oh, thank heaven, as the joke around here goes.

Same architect. Very similar design, but about half the height. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BOK_Tower My folks lived in Tulsa for several years. It's a cool town, and the downtown boats some amazing art deco architecture. But Tulsa had its boom when Orlando was little more than orange groves, so it's hard to compare the two. To continue the theme, it's an orange to apples comparison.