GTR

That's the old rendering, not the current one. The current one only has two floors above the white box, which itself has been lowered by a floor. http://www.cityoforlando.net/city-planning/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2016/01/ARB2015-00088report-addendum.pdf Look at the January 2015 renderings - should be 2016 but a typo (gotta love the proofreading). Stumpier than Donald Trump's fingers! The grid system back in South Eola is pretty good when it comes to handling traffic and I have never seen it get clogged up on weekend nights like Pine and Central do where Modera is going. However, 520 is going to make the need for a stop sign at Eola and Central even harder to ignore than it already is. I don't know how Patty Sheehan is still able to defend one not being there, but this should push it over the edge.

22 stories now.

No they approved the final design. Stumpier than ever.

So the City weighs in on the design of this being mundane but approves Modera??? Guess this developer didn't grease the wheels enough. Only explanation.

I've always been surprised by downtown Tampa's lack of residential vertical growth. With the water views seems like you would be able to justify the prices of highrise apartments/condos better. Maybe not the most stellar water views, but a damn good bit better than any downtown Orlando view. Not that there aren't major issues with downtown Tampa that are apparent immediately once you get there, but how many Russian/Latin American condo purchasers would know that from a website. Anywho, back on topic, I am beyond stoked for the Walgreens!

Yes it was always incredibly shaky, as is anything right now proposed for downtown other than midrise apartments. They should pull a Dynetech and add an apartment component that could use the hotel amenities. Might be a better bet than commercial real estate.

Even so, I can't imagine the number of people that will want to venture to that part of town when there isn't a game. The Church Street bar sounds like a great way to make money on non-home games days and to sell team schwag. People want retail downtown.

Well if ticket prices help them to finally replace that gravel pit litterbox with the fountain we were promised I'm all for it.

Yes very true, but I was trying to go for more an apples to apples comparison. Same can be said for the ones in Ft. Lauderdale. Just add better shopping, restaurants, view and water.

$2 million buys you a beautifully-designed townhome on an island right outside of downtown Ft. Lauderfale on a deep water canal. I can't fathom paying the same for a generic looking townhouse in Winter Park yet I'm sure they'll sell every last one of them. Winter Park haa done an amazing job branding itself to be able to obtain those prices.

Me too. It really is going to provide infill in a much needed place.

Well a good starting place would be to stop granting density bonuses for buildings like a Modera just because they incorporate a retail component that 9 times out of 10 will sit 75% vacant for years.

Yes some issues would have to be dealt with in order to orchestrate it, but it's nothing that hasn't been done countless times in other cities across the country. As far as being irrelevant, I disagree. Having two parking garages next to each other on a busy two lane street with no middle turn lane is going to create more traffic issues than if you just had one. It's not as big of a deal as the traffic pattern itself, but it certainly is something that will add to the peak hour cluster (on top of being stupid planning).

That's kind of my MO, but there is some truth to it. I have lived downtown for 10 years know and the last 3-5 years the crowd coming downtown has gradually changed to the type of people you don't want coming downtown.

The worst thing you can be is a sideline city with all of the major drawbacks of a major player. And this is exactly where Orlando is quickly heading. That's why all these anti-NIMBY people wanting anything and everything built are just as bad as the NIMBYs themselves. The goal shouldn't be unrestricted and unbridled growth just to become bigger, the goal should be intelligent growth to become better. We are never going to beat certain cities on just size alone, but we most certainly can beat them when it comes to smart planning and desirability. Unfortunately, smart planning seems to be about as foreign of a concept to Mr. Dyer as natural-colored skin. Getting back to the topic at hand, having two parking garages right next to each other in this location given the traffic pattern just so some ancient racist buzzards don't have to park with the common folk to shuffle to their club that hasn't been popular since 1980 is anything but intelligent. And curbside dropoff on Central right before a stoplight is even more stupid. I completely understand why that would be challenged by downtown residents and I am actually happy the system worked for once. Like I said in a prior post, any project on this property has always been jeopardized with the U Club's delusional attempt to regain what it used to have. At least with Tradition Towers the benefit was an iconic design (although you have to wonder what tradition the U Club was referring to with that name - racism, antisemitism, misogyny?).

Well a few years ago you could live downtown and not hear a gun go off every weekend night.

I agree with the noise comment, but there are some traffic pattern problems downtown that are absurd for a City as small as ours. Can't imagine how horrible they will be when downtown doubles in size. Ignoring those issues now when they could be addressed and mitigated before it is too late simply to allow for unbridled growth for the sake of growth is beyond stupid. This is a valid safety issue, not just a matter of personal preference. God forbid a terror attack required evacution of downtown on a Friday night.

This is great news. Although it's yet another drinking establishment, it has the possibilty of attracting a more mature demographic. The demographics of downtown Orlando at nighttime have become scary in the last few years - it's becoming like Memphis. Establishments like this hopefully steer it back to more inviting to everyone.

Now it makes sense.

I don't know if it does, but design should play a role in the neighborhood impact analysis the Planning Board conducts when determining whether to grant a density bonus. Reward iconic architecture over something that looks like it was designed 100% using MS Paint. As good of a design as TT was, I still think it was a poor use of space planning. That corner of town is an traffic ergonomic nightmare and having two public parking garages next too each other is stupid. Whatever goes there should be required to incorporate the public parking garage next door.

It's a density issue not a height issue. They were asking for a density bonus to increase the number of units and they were not granted the full variance. They could have redone the design to keep the height but lessen the overall size and that would have been fine. The City doesn't have carte blanche to grant density bonuses, despite it looking like it does in practice. There probably wasn't anyone pushing back on them when Tradition Towers was approved. I personally can understand the traffic issue as someone who has tried to drive down Pine Street at night. Absolute mess. God help people who live down there if there was ever an emergency.

There was an appeal arguing about neighborhood impact and traffic. The City reduced the variance as a result - in order to get approved it had to be 5 stories shorter and 50 units less. From what I heard that had a sizeable impact on making the numbers work - they still technically work, but making it very iffy.

I heard quite a different story about the chances of this going forward. Basically, the City-imposed height/unit reduction as a result of the appeal has made the numbers for going forward with it razor thin in terms of what they normally want to see. A small fluctuation in area rental rates and occupancy could make it or break it. Therefore, the verdict of it going forward right now is nothing more than hopeful optimism on the part of the UC members. Doesn't mean it won't happen, they just are watching the numbers very carefully. Would be a different story if the UC component wasn't involved, would be much easier to get off the ground.

"Mr. Downtown" needs to lay off the fast food.

A stage with a few rows of seats would be a great idea too, although we have two at Lake Eola, one of which I have never seen used as anything but a bum motel. Lighting up the tree is also something I do not see mentioned, which really should be a no brainer to give the park at least one interesting nighttine element.