John Hargrove

Some type of east-west rail from Winter Garden (maybe even Clermont?) to Waterford with a SunRail transfer right in downtown would be amazing. I think it must be rents, right? Then again, look at Winter Park. Rents must be insane. But it's a shopping destination, so it's surviving. Wealthy neighbors helps, too, of course. I love downtown Sanford. It's very comparable to Winter Garden. And, sadly, neither is connected to any sort of transit.

Yeah. As a liberal, and a very political one at that, living in a GOP stronghold is definitely a down side. We saw more than a few high flying confederate flags and Trump signs. So I totally get that mindset. That said, if I were to, say, open a small office in downtown Winter Garden for my software company, plant some roots (There's a Plant Street pun in here somewhere...), that is how a person can really help spread change they want. By being PRESENT, KIND to others, and an ADVOCATE for the things you care about. This stuff changes quickly, and the trend has been for the better. Plus, maybe my vote counts a little more! Sorry to hijack the thread. And thanks for your story about coming out. I'm glad we live in a city where it's not only accepted but actively celebrated.

The east side is substantially better, I think ... I haven't had as many issues over there. The CBD is often a cesspit, though. It's not just that homeless are present, but that they are often aggressive or even invade your personal space. I would love to find a place on the east side, but it is difficult with a family of 3 where both parents work from home. We need a lot of space. I've been looking at Winter Garden lately because it strikes me as one of the places outside of downtown that is growing, has historic character and doesn't look like the Truman Show (i.e. Lake Nona, Baldwin Park, other faux city centers.) On the topic of retail, it seems to have been marching steadily forward, even if it is slower than I'd like. Walgreens is in the process of build out at Orange and Church. That's going to be a great addition and I'm hoping it inspires others to come downtown. The lack of a pharmacy in that Walgreens is a real blow, though. Hearing that really lowered my excitement for that addition.

I'd imagine all the new apartments being built will encourage retail growth. Another concern for retail, I have to imagine, is the homeless. We were out for a walk the other night and had a random homeless person walk up and wrap their arms around both myself and my girlfriend unexpectedly. When I reacted by removing them, I was yelled at for being racist, etc. Occurrences like this aren't unusual, and to be honest it's a big part of why I'm considering relocating from downtown. Why deal with the above problem when you can go to a place that doesn't have those problems, has plentiful parking and comparable or lower prices due to lower rents? Uphill battle.

I agree, we need urban development boundaries. You've gotta put some guardrails on this at some point.

Been checking this daily, haven't seen the crane bits going in yet. Looks like they're still doing some foundation/pilings work. There's been a pile driver working on site for a while. Not sure if this holds up the crane or what. Also worth mentioning that Pine Street was repaved adjacent the construction. No more potholes.

A cross between The Waverly and Winnie Palmer Hospital. Something like that. Feels very familiar.

Watched SunRail unload hoards of people into downtown all day today. Later on, we took it up to Winter Park to grab ice cream and do some shopping. Both our outbound and return trips (Church St <--> Winter Park) had plenty of people riding. It was very active. Very exciting to see the service being used. Very diverse crowd, lots of people getting on and off at various stations. Wasn't all joy riding, either -- plenty of people using it to get to the bus station for general transit.

My biggest complaint with this plaza is lack of shade. Big open areas in the sun are not great in Florida. Either development needs to happen or some big trees need to go in. It's very unpleasant out there at times.

Is that water feature still planned or did it get the axe?

I also think the lack of development in the plaza makes the roof more prominent. That might be affecting my opinion of it.

Good point, I hadn't considered the parking spots along Rosalind. That would be stressful. Either way, glad to see the city actually taking steps to making the city navigable by people not in cars. This all helps to make downtown better.

Perhaps 'useless' was too strong of a word. But Rosalind is like a NASCAR race most of the time and there are a huge number of intersections. Drivers will need more than paint to treat them with the respect they require.

These will be useless unless OPD becomes very active at citing drivers for violating it. Otherwise they will be death traps. Drivers need a mental adjustment.

I'm with you. Glad we have it, but it looks like an airport terminal more than it does an arts center.

I think this is true of everywhere. They're called proposals for a reason. Many if not most of them never see the light of day. I would really like to see more development west of I-4 outside of Creative Village. Lots of potential there.

If that's true, do those cities not have competing office concentrations outside of the city core? Orlando literally has investors trying to create brand new city cores outside of the city proper. There's a lot of competition outside of downtown.

Ugh.

Some excerpts. New partner: Raleigh-based Concord Hospitality Enterprises, a hotel developer, owner and operator with a hand in five Orlando properties, is targeting the market for growth and negotiating a joint venture for the hotel in Downtown Orlando's proposed Tremont Tower, a lead executive with the company told GrowthSpotter. The relevance of it: The company's next Orlando investment could be a joint venture with Lincoln Property Company (LPC) to develop, co-own and manage the 180-key AC Hotels by Marriott planned for the mixed-use Tremont Tower in downtown, Kellock said. The JV negotiations are still early, and subject to change, he said. The hotel within Tremont Tower could be under construction by late 2017 and open in mid-2019, Kellock added. Some non-news on the Fairwinds replacement: Lincoln said that a deal with a larger replacement tenant would be announced soon. My take: it's neutral news. Not a lot of substance here. The project isn't dead but this joint venture isn't a done deal either. Wait and watch.

That is GREAT news. I had deeply feared this would be one of those projects that just can't seem to get done. Rock on.

The Sanford SunRail station is one of the bigger disappointments. There are some really great little downtowns in the metro area that aren't connected well to transit. It's a missed opportunity. Winter Garden being another one (though obviously not a candidate for the north-south SunRail corridor).

Pine Street along the construction site was completely closed today and the fencing had been extended to include it.

Great for the dogs, too. High-rise living is probably tough on them.

Yeah when I was there they were asking $2600 or $2700/month for a 3BR with 1400sqft. By comparison, 55 West is anywhere from $2500 to $2900 depending on floor, has better views, and is 400SQFT bigger and has a 4th room which is a den. So, my comparison at that time was pay the same amount in rent, lose 400 SQFT, lose a room, lose a 28th floor view. Not a HUGE leap, but definitely crossed over a threshold I couldn't justify. Also it seems that 55 West is slowly improving. I have witnessed less shenanigans in recent months but it could be some seasonal migration of bros or something.

Two things turned me away from 420. One was size -- They have a 3 bedroom plan but it is very small, the rooms were tight. The second thing was price. It was basically the same price for a 3BR in 420 that a 3BR+Den on the 20th floor of 55 West (which is built like a tank). It was a hard sell. Location is killer, though. I wish I was that close to Publix/Eola.