alex

This is a new development that I guarantee you will look "shiny and new and neat as a pin." I'm not sure how a brand new strip center with drive-through outparcels = cool scruffy neighborhood. I personally subscribe to the idea that every remaining lot in this city—especially with zoning as valuable as an "urban activity center"—should be developed as close to its full potential as possible. And yes, this is an issue with a zoning and building code that allows for great things but doesn't really enforce it. It's also an issue with citizens who willfully support any mediocre chain store developments while often actively fighting diverse, independent, or creative developments. We only have so many large lots with high zoning capacity left in the city limits. I don't think it's too much to expect new development within a two-mile radius of the city center to strive to be something well-designed.

Assuming City Hall as the "center" of Orlando, this development is the same distance from the center as is North Quarter. If they built something this car-centric in North Quarter or Creative Village, I'd be pretty disappointed. This development kind of negates the efforts put in by SoDo, Orlando Health, and Novel Lucerne to urbanize South Orange. Something more urban down there would've been a great terminus for a Lymmo expansion or streetcar.

Church Street SunTrust I-4 Ultimate Marriott Rosie O'Grady's Plaza—or whatever it's called now—peeking up between CNL Tower II and Lincoln Plaza:

A bunch of traffic lights were out on my way to work this morning (down Fern Creek and west on Central), and I have to say that I've never has such a quick commute. Makes you realize all those countries reducing/removing street signs and lights might be on to something. (Probably helps that it was Friday during summer, too.)

Some shots from today's lunch walk:

Caught in the act...

Video tour of the new Orlando Brightline station over at The Next Miami: https://www.thenextmiami.com/video-tour-of-brightlines-newly-completed-orlando-rail-terminal/

Saw some white trucks parked on the lot and a group of guys walking the perimeter this morning. Not sure if it was 520-related or if they were looking at the surrounding right-of-way.

Thanks! Map lives here. Like I said before, it's not perfect, but the shapes link to the renderings and articles with more information. (You might have to uncheck the transportation layer to hide the Lymmo route if you want to select the shapes inside it.) Looking forward to adding new projects ;-)

This gallery had some good shots of Creative Village progress. Below is one that I annotated with some of what we know so far:

The irony is that a fair amount of properties in the neighborhood are Vietnamese-owned.

This either/or urban/suburban fallacy is something that holds cities like Orlando back.

Yeah, but us evil Millennials actually like those things

A pumps-in-the-front gas station is literally the worst (i.e. least urban) thing you could build in a community other than like a highway or a chemical plant. Sometimes I feel like this board needs to be renamed GasStationsGroceryStoresJobsAndSandwichesPlanet.org.

This is an urban Wawa: What they're proposing here is a lazy, off-the-shelf suburban gas station. Unfortunately there's a stormwater pond by the new CFE on Mills, too. But yeah, how this plan conforms to the "Traditional City Overlay" zoning is beyond me. It shouldn't get approved.

Well, there goes the neighborhood...

Interesting tidbits: "Ballet representatives said they hope to have the new facility open by late next year...The new building will replace the Loch Haven Neighborhood Center..."

A friend was there recently and they told her it would be turned into something more like Ferkin & Kegler (almost as bad a name as Garp & Fuss) over in Waterford Lakes. I wonder if they'll use the extra space for a dining and/or arcade area. Also, everyone—including Orlando Weekly—keeps implying that the new owners are ruining a 1959 gem. I think somebody here mentioned the whole thing was already gutted in the late '80s?

Not sure if they're going for any sort of LEED certification, but I heard brick is a double-edged sword: while it's a "green" building material, it's not produced in Florida and has to be shipped in from afar, making it not so green. I imagine in this case it's just the cost, though. Driving up Rosalind, this thing is going to look huge. I'm not in love with the plaza, but I'm glad to see that great sidewalk—which is something people on the Miami boards complain about.

I wish it wasn't limited to office/hotel. I bet they could get an apartment builder to bite pretty easily...just not sure how easy it is to change a planned development (PD) once it's half constructed.

So they're sticking with "Creative Village" then...

Curry Ford is a stroad that needs to be fixed.

I wonder if the Travelodge site is big enough to fit today's off-the-shelf hotel on it. Comparing it to the recently completed Hampton Inn by ORMC, it would work footprint-wise, but parking would be a challenge.

I don't hold Sheehan's criticism of the roll-out against her, because almost everyone agrees it could have been handled better. I just wish she would pick a side, preferably pro-road diet. She needs to say something along the lines of, "This is an important demonstration project representing the first steps towards safer, more accessible Main Street districts." For years, Orlando has been called out in national headlines as one of the top cities for pedestrian and cyclist deaths. Our public transit is equally embarrassing. A lot of that is linked to the state and size of our roads and I think it's insane that our Commissioners don't take this as an opportunity to educate residents and try to fix this.

Seconded. Plus, it's all about traveling and experiences, which is why music festivals are booming. (Except Warped tour, apparently.)