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That's true, but the reality is the potential for new upscale bars/clubs opening in Downtown Orlando seems unlikely. I would love for downtown to have more upscale venues, but what person in their right mind would want to come downtown to go to a fancy bar if the element of crime has not been addressed? Hmm, go downtown and potentially get robbed or shot or just go to Winter Park/Dr. Phillips and skip the unnecessary excitement. Tough choice. My perspective is this... Most urban cities tend to sit on their hands and tolerate/condone/enable/look the other way with crime and criminals wreaking havoc and destroying the quality of life for residents and homeowners. While not perfect, I'm very appreciative of the unconventional steps taken by the City to secure entry points, limit new bars and cut down on the party atmosphere on the street with groups of sketchy people loitering around and tailgating on private lots. Nothing is stopping any existing establishments from becoming more upscale. I believe there was 1 shooting that occurred outside of the perimeter of the secured area and TBH I haven't heard of anything else since they started cracking down. Desperate times calls for desperate measures. It's one thing when you work downtown, slip into your car and split before the riff raff start coming out of the woodwork. But it's a completely different experience when you're downtown full time and bunch of lowlifes from out of the area turn your neighborhood upside down with no repercussions. Highly doubt you would tolerate criminal mischief, monthly shootings, etc. in your neighborhood and I'm pretty sure you would want drastic changes to keep crime in check. I'm definitely not one of those defund the police types. For some reason, people think downtown urban areas should be ornamented with homeless people on every corner and believe crime just goes with the territory, meanwhile they would never tolerate the same element in their suburban neighborhoods. I believe urban areas should be just as safe as the suburbs and it's about time cities start implementing outside of the box measures to avoid repeating the failed policies of Seattle, LA, NYC, etc.

Well, there was a shooting every 1-2 months before they started cracking down so I'm glad they want to further diversify businesses opening up downtown (which is very bar heavy). Damned if they do, damned if they don't. It's just another extension, not permanent. Some bars created an unsafe environment downtown and took zero responsibility for the aftermath.

Repost. Uploaded a higher resolution rendering.

It appears so. The benches are gone... I'm kind of ok with that, if it discourages homeless people from camping out (along with said "bell music"). Also, peep the conduit on the ground that runs between each prism. Should be fun cutting through that corner while on a bike, a wheelchair or people with mobility issues.

Agreed, DTO has some bad public art. They replaced some of the trees a few weeks ago, then along came the amateurish looking art. Looks like it might be permanent, unfortunately. Not permanent, probably a traveling exhibit. Edit: added night photos and picture of the plaque explaining the art. Currently the prisms do not light up at night. The night photos are misleading, currently very dark and the dichroic prisms must be reflecting light captured via the camera. The city has been working on this corner for a few weeks now and will probably install wiring soon? If I understand the plaque correctly, they will eventually light up at night, spin and play bell music.

Received notice of upcoming street closures for mural paintings at the following intersections. Not much is known of the specific designs of these, but a few years ago I advocated to the city for murals at certain intersections to further reinforce pedestrian right-of-way (since some vehicles tend to encroach into crosswalks). I think this is a good thing. Also, upcoming road work (resurfacing and traffic calming improvements) on Rosalind will remove the BLM logo. The city is working with the artist that painted the pocket park mural next to the Rosalind Club to come up with a new design that will be reflective of Orlando's diversity. https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2024/01/04/orlandos-black-lives-matter-mural-to-be-removed/

Link? I like to see people's feedback. The co-living units are pretty much fully furnished apartments, minus personal toiletries, so that may account for the higher rates (along with building amenities, daily community events, fitness classes and 24/7 concierge - no direct mention of security guards though). Plus commercial insurance premiums are also seeing significant hikes (just like auto and homeowners insurance), all of which will be passed on to the consumer. From their brochure:

Well... it's better than the grassy nook they originally planned. They probably realized it would become a doggy "potty park" more than a pocket park. Maybe this will become a selfie park where visitors take pictures instead. If anything, they should erect seasonal silhouette stations along the Rosalind Club gate where people can stand in front of them and take pictures (e.g. like the obligatory angel wings and other Orlando-inspired gimmicks). The good kind of pedestrian traffic would discourage riff raff from hanging around or transients trying to camp out next to the building... especially if stragglers get in the way of their precious selfie stations.

I see it a bit differently... I don't see the problem. If the house were located on the interior of the neighborhood (rather than on the perimeter facing a busy thoroughfare) then I could see the point of wanting to renovate and save the character of the neighborhood. But it's basically a shack facing Orange Ave and deserves to be replaced with a commercial building, further establishing the streetwall. Also, the medspa further diversifies neighborhood amenities in the area vs yet another medical/office building going up.

Going green... in more ways than one.

They always find a way to plaster their name on something one way or another :

Do you think CSP can be salvaged if the columns and garage are painted dark gray (or a different color) other than white? I also think the idea of the garage screening on paper was nice, but the follow through IRL was a bit half azzed. Too bad an architect from Miami wasn't involved with the design, because the screened garages down there are pretty nice IMO.

Construction update photos. I'm glad the developer was able to move forward on these despite the RE downturn. Also good to see they left a few mature street trees intact. I'm hoping this development spurs even more revitalization along Page St (similar to Grant). Looks like there were 2 lots left for sale, both appear to be pending from what I see on the mls. Asking prices are 300k for regular rectangle lot and 329k for L shaped lot.

I guess what's old is new again if you wait long enough Curious what you think of the Waverly's color palette? IMO the old art deco pastels adds a bit of uniqueness to an otherwise uniform/corporate landscape. I can stomach it if tastefully done right. The rendering could use a little reworking.

I still miss the retro lights that outlined the star... and the string lights it used to hang from. They could've accomplished the retro look with LEDs while preserving the vintage charm.

They could always add plans for a pedestrian crossing over Rosalind using public funds and call it the Lake Eola annex. Never underestimate the power of the "little old ladies" (as they like to call themselves).

Agreed, it's kind of creepy. I've also seen billboard ads and heard ads on Spotify for each organization. I don't know the ins and outs of tax law, but both Advent and Orlando Health are not-for-profit organizations. There are key distinctions between non-profit vs not-for-profit, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to pinpoint how each hospital uses the designation to their advantage. Side note: The Orlando Sentinel did a 4 part write up about each hospital's tax exemption status a few years ago. Probably doesn't address your concern, but the OS did attempt to shed light on the topic. I will give it a re-read myself actually. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2016/01/28/part-1-florida-hospital-orlando-health-enjoy-lucrative-tax-breaks-even-as-revenues-soar/

Basically in a nutshell... The church purchased the building to convert it into a homeless drop-in center, but fundraising dried up due to the GFC. They started renovating the building without permits and it was rumored they allowed people to sleep inside of the building in its unfinished state. They definitely allowed homeless people to camp out on site though. The building was condemned by the City and remained vacant since. The church held weekly mass feedings for homeless people on the property's parking lot and it created a lot of problems for the surrounding areas (people loitering, camping out, aggressive panhandling, etc). The church only seemed focused on providing outreach services without responsibly taking into account the toll on it's surroundings... then one night a woman was brutally assaulted amd raped in the alley between AT&T and the pink building by a transient. There were already several other reports of women being assaulted by homeless people around Lake Eola over the years. The city had been in talks with the church to reduce or stop the mass feedings over the years. Fencing was installed around the pink building and subsequently around the church itself a few years ago. Mass feedings continued into 2023, but hopefully the new development will put an end to it. Just noticed, according to the article, they will break ground on The Edge in the 1st quarter of 2024. Fingers crossed https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/10/24/lincoln-property-eyes-lake-eola-site-for-mixed-use-tower/

Agreed. Given the history of everything that occurred on and around that site, I'm just glad the property is no longer under the church's posession. This new lot assemblage on Wall St could serve as the parking garage ingress/egress... we actually talked about these very same things in 2019, so I'm glad it's coming to fruition! https://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/topic/118287-cambria-hotel-and-suites-8-story-155-room-hotel-approved/page/3/

So I guess debauchery within the straight community is no longer a thing? Ever hear of Spring Break, Miami Beach or Ibiza?? Scantily clad women with their T&A hanging out, fully naked women, intoxicated people making out with each other, drunken fights, dancing/grinding provocatively and of course the classy couple getting it on behind the dumpster. Enough with the double standard. On any given day you can find some woman wearing skin tight tops and leggings showing off every nook and cranny, but I guess that's ok right. So what's good for the goose is totally out of bounds for the gander? Yes gay pride parades do have an overtly sexual undertone, but let's not pretend like all straight events or clubs don't get sleezy either. Living next to Lake Eola, I've seen lots of straight people that were not on their best behavior... including a girl who pleasured her male friend on the sidewalk (and no, they were not homeless). Look, in no way do I want to see either community doing any of that stuff in public, but the clutching of pearls and hypocrisy is a bit over the top. Keep that in mind the next time you guys pat yourselves on the back as a half naked woman with all of her bits on display walks by in public in front of kids and everyone else to see.

Agreed. Mid-sized city w/small town vibes and I feel many want to keep it that way. One of the reasons I sold my condo is bc I got tired of "Waiting for Godot" as spenser would say. We had some good momentum prior to the Great Financial Crisis back in '08, but we haven't recovered since. I understand wanting to move away from the stagnation in Orlando, but where would you go? Most established downtowns/cities are cost prohibitive (unless money isn't an issue for you, then the world is your oyster). It's nice to visit cities with fully functioning downtowns, but when I'm away I start to miss the small town convenience of our little area... or maybe I just miss the familiar surroundings, who knows. Our traffic is annoying, but traffic in larger cities is on another level. While I would much prefer to live in Winter Park (which is the only area worth a damn in Central FL IMO), living in downtown's environs allows me to comfortably sustain myself on my salary which would not be the case if I had to start over in Miami Beach, NYC, etc. Downtown Orlando is basically my compromise.

Construction is still estimated to be completed in November per the update in the community paper this month. See July's article for a breakdown of the work being done on South Orange Ave by OUC, FDOT and Sodo NID : https://www.yourcommunitypaper.com/articles/south-orange-avenue-construction-update/

Another view from Palmetto. Long overdue, but happy to see it gone. The Church's neglect has been a blight and a safety hazard on the community.

I find it odd that the sales history for that lot "170 E Washington St" has been erased in property appraiser. I'm certain it showed the sales history earlier this year when I last checked. It's not a confidential parcel, so I'm not sure what's up... It sold for $3M back in 2017, so I'm curious how much Lincoln Properties bought it for in today's market. Does anyone know how to find the most recent sales record?