nite owℓ
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Posts posted by nite owℓ
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Medical office building update at W Muriel St & S Orange Ave:
Hopefully they go with the restaurant/retail concept instead of keeping it strictly medical.
The first floor is intended as retail or restaurant use, though it could also become a more public-facing medical concept.
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I-4 EB view
WB view
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4 hours ago, JFW657 said:
Well then you should take some comfort in knowing that I've never even heard of it before.
Are you coming out now or am I misreading what your wrote? lol
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2 hours ago, Poe Tempkin said:
To your point, Disney has postponed moving Imagineering jobs to Lake Nona until 2026. I'm sure this had nothing to do with the impulsive, dunderhead action by DeSantis. I'm sure the final decision to bring the jobs to Florida won't be affected at all by the way RCID is handled by the Governor and his legislative allies.
But never mind the politics, this is actual economic harm being done to Florida, and for what? What do the people of Orange and Osceola counties or Florida as a whole gain from this, even if the taxes and liabilities are a wash? Who "wins" here? What's the point?I agree, but who really knows how this affects Disney's timeline (or budget) to move jobs to Lake Nona? Sure, they have a financial advantage by not having to pay taxes on bonds but does it add up to enough savings to dictate how much money Disney can allocate to other business? IDK... I haven't seen the numbers.
Either way, it should be enough to give smaller businesses pause before moving to FL because not everyone can afford to have the state of FL to renege on their own laws. Republicans claim to want less government, but they don't mind weaponizing the law.
Next special session is in December... we'll see how that plays out.
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I always find it amusing when straight guys seem to know more about places like Club O than I do...
Does it also have a gym?
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On 11/23/2022 at 3:12 PM, JFW657 said:
You are correct about that.
Totally non-descript, one story strip center.
Matte finish, aluminum mullions between plate glass window storefronts.
I think there was a uniform supply place there and/or maybe a dry cleaners.
Possibly (and likely given its proximity to ORMC) a medical equipment supply place too.
I'm thinking like three, maybe four businesses.
I'm surprised you didn't pull out a historic photo of the strip from your archives
South Orange Ave has come a long way. It used to have such a depressing, foreboding vibe to me back in the day.
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On 11/23/2022 at 11:20 PM, aent said:
I've said it multiple times, as did DeSantis. They are avoiding permitting, property taxes on assets owned by the district such as much of their private parking lots, and various other taxes and fees that literally every other district in the state not being terminated are not able to avoid.
Since as I said in the last sentence, they are avoiding taxes literally no one else is able to avoid, such as Universal, they are in fact getting government subsidies through this special district. This simply puts the on a level playing field.
While it is true our local tax collector and other local officials have said that, DeSantis and the state legislators who passed the law have repeatedly said the district will be reformed as the law states they can do, having them in line with the other districts in the state, and keeping Disney paying for both the bond and more taxes that literally every competitor has to pay. Why are you so against Disney paying their fair share, like all of the competition has to?
The previous FCC administration stated Starlink was qualified. Starlink certified it could meet the requirements. The FCC said they didn't believe it around the same time Joe Biden said we need to investigate Elon Musk. They changed the rules to take funding from a political opponent. As it was a reverse auction, Starlink was the cheapest option to provide high speed internet to rural, underserved areas, but the FCC is rejecting them for political reasons. Under current Florida law, Reedy Creek needs to be reauthorized under the current rule, so why is it different when the FCC changes its rules to reject SpaceX/Starlink from getting subsidies?
Again, your spreading misinformation. The price went from $99/month to $110/month to due to Biden's price hike/inflation, it was never $11/month. Starlink is generally cheaper then the other rural ISPs. Even the $600 dish is significantly cheaper then the alternatives, who frequently charged many thousands of dollars for installation of additional lines to rural customers, such as Spectrum, Comcast, AT&T, etc.
I was not familiar with the details on Starlink so I will correct my statement... I misunderstood the $11 dollar increase as $11 to $110. Maybe the FCC is expecting too much considering the limitations of satellite internet, but I doubt Starlink is going anywhere considering their plans to launch even more of their space junk into low orbit to improve/expand service. Regardless, there is nothing pointing to your allegation of political tit-for-tat when the FCC rejected the long-form applications of LTD Broadband and Starlink. From the FCC directly: https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-rejects-ltd-broadband-starlink-bids-broadband-subsidies
Per Disney's disclosure, they paid $780M in state and local taxes for FY2021. I would imagine that whatever permitting fees they are not paying directly to the county, they absorb the overhead costs by taxing themselves in order to pay for services. Other than tax advantages on bonds due to self-governance, unless I'm missing something, why would they need to pay additional fees/taxes for services already being handled in house? Not paying taxes on parking lots... please point me to your source as I have not seen anything relating to that.
While you're salivating over permitting fees, RCID could transfer nearly $1B of debt onto residents of Orange and Osceola counties. Desantis's bill does not include any details and he simply states Disney will pay its debt and fair share... yeah that's reassuring. Meanwhile the fiscal impact statement states, "The bill will have an indeterminate fiscal impact on those local general purpose governments that will assume the assets and indebtedness of an independent special district dissolved by the bill."
I think I'll listen to my tax collector (vs some joe shmoe) when he says it could result in 20-25% increase in property taxes because that money has to come from somewhere: https://www.wftv.com/news/local/end-reedy-creek-disney-wont-pay-more-taxes-you-will/3TK6ASNJT5EXHICW3DQ3ZHEZYA/ . The verbiage of the 1967 law is very clear about who pays the bond debt: https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/27/us/reedy-creek-disney-florida/index.html.
I'm not against Disney paying taxes - I'm against our Governor's reckless behavior. As the article states, Desantis's knee-jerk reaction will also make businesses think twice about moving jobs to Florida, knowing the state could change the rules overnight if an executive has a different opinion than a politician.
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On 11/20/2022 at 9:55 PM, codypet said:
Perhaps someone can confirm if my memory is correct, but I seem to remember this Radio Shack moved to this location in the late 90's and that the previous location was up the road across the street in the buildings that used to be here:
It's been so long I don't even remember what was there. Were the building(s) worth saving architectural-wise? Even if left vacant, I imagine the streetscape would've looked much nicer than this eyesore.
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Sadly I've noticed most people do not want to replace trees lost to disease or hurricanes. Seems like most of them do not want to deal with the leaves/debris clean up while forgetting the benefits of trees in urban areas. To me, the benefits outweigh the inconveniences.
I've planted a street tree bringing the total # of trees on my small lot up to 3.5 (half-tree is dying/dead). Meanwhile My neighbor lost 3 trees and has not replanted - granted it's a rental but still. I asked the owner to plant a free tree from the city and in exchange I offered to maintain it, but the city refused because it's a rental property. Tree canopy on my street has been declining over the past 10 years.
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5 hours ago, jrs2 said:
https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/state/in-depth-understanding-special-districts-in-florida
this is the link to the graphic that @aentposted on the prior page of this thread. They list examples of what the 1,800 or so special districts are, anywhere from school districts to college districts, throughout the state. On your point, why would someone have to dissolve a run of the mill, non-Chapter 189 school district, for example, to bolster your 'goose and gander' comparison to these 5 special districts? One has nothing to do with the other.
Do you have a citation to DeSantis saying it was retaliatory?
1) Well if you want to obfuscate things, they are ALL pretty much run of the mill special districts with terms that were already agreed upon upon implementation. Nothing has changed that would warrant Reedy Creek's dissolution unless those in the district saw a need to do otherwise.
2) Do you not pay attention to the news (other than OAN, Info Wars, and whatever else masquerades itself as a credible news source)?
From Desantis's own mouth: "I am not comfortable having one company with their own government and special privileges, when that company has pledged itself to attacking the parents in my state," he said. "When that company has very high up people talking about injecting pansexualism into programing for young kids, it's wrong. Walt Disney would not want that. And so get back to the mission. Do what you did great. That's why people love the company, and you've lost your way. Maybe this will be the wake-up call that they need to get back on track." https://www.wesh.com/article/desantis-reedy-creek-wakeup-call-disney/39859459#
Not to mention other sycophants who have done live interviews to hop on the Disney-hate train and parrot the same nonsense.
I'll just leave it at that and won't be commenting any further -- you and that other one are like 2 sides of the same coin anyway lol.
DeSantis's decision was childish, spiteful and reckless.
Further down in the article, our Tax Collector, Scott Randolph, speaks very clearly of the financial impact that it will have on residents:
"The moment that it dissolves, that money's gone. Just gone. And instead, what happens is all the debts and obligations of Reedy Creek get transferred over to Orange County government," Scott Randolph, Orange County tax collector, said.
"Worst case scenario, Orange County's going to find themselves in a $163 million hole that they've got to fill that they may not even be able to fill with property taxes even if they raised it to the maximum level allowed," Randolph said.
Further, officials are concerned that Disney's $1 billion in bond debt will be assumed by local governments. In a statement to investors, Reedy Creek reminded of Florida law: "the dissolution of a special district government shall transfer title to all of its property to the local general purpose government, which shall also assume all indebtedness of the preexisting special district."
'nuff said.
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3 hours ago, spenser1058 said:
24 years later, Winter Park Village undergoes ‘total redevelopment’
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-bz-winter-park-village-construction-update-20221122-zwbl55gb4reoxaibx6wedpcase-story.htmlSome great construction pics and an update on what’s coming
From The Sentinel
I'm sure @JFW657 will love the all-white exteriors.
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On 11/10/2022 at 8:02 PM, aent said:
If anyone actually listened to what DeSantis said, he literally said as much. The only change he really is pushing for is making sure they have their fees paid to the government, and that the board of the district will be appointed by the governor to make sure the government collects taxes from them, the same exact way that they do from Universal and SeaWorld and the rest of us. He literally said a new district will be created under a more traditional "special district" format, DeSantis has been clear he welcomes Disney to do business here and wants them to do well, but not get special privileges not available to others.
But Reedy Creek Improvement District wasn't even the only one to lose its special district status under that very law. Every district that was created under the rule that allowed RCID to operate in this manner is being disolved: Here's a full map of them:
As you can see, many of the others are in very red areas as well. The new law also literally says the districts can be re-established, following the current law, and not getting away with not following any rules when they were created pre-1968.
Also, why is it only an issue when the Republicans do this, and not the Democrats?
The Democrats, for the last several years, have been attacking Elon Musk and companies for not following their party lines, and literally acting on it. The "Rural Digital Opportunities Fund" awarded SpaceX $880 million as they were the lowest bidder in providing internet to 650,000 locations, but the FCC revoked their funding when the Democrats took over to get back at Elon Musk. They left Tesla out of the subsidy funding in the EV vehicle subsidy bill, while including the foreign manufacturers. They've been trying to do this to Elon for many years now. Just yesterday, Joe Biden was asked "Do you think Elon Musk is a threat to US national security?" and Biden answered that he " is worthy of being looked at" and when asked "How?" he just said “There’s a lot of ways,” How is the Democrat President Joe Biden and his administration doing this to Elon Musk and SpaceX and Tesla without you guys complaining about Disney not complaining about this?
Both parties have always done this. If you want to get subsidies and special exemptions from the law from the government, you better be friendly to them, regardless of who is in power. I don't like these exemptions and subsidies existing, but lets be fair. I'd be happy to get rid of it for everyone. Thats the right way to raise taxes
I've already mentioned that exact point because Reedy Creek and 5 other districts were created under Chapter 189:
On 4/25/2022 at 6:12 PM, nite owℓ said:Apparently The Villages will retain it's special district because it was created under Chapter 190. Disney and 4 other districts were formed under Chapter 189:
•Hamilton County Development Authority
• East Point Water and Sewer District (Franklin County)
• Bradford County Development Authority
• Reedy Creek Improvement District aka Disney (Orange and Osceola Counties)
• Sunshine Drainage District (Broward County)
Reedy Creek's dissolution was targeted and retaliatory. DeSantis and others have plainly said so. Of course the 5 other districts within Chapter 189 are going to be affected, but they are collateral damage. I specifically stated there are over 1,800 special districts in Florida so IMO what's good for the goose should be good for the gander and they should all be called to the table & required to go through the process of reauthorization in 2023 as well. Republicans claim to want to limit "Big Government" interference yet have repeatedly tried to use the arm of the government to ham-handedly interfere. You claim Disney was "getting away with not following any rules when they were created pre-1968." What were they getting away with exactly?? What nonsense, they are following the terms that were originally agreed to.
How about DeSantis performs due diligence and follows the terms written in the act before recklessly trying to scrap Reedy Creek? Per the Daytona Beach News Journal:
On page 73, in Section 56, there’s this part where “the state of Florida pledges to the holders of any bonds issued under this Act that it will not limit or alter the rights of the District to own, acquire, construct, reconstruct, improve, maintain, operate or furnish the projects or to levy and collect the taxes, assessments, rentals, rates, fees, tolls, fares and other charges provided for herein … and that it will not modify in any way the exemption from taxation provided in the Act, until all such bonds together with interest thereon, and all costs and expenses in connection with any action or proceeding by or on behalf of such holders, are fully met and discharged.” A lot of legalese, but legalese that seems to pledge not to mess with things until the bonds are paid up. And that would be sometime around 2038. https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/opinion/columns/2022/04/28/ron-desantis-disney-dont-say-gay-what-next-reedy-creek-florida-special-districts/7437213001/
And what does government subsidies (especially those which require bids to win government contracts) have to so with special districts?? Apples to oranges. How typical to try and conflate irrelevant issues mixed with misinformation to pad your argument. However, I'll play along. BTW, Starlink won the funding in a reverse auction, it still needed FCC approval of a long-form application. A simple google search explains why funding was denied:
In a press release, the FCC said both Starlink and LTD Broadband — another company that initially was awarded $1.3 billion in subsidies under the program — “failed to demonstrate that the providers could deliver the promised service." We cannot afford to subsidize ventures that are not delivering the promised speeds or are not likely to meet program requirements,” FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. Rosenworcel added that SpaceX’s technology has “real promise” but emphasized that Starlink is still “developing.” https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/10/fcc-denies-spacex-bid-for-nearly-1-billion-in-broadband-subsidies-for-starlink.html
Not to mention Starlink raising it's monthly fee from $11 to $110 and requiring customers to purchase a $600 dish -- not exactly affordable to rural communities. Starlink and the government made their points and they can continue to hash it out and allow Starlink to prove itself.
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1 hour ago, JFW657 said:
If some people didn't have such a proclivity to steal grocery carts to use for God knows what, they wouldn't need to do that.
But I've found from shopping there fairly often over the years, that most people who shop there return the carts.
I'm guessing the quarter deposit is kind of a German mindset kind of thing.
Germans being the very practical, pragmatic, problem solving type folk they are, and who take the practical approach to everything, figured out that most people just want their gol-durned quarter back, dang it!!!
I like it.
Nah, that crap will only fly with me if we were still in the 90's. It's an outdated mode of implementing a deterrence. I've briefly lived in a country that required deposits when purchasing glass soda bottles and I was totally fine with that system because it wasn't obstructive and you could return the bottle(s) at your leisure.
I was recently at Walmart Neighborhood Market in SoDo and found an errant cart in the parking lot (one of the last mini carts). Only, the wheel was locked because someone tried to take it out of the zone in the parking lot. One of the employees saw me struggling with it and offered to unlock it for me. I was thinking he had a magnet in his pocket or something to place against the wheel, but no. To my amazement, he simply pointed his handheld device and unlocked the wheel that way.If Aldi would migrate the deposit system onto a cell phone app or some sort of tap to pay then it would be more tolerable. I know I'm kinda stuck in my ways, but I highly doubt most people walk around with cash/change these days. Don't make your customer's lives more difficult before they can even get into the store lol.
When I shop at Whole Foods, Target, etc. the parking lot isn't trashed nor are there tons of carts littering the parking lot compared to when I shop at Walmart. Know your customer base and react accordingly. I highly doubt the average Aldi's shopper demographic would take off with one of their carts. The few carts left in the Aldi's parking lot (with quarters jammed in them) still required employees to retrieve them anyway.
Just saying.
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2 hours ago, JFW657 said:
Actually, you don't have to "pay" to use the carts. You put a quarter in the chain lock box mounted to the handle, then you get it back when you return the cart and re-lock it to the other.
It's an extremely effective and ingenious way of getting people to return their carts rather than leave them strewn around the parking lot either being stolen by bums or having to be retrieved by an employee, both of which would require raising their prices. Almost everyone will push that cart back to the front of the store just to get that quarter back.
True, I wasn't aware the quarter could be returned until the 2nd visit... and realized it was more like a deposit system. Regardless, I usually stow my carts in a decent manner -- quarter or not. However, I noticed not everyone at Aldi returned their carts, thus forfeiting their quarters. IMO, people are gonna do what they are gonna do and a quarter is more of a PITA for those of us who normally do not walk around with cash/change. I was told to bring the quarter by the person who recommended I visit the store. The whole thing just seems bizarre in this day & age and those quirks are kind of a turn off for me.
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On 10/13/2022 at 12:04 AM, codypet said:
Anyone seeing the reddit threads about Radius and mold?
Well... I feel like I harped on this subject quite a few times over the years regarding low quality construction materials & longevity. So many developers seem intent on using cheap cladding materials in place of masonry, block or even prefab concrete shells. Yes, Radius was a step up using cast in place "concrete frame" instead of wood, but they still cheaped out by using that EIFS-like cladding for the exterior walls.
When I mentioned my concerns last time, ChiDev responded with this:
On 12/14/2020 at 2:47 PM, ChiDev said:I don't think they understand the capabilities of EIFS bolted to steel stud, which itself is bolted between layers of CIP (@ Radius). Modera and Radius are both CIP, I believe 420/520/orange and robinson are prefab (though dif types). I am guessing 420's issues have more to do with their vertical layers & waterproofing not matching up, an issue with prefab concrete over concrete that fills gap and takes form in-place. I agree that at 10-20 stories, wood frame would never be able to compete with CIP in an FL wind environment, but that said, it never would given the expense of fire treated timber.
My response to that philosophy still stands:
On 12/14/2020 at 10:16 PM, nite owℓ said:Actually I was referring to CBD Modera as well as the other developments in the CV that are not 100% concrete. My issue with EIFS is that it does not equate to longevity (100+ years). Towers built in the CBD should be built to last. Repeated expensive repairs on top of keeping up with normal operating expenses eventually contributes to blight. I don't recall Modera or Radius having cast in place exterior walls, if anything I distinctly remember CBD Modera polluting surrounding streets with a "snowstorm" of styrofoam as workers rasped the exterior system.
I don't care if EIFS is bolted to steel or it's wind resistance - my concern is with wind driven rain & water intrusion which can be costly and destructive if not caught in time. Concrete holds up much better during lapses in maintenance. If I were part of an investment group, I'd rather own a property like Skyhouse over Modera just to avoid any unnecessary maintenance that could have been easily avoided to begin (in spite of possible pool deck issues in the future)
I think the damage @ the G went beyond "proper maintenance" issues because I heard they also had to have their windows replaced. Only so much sealing you can do with EIFS. Concrete/prefab is the best way to go when living in FL. Don't get me wrong, I love historic stucco buildings but I'm sure those same buildings are hiding wood rot and termite damage underneath. You usually don't find out until it's too late.
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On 11/1/2022 at 9:36 PM, eq1974 said:
I did one earlier this year and enjoyed it. Actually with a lot of out of towners that wanted to know more about our little city. Do it if you get a chance (a comment for everyone reading this).
Do they also include Parramore or just the CBD?
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Just now, AmIReal said:
I doubt this space will be another grocer and I'm not betting on it being traditional retail. My guess is on something medical... hope I'm wrong.
That would be a shock and a disappointment. Orlando Health was intent on providing an amenity to the community prior to selling off the land. Discussions fell apart during the first round of development because they felt the first developer wasn't doing enough. I guess OH no longer has any say in what Novel does with their property, but I do think the development received funding either in the form of grants or tax breaks as long as a grocer remains a tenant of the space. Something along those lines, don't quote me on that.
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My issue with DeSantis going after Disney's Reedy Creek district is that it was retaliatory and the peanut gallery spun it off as a "Disney isn't paying their fare share of taxes" issue. There are over 1,800 special districts in FL that have remained untouched--what of those?? Some residents of the Villages were so happy for Disney to lose it's special district status while writing to their local paper to verify they wouldn't lose theirs. IMO, Reedy Creek should remain intact. Any changes should have been applied across the board.
There are some things I agree with DeSantis on, but other things seem totally out of RIGHT field. How does he manage to implement changes regarding Identity politics so quickly meanwhile ignoring issues larger than an elephant in the room? I find that distasteful.
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10 minutes ago, codypet said:
Inventory post Hurricane Ian has been pretty bad at Aldi.
But what was their excuse before Ian? lol
I went there at the urging of family and friends, but it's just not my thing I guess. Paying to use carts/bags, the presentation of food still in shipping boxes, etc. would only be worth it for me if they carried unique offerings like Trader Joes. I had always mistaken Aldi's for something equivalent to Big Lots or Sedanos which is why I never ventured there until this year.
Side note, I don't know why Winn Dixie gets a bad rap for being low tier -- their prices are kind of high, especially for natural/organic items. They charge Publix prices.
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20 hours ago, codypet said:
IMO it'd be perfect for Trader Joe's. Not enough parking, modern urban environment, high income neighborhood.
Aldi likes low rent spots like half of an abandoned Winn Dixie where it can share the space with DD's Discounts.
Publix needs to calm down. Its like a rash that's spreading too much.
Another vote for Trader Joe's... I was just thinking about this the other day as I was driving by.
The 2 times I've been to Aldi's, I've always wondered to myself, where's the food? The offerings seem so sparse and low tier... I can get better natural/organic offerings from Walmart Neighborhood Market TBH.
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Society | 28- & 17-Story Residential [Under Construction]
in Orlando
Posted · Edited by nite owℓ
That's *if* Phase II even comes to fruition. This is Orlando after all, the land of big dreams and value engineering. The excuse for not building anything will always get blamed on construction costs going up (shocking, I know).
IMO, they should at least build the 2nd tower and leave it as shell space for future build-out similar to the top floors at 55W or Advent Health Ginsburg tower that were left empty for years until ready. It's unlikely the costs of construction and materials will go down -- historically prices have always risen. With the extra shell space, they can let the market determine the #of bedrooms, sq ft, etc. to build-out when ready.
Mark my words, if/when Phase II finally rolls around, they're going to piss off residents living in the original tower and nearby apartments who are still paying market rate rent while having to deal with all sorts of construction related intrusions: noise at all hours of the day, construction dust/debris, bright site lights shining through their windows at night, limited access to certain areas, and g-d knows what other unforseen issues. Residents at Skyhouse went through a helluva time dealing with the construction of Radius across the street... now imagine all of that bullsh.t happening only a dozen yards away from your apartment.