DelGreco

Wow...what a conversion! Is a sea of surface parking lots with ugly 4" wood posts what the future of Parramore holds...is this the catalyst for development the new Arena will bring? I can understand this from the small property owners, but from professional parking management companies like Lanier and 717? Very Ugly. I hope some franchise fast food establishments or even gas stations take up some of those empty lots. Put a Walmart there for crying out loud...anything! And as far as the new Arena...where are the street level restaurants and bars with outdoor/courtyard tables that will make this a 24 hr hangout? Is the Club Level restaurant inside the arena it? There is nothing at ground level along Church or Division. Are the shacks across the street in the City garage supposed to bring in the 24 hr street vibe? Come on!

I like the idea of street level retail with apartments above, lining the streets of Church and South. I do not understand why they do not have South St as a 2-way street running all the way to OBT. Is this going to happen...it will help traffic flow when the new arena opens. How many major landowners are there between Division and Westmoreland?....can't be more than a dozen. Why can't the city get them together to contribute their land and bring in a few big developers to get things in motion. The landowners in exchange for their property will receive from the developers a portion of the retail space and apartments. Doesn't the city already own 50% of the area? I think this business model, along with some state/fed funding as incentives, is feasible...

As I finally got a chance to return to downtown Orlando and while standing in front of the almost complete new arena, I found myself closing my eyes for a moment and day-dreaming what that corridor west of the arena could be. Sure enough this 3rd rending was pretty close to what my wild and vivid imagination was coming up with...I love it! Where is this...is it a real location somwhere? I can see this type of development acting as a buffer area between Church/Divison/Anderson/Parramore....restaurants,shops,fast-food franchises....and yes, can't the City donate that land to an indian tribe so they can put up a HardRock Casino in there? That will certainly generate some traffic and link the Parramore neighborhood with the business district. Go Magic...make Orlando proud!

The North/South line makes sense. I agree the only route that is viable and sustainable for HSR between Downtown Tampa and Downtown Orlando (with a few key stops at major attractions). I am certain ridership on this route will be the highest of all other proposed alternatives. Make the new Arena (Parramore) a Inter-modal hub where all transportation options converge. If Iam not mistaken, the city owns most of the land surrounding the new Arena which they assembled for the massive public safety complex. Since that is dead, why not use this land for our mass transit hub that connects to Tampa? That location is easy access to the CBD, CSS, FAMU/UCF/Valencia brances. That whole piece of land west of I-4, between Church St and Anderson St, is ideally situated for this Mega Hub and is already owned by the City of Orlando. Sounds like a Win-Win scenario for the taxpayer.

Light Rail Marks 15 Years of Service - Denver Why does a place like Denver have Light Rail for 15 years and their people can approve tax increases to expand the system another 119 miles and Orlando can't? Are the people hear that uneducated and inconsiderate of their environment and the future of their children and grandchildren? WOW....Wake up Metro Orlando! $3M per Double Rail Car from Siemens is not bad. And considering Siemens has their Energy Division Headquarter's right here in Orlando (across from UCF), I am sure they can talk to their Transportation Division brother's to get us a good deal.

Congratulations Dowtown Orlando! It looks like Parramore is well on its way to turning around and "integrating" into the Central Business District. This was the right thing to do for the decent and hardworking people of Parramore, the dowtown resident that paid a premium to live the urban lifestyle, and the small business owners that want to attract pedestrian traffic and clients without having the homeless harrassing everyone. Plus, this will generate quite a few badly needed construction jobs. Sentinel: Orlando Takes Up Gays, Parramore, Cleanup

Considering the streak of unemployment, especially in the construction industry, this is a blessing in disguise. Orlando and Dowtown needs this kind of medium scale projects to keep us active until the economy recovers. Downtown Makeover? City to Decide on Parramore Project The design and scale of this project is desirable. Location is within walking distance to everything downtown. I would live here. Given the fexibility in design, zoning, and availability of large empty parcels, I can see this area recovering before the rest of downtown. You have the freedom to use your imagination and to do it cheaply. Prices of construction materials/labor is dropping. When the Private Sector is down...we need the Public Sector to keep the economy rolling. I hope they approve it...

Wow! Forget the $250 sqft.....even $100sqft is quite good. This should be a nice payday for the City and the other 3 parcel owners. The City acquired most of it for pennies on the dollar many years ago under the guise of "Public Safety Complex", but recently acquired a few parcels for over $100 sqft, which serve as great comparables to justify Mr. Uttal's $125-$135 asking price. Plus I imagine the City will be very flexible with zoning changes to accomodate mixed-use proposals from investors/developers. The question is will it be mid-rise (4-6 stories) or high-rise development... I wish they would put a Home Depot/Lowe's west of Parramore Ave....it will do very well with the pending redevelopment and the local downtown residents east of I-4. Why not, we already have a Super Target!

City Tops List of Property Owners Near New Arena Location Does anyone subscribe to the Orlando Business Journal that can access the full version? I am not surprised by the City being #1 in that area. I wonder what they will do with all that property? Who are the other 3 on the top 4 list the article mentions? Are they European Investors? I wouldn't doubt it, considering how strong the Euro and British Pound are these days. They love Florida and I am sure they will be buying up properties at a bargain....I suspect that is good for the Florida Economy and the tax base.

Orlando Sentinel: Crime Down in Parramore You are starting to look like a genius! Central, South , and Anderson appear to have a bright future! The difference in Parramore is noticeable, but still 2-3 yrs from becoming the new urban star. With the current high fuel prices and a difficult economic recession ahead, people tend to remember "Urbanism". Dowtown Orlando and Parramore is all about urbanism and creating full service, self contained community. Things are moving now... Great job Chief Demmings!

I fully agree bic! The explosive growth in the area between Church and Anderson (North/South) and Division and Parramore (East/West) during the next 2-3 years will be amazing and fun to watch! If the City paid $8.4M for a small boarding house and a couple run down homes on a small lot, can you imagine what kind of tax revenue they expect from the surrounding area? I imagine property values are growing exponentially as we speak! I wish they would put some ground level retail on the South Street side of the Events Center. Are there any plans for this or will be just a wall and a skyway connecting the parking garage across the street? Do they plan on convert South and Anderson Sts to two-way? It seems like they should 2-way these two major streets at least until PArramore or Westmoreland, in order to allow better traffic flow. I can picture 4-5 story buildings with retail/office on the ground floor all along South Street connecting into the Parramore Business District. What will the city do with all that land they have acquired on South Street which they acquired a couple years ago for the Public Safety complex? So many possibilities for this area....practically a clean sheet of paper to let your creativity run wild! COngratulations Orlando! Go Magic!

Wow....sounds costly and complicated. Wouldn't it be easier to build it on a larger tract they already own 90% of? I am talking about the mostly vacant land between South and Anderson streets bounded by Division on the East and Terry Ave on the west. I believe this was pegged for the Public Safety Complex. This is closer to the new Events Center and would allow them to share a couple multi-level parking garages with street level commercial space and office/apartments above the garage. It would also have more of an impact in terms of generating more private development around these two venues. The current locating is already surrounded by high rise development and will not generate further development around it.

I agree, the current location of the PAC is not optimal. With the church building renovation completed, they will become a royal pain to deal with. For max impact, it should be close to the Events Center. Doesn't the city still own most of the land between South and Anderson just west of Division? I believe they were planning to put the Public Safety Complex at one point. Since that died, doesn't it make sense to consider putting the PAC there. Seems this would have a massive impact on the area and if they 2-way both South and Anderson, this will spurt a lot of surrounding development. Nah....too logical. I wonder if the Mayor or the Commissioner's read this forum?

This is probably the best thing to happen to OIA and Orlando since Buddy Dyer! Finally we can fly to the heart of Europe without going through Atlanta or NYC. Lufthansa is a global powerhouse and owner of Swiss Airlines and partners to many other US and International giants, including United Airlines. I am certain this will be very successful to the point Lufthansa will add routes (Orlando-Munich or Orlando-Zurich). This wonderful development was possible due to the request of another german giant that has chosen Orlando to be the home of their Power Generation Division headquarters across from UCF....SIEMENS! Thank you Mr. Siemens! Apparently, they will be occupying almost all of their business seats on a daily basis. I wish Delta would add a direct flight from Orlando to southern Europe (Paris, Rome, Milan, Athens?). I know I would use this at least once a month. In any case, all this is a sign that Orlando and OIA's future is bright despite the gloomy economic outlook for the US in general. Orlando/Orange growth should continue at a reasonable steady pace. I feel bad for the people who bought into areas such as Osceola county....the europeans will not feel the shock as much due to the strong Euro - weak Dollar. Go Orlando.....Go Magic!

This Orlando Forum is starting to fizzle. We need some excitement. Orlando is a young, vibrant city with so much potential. A lil downturn in the real estate market is not a concern for Downtown Orlando. Lots of people still desire the urban lifestyle of "work and play where you live". This concept is alive and well....it is just that the market (current jobs/salaries) are not ready for $400K-$500K condos. However, we are ready for condos under $350K. Hopefully, construction costs will come down and the developers will become less greedy to the point it will happen. The east side of downtown is just so overpriced right now. That's why I am so sold on Parramore....affordable urban lifestyle is possible there. Do you think Magic Johnson and his Canyon Partners can build something like the Burj Dubai for about $4.1B. It is only 170 habitable floors and 2,700 ft. The scary part is there are projects competing with this one in Bahrain and Kuwait that are supposedly planned for 200 floors and 3,300 ft tall. I can't even imagine what something like that would look like in downtown Orlando.