[Mills/50]

While I agree about a more sturdy structure is better for hurricanes and think for safety that's the way to go ... but the idea that these will only last 20 years tops is not accurate at all. Most of the apartments that line roads like 436 were built the same way about 35 years ago and most are going strong. Many are even just now being converted to condos. Most of the the little bungalows in College Park and elsewhere in the city and now going for 350K+ were built in the early 50's and are wood frame.

The problem with these older "stick" built condos is termites. Almost all of these older complexes have had massive assessments to address termite damages. That will be the case for these new complexes also.

[Church Street Station]

Speaking strictly for myself, I thank God you're probably the only person who feels that way.

There is no way in hell the city of Orlando will ever allow those buildings to be demolished.

I doubt they'd even let anyone drastically alter the interior, for that matter. And given the exquisite quality of the materials and workmanship that went into the interiors of those places, I doubt anyone in their right mind would even consider it anyway.

I'm fairly certain that whatever winds up going in there will be pretty much the same as what was there before, with the possible exception of the Exchange portion which wasn't built until the late 1980's. But even that would probably not change much because I'm guessing they'd want it to blend in with the rest of the property.

I thought that there wasn't much left that was historic, unless you mean historic from the 70's. The facades and the interiors were all created by Bob Snow. The bridge was built over the street because Snow couldn

[Church Street Station]

I think the whole block should be taken down and an urban multi-story shopping mall put in its place. It is the perfect location, especially if the commuter rail happens. I was recently at San Diego and they did that and it seemed to really revitalize that area of downtown.

Eventually all of the kid/college bars downtown need to be replaced with high end shopping and entertainment. That is what people that are paying top dollar for the condos downtown will be expecting.

[The VUE]

This issue was brought up a while ago, re: market pricing and if current prices are realistic, and the role of speculators. It's my personal opinion that the market is going to crash for condos, not so much for homes. But what can you do? It's like a pyramid or ponzi scheme and some investors, banks and regular joes are going to be left holding the bag. It's obvious (to me anyway) that Orlando can't really support home and condo prices that are quite as high as they are now. Most of these projects aren't about housing, they are about profits and a some 'lifestyle' that you get when you buy.

Maybe this does warrant another thread.

anyway,

There are first time homebuyer grants from the County/City, but I'm sure they are always out of money. They were when I asked a few years back.

I don't know. Everybody keeps saying that condo's are too high in Orlando, needs to price condo's in any of the other comparable FL markets. Orlando is inexpensive compared to everywhere else.

There are are still net hundreds of people moving to Orlando every day. It is supply and demand. Not everyone is going to be willing to live out in the burbs and will be willing to pay downtown prices for downtown convenience. Especially if they just sold their tiny condo up north or out west for twice what they are going for here in Orlando.