Lake Eola Neighbourhood.

[JFW657]

9 hours ago, smileguy said:

@spenser1058, any insight on the 1980s work on the building?  I believe they added 2 stories and either then - or under Kuhn - converted some of the building to parking.   Here are a couple of historic images. 

 

 

Beautiful little building there on the 7-11 site. 

Too bad it never got saved. 

[codypet]

16 hours ago, nite owℓ said:

Last time I checked, those are privately owned properties and those lots are not considered public park space. Apples to oranges. Excuse me for being protective of our crown jewel and not wanting to spread the blight onto Lake Eola's doorstep. If I had my way, I think the City should fine MEC for kicking out businesses that were drawing pedestrian activity and failing to redevelop the lot as promised. And the Sentinel site looked ugly long before the newsroom got demolished and I cannot wait for it all to get redeveloped.

There you go with the agenda crap again... Apparently I have an agenda that I myself am oblivious about, so please be a godsend and fill me in on what I'm supposedly conspiring about. Be forthright and say what you mean. You love to insinuate that I have agendas whenever I speak about Patty or this disaster of a park. I won't wait for a reply because you love to throw stones and disappear without bothering to back up your cuckoo conspiracies lol.

Just a point.  The newsroom is still standing.  The classifies were abandoned for a decade and needed to come down.  Same goes for the old Channel 13 studio.  Both were standing abandoned with for lease signs forever.  The back building was occupied by AMEC's survey team which that probably wasn't the best use of that building either.  The rest of that building was empty.

Agreed about MEC.  It could still have functioned as a garage after I-4 Ultimate got under way and all that parking under I-4 disappeared, and they spent all that City money trying to prop up those businesses in that plaza only for them to get the boot for an empty lot.  In the last 10 years I've never seen something so egregiously shortsighted.

10 hours ago, JFW657 said:

Beautiful little building there on the 7-11 site. 

Too bad it never got saved. 

Looks like a church.  But interestingly enough it looks to be abutted to the lodge.  So have those windows been bricked up even longer than when that 7-11 building was built?  How much lead is on that paint?

[JFW657]

1 hour ago, codypet said:

Agreed about MEC.  It could still have functioned as a garage after I-4 Ultimate got under way and all that parking under I-4 disappeared, and they spent all that City money trying to prop up those businesses in that plaza only for them to get the boot for an empty lot.  In the last 10 years I've never seen something so egregiously shortsighted.

They must have thought they were farther along and closer to breaking ground than they actually were. I think I also recall hearing it said that they wanted to get it demo'd before the cost went up. Maybe I'm thinking of something else.

At any rate, I would imagine that with a project of that size and complexity, all kinds of bumps can appear in the road. I wish the garage was still there myself and I agree that they unwisely jumped the gun in tearing it down, but I'm not going to criticize them too harshly either. 

Hindsight is always 20/20.  

[spenser1058]

Next stop- the ARB:

https://bungalower.com/2022/07/19/council-approves-plans-for-new-16-story-residential-tower-in-south-eola/

From Bungalower 
 

 

[bqknight]

12 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Next stop- the ARB:

https://bungalower.com/2022/07/19/council-approves-plans-for-new-16-story-residential-tower-in-south-eola/

From Bungalower 
 

 

General consensus is that this one has legs, correct?

[spenser1058]

Scott J takes the pooch and a friend along to check out the new Eola Lounge, recalls the revolving door of eateries at this Sanctuary location, but concludes this one might be worth keeping:

https://www.scottjosephorlando.com/reviews/45-asian/6169-eola-lounge
 

[codypet]

On 7/12/2022 at 12:09 PM, nite owℓ said:

ARB Agenda for the new "park" at Central & Rosalind: https://orlando.novusagenda.com/AgendaPublic/AttachmentViewer.ashx?AttachmentID=116099&ItemID=60123 

"It is assumed that the west wall of the adjacent building to the east at 205 East Central Boulevard has not changed since 1958 and the condition is unknown. The demolition of the subject property building will reveal the material and condition of the wall. Work may need to be done to ensure that the newly exposed wall will form an attractive backdrop to the new park. If permissions are not granted by the adjacent property owner then other treatments located on the park site may be necessary."

It's not like they didn't have months-years to plan for this so that everything could be completed by the time the park opened.

 

 

Just a reminder of what an eyesore (and dead zone) this been for the past 2 months:

 

We're up to over a year now.  And check this out.

https://orlandolandtrust.org/news/

Their site has been dormant since the moment the building was knocked down.  Meanwhile the Masonic Lodge hasn't even painted the building where the 7-11 was and someone had one of those small Home Depot "No Trespassing Signs" on the property on Sunday.  

I'm gonna say it here.

[popsiclebrandon]

It was all so obvious from the beginning. My question is did the city really believe this nonsense or did they just want to keep the old ladies from seeing homeless people?

[dcluley98]

We weren't had.  MANY of us said exactly this would happen. The idiots in the media and government office got rolled by the "little old ladies" but most of us here were smart enough to know exactly what the agenda was and what was going to happen. 

[JFW657]

I think we should all keep one thing in mind.... that corner has been permanently saved from high rise or any other kind of commercial development. 

I think that something will get done there eventually.

They might still have plans in the works to knock down the Masonic Temple and create that grand entrance. 

Though I'd have rather they kept the 7 Eleven building and renovated/repurposed it.

At any rate.... have patience.  

[prahaboheme]

3 hours ago, dcluley98 said:

We weren't had.  MANY of us said exactly this would happen. The idiots in the media and government office got rolled by the "little old ladies" but most of us here were smart enough to know exactly what the agenda was and what was going to happen. 

And it’s truly a blight on an otherwise decent section of the CBD. The building itself was at very least a bit interesting architecturally. 

[Uncommon]

So this was all about homeless people? Aren't there more effective ways to keep bums out of a 7-11? 

It can't be that all of this was to get rid of the riffraff. Maybe that was a part of it but I can't imagine that was the little old ladies' primary intentions. Whether or not it truly was about extending the park remains to be seen (unlikely) but I think it was more about not having a high rise obstruct views imo.

[codypet]

11 hours ago, JFW657 said:

I think we should all keep one thing in mind.... that corner has been permanently saved from high rise or any other kind of commercial development. 

I think that something will get done there eventually.

They might still have plans in the works to knock down the Masonic Temple and create that grand entrance. 

Though I'd have rather they kept the 7 Eleven building and renovated/repurposed it.

At any rate.... have patience.  

I would if their news site which was posting on average every month or two didn't go completely silent.

10 hours ago, prahaboheme said:

And it’s truly a blight on an otherwise decent section of the CBD. The building itself was at very least a bit interesting architecturally. 

It could have been re-leased with something other than 7-11 and just spruced up. 

2021

2008

9 hours ago, Uncommon said:

So this was all about homeless people? Aren't there more effective ways to keep bums out of a 7-11? 

It can't be that all of this was to get rid of the riffraff. Maybe that was a part of it but I can't imagine that was the little old ladies' primary intentions. Whether or not it truly was about extending the park remains to be seen (unlikely) but I think it was more about not having a high rise obstruct views imo.

It was twofold, stopping the high rise, but immediately demoing the 7-11 before they have purchased the other two properties very much gives the perception that it was about the 7-11.  Its not like they focused primarily on the easternmost property (which would have immediately led to an expansion of the park).  They focused on the only building that had street activation, primarily because it attracted the less desirables. 

[popsiclebrandon]

Man those pictures really show how poorly we keep infrastructure from crumbling. That sidewalk area is a mess now.

[JFW657]

On 5/19/2023 at 8:43 AM, codypet said:

It was twofold, stopping the high rise, but immediately demoing the 7-11 before they have purchased the other two properties very much gives the perception that it was about the 7-11.  Its not like they focused primarily on the easternmost property (which would have immediately led to an expansion of the park).  They focused on the only building that had street activation, primarily because it attracted the less desirables. 

Could that not very well have as much to do with money (or rather lack of it) as anything? 

They had a long and difficult road just getting the money to purchase that corner.

Personally, I would have loved to see the 7 Eleven building returned to exactly like it was in the 2008 photograph.

But knowing the entire corner won't get bulldozed for an ugly looking high rise is good enough for me. 

Paint a mural on the adjacent wall, put a fountain in the center, cover the ground with brick pavers and call it done. 

[Gtothree2748]

Central & Eola crosswalk construction update

[codypet]

Welcome to Lake Eola Park.  No trespassing.

 

 

Public space my butt.

Edited June 20, 2023 by codypet

[F-L-A]

7 hours ago, codypet said:

Welcome to Lake Eola Park.  No trespassing.

 

 

Public space my butt.

I can't decide what's more pathetic, the "no trespassing" sign plopped down in what they claimed would be a public space, or the fact that they're pretending this is actually part of the park. I guess they got away with their previous lies, so why not keep it up?

[prahaboheme]

Orlando eyes work on Lake Eola projects
https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2023/06/28/lake-eola-orlando-new-construction.html

Of note:

Lake Eola Pocket Park: The city has plans to spend $750,000 in design and construction costs on the creation of a park at the corner of Rosalind Avenue and Central Boulevard. The park is an extension of Lake Eola and includes roughly 0.12 acres of space.

[jrs2]

On 5/18/2023 at 10:48 PM, Uncommon said:

So this was all about homeless people? Aren't there more effective ways to keep bums out of a 7-11? 

It can't be that all of this was to get rid of the riffraff. Maybe that was a part of it but I can't imagine that was the little old ladies' primary intentions. Whether or not it truly was about extending the park remains to be seen (unlikely) but I think it was more about not having a high rise obstruct views imo.

The Coptic Orthodox church just a block away has a soup kitchen for the homeless.  I hate to be pro-government and have The City interfere with religious venues, but...I would not be against The City telling churches that if they want to do soup kitchens, that they can't do them within the CBD; that if they feel that strongly about it, then go provide those services somewhere west of the Soccer stadium.  And maybe The City build a multi-function hall so that these benevolent organizations can go thee and host there.  But keep it away from Lake Eola.

[JFW657]

On 7/3/2023 at 11:07 AM, jrs2 said:

The Coptic Orthodox church just a block away has a soup kitchen for the homeless.  I hate to be pro-government and have The City interfere with religious venues, but...I would not be against The City telling churches that if they want to do soup kitchens, that they can't do them within the CBD; that if they feel that strongly about it, then go provide those services somewhere west of the Soccer stadium.  And maybe The City build a multi-function hall so that these benevolent organizations can go thee and host there.  But keep it away from Lake Eola.

The problem with that of course, is that the CBD is where a large number of the homeless hang out.

Move the services out past Parramore and it would be too difficult for them to access it.

Which kind of defeats the purpose. 

Then there's the cost of building such a hall.

[Uncommon]

8 minutes ago, JFW657 said:

The problem with that of course, is that the CBD is where a large number of the homeless hang out.

Move the services out past Parramore and it would be too difficult for them to access it.

Which kind of defeats the purpose. 

Then there's the cost of building such a hall.

St. Pete moved their homeless services out of downtown and the homeless followed. It can definitely be done. Homeless people will go where the resources go, especially if they are provided the ability to like St. Pete did. Now their downtown is virtually homeless-free in comparison to how it used to be in the early 2000s.

[jrs2]

On 7/4/2023 at 11:49 AM, Uncommon said:

St. Pete moved their homeless services out of downtown and the homeless followed. It can definitely be done. Homeless people will go where the resources go, especially if they are provided the ability to like St. Pete did. Now their downtown is virtually homeless-free in comparison to how it used to be in the early 2000s.

that is pretty amazing about St. Pete downtown.  I remembered going there in the early mid 2000's and I didn't want to go back; it was that bad.

[jrs2]

On 7/4/2023 at 11:39 AM, JFW657 said:

The problem with that of course, is that the CBD is where a large number of the homeless hang out.

Move the services out past Parramore and it would be too difficult for them to access it.

Which kind of defeats the purpose. 

Then there's the cost of building such a hall.

I ask myself sometimes...what if it was you?  So I sway on how to handle the homeless problem.  But damn if there isn't some muscular shirtless dude waiting outside of the liquor store near Orange & Washington asking for money.  

I posted a decade ago that Lymmo needed to not be free.  The City just makes it too easy to panhandle in DTO, with soup kitchens at Washington & Rosalind, and on Terry, with the Health Department just down from the Soccer Stadium which is usually surrounded by homeless.  I know b/c I drive by it on the way to Popeyes.

There are outreach centers and I have worked with a handful over the years.  Some of them allow them to have a locker, a mailing address, a shower, food, and in some cases, housing and work placement.  Some also help with prescriptions.  But they are few and far between and scattered around the metro.

[jack]

4 hours ago, jrs2 said:

I ask myself sometimes...what if it was you?  So I sway on how to handle the homeless problem.  But damn if there isn't some muscular shirtless dude waiting outside of the liquor store near Orange & Washington asking for money.  

I posted a decade ago that Lymmo needed to not be free.  The City just makes it too easy to panhandle in DTO, with soup kitchens at Washington & Rosalind, and on Terry, with the Health Department just down from the Soccer Stadium which is usually surrounded by homeless.  I know b/c I drive by it on the way to Popeyes.

There are outreach centers and I have worked with a handful over the years.  Some of them allow them to have a locker, a mailing address, a shower, food, and in some cases, housing and work placement.  Some also help with prescriptions.  But they are few and far between and scattered around the metro.

I had Popeyes for what I think is the first time ever. Or at least a long time. Now I know why people went crazy over the sandwiches. For fast food, it was pretty good.