Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium [Renovation Completed]

[JFW657]

Gehry's building isn't a dorm-- it's the Ray and Maria Stata Center which mostly houses computer science labs, and the linguistics and philosophy departments.

Stata Center-

Nearly as controversial is Stephen Holl's Simmons Hall, which is a dormitory.

Simmons Hall-

...both of which are pretty b-b-b-busted.

That Stata Center literally looks like a pile of trash.

And that Simmons Hall looks like an old used & discarded auto part.

Two of the ugliest examples of masturbation disguised as architecture I've ever seen.

[bic]

That's my alma mater for ya!

But to MIT's credit, at least they have sought out some of the most prominent architects of our time to design some of the buildings on campus (not to mention the first school of architecture in the U.S.).

Aalto's Baker House, 1949

Saarinen's Kresge Auditorium, 1955

Saarinen's MIT Chapel, 1955

I.M. Pei's Green Building, 1964

I.M. Pei's Dreyfus Building, 1970

I.M. Pei's Landau Building, 1976

I.M. Pei's Weisner Building, 1985

Correa's Building 46, 2005

Pretty eclectic, huh?

[bic]

I think you'll find that the general consensus of students and faculty respect Stata and Simmons for their impressive engineering and technological qualities but most would agree that the buildings are not sporting aesthetically pleasing exterior designs.

[prahaboheme]

I'm a big fan of Correa's Building 46.

I'm also a big fan of the BU Law Tower just across the river--credited to an MIT professor with an influential hand in the brutalist movement. The general consensus is that it failed aesthetically as well.

[bic]

I'm a big fan of Correa's Building 46.

Yeah, I'm also a big fan of the new Brain and Cog Center (Building 46). The last 3 pictures of it I posted I took during my return visit to Boston last February when I got to explore it for the first time...and I was extremely impressed.

[bic]

The Orlando Utilities Commission donated $1 million to the Performing Arts Center, bringing the total amount of contributions to $84 million. The center's goal is $135 million.

Orlando Sentinel Article

[Whipp]

The Orlando Utilities Commission donated $1 million to the Performing Arts Center, bringing the total amount of contributions to $84 million. The center's goal is $135 million.

Orlando Sentinel Article

when did it go up? i thought it was $100 mil

[Dcfilmknight]

The design for a new performing arts center in Las Vegas was just released. This design would work very well downtown (with a new color scheme)....

http://www.lvpacfoundation.org/design.php

[bic]

^ While I don't think that's a bad design, I do think it's pretty bland, especially with the tired brown color scheme that is so popular in the southwest. It's a classy design but looks like it would be more at home on a college campus than in Las Vegas (of all places) and I'd be somewhat disappointed if our PAC design turned out like that.

[OrlandoMagic3]

i want to see a futuristic look with a lot of glass:) blue glass

[prahaboheme]

I do see some potential there. I think the Art Modern or Art Deco idea would be a nice fit.

I agree with this--a bold deco-revival PAC will compliment City Hall Plaza nicely.

[OrlandoMagic3]

only posting so this thread is moved to page 112 and it doesnt take 30 seconds longer to load with those huge pics.

[sunshine]

Performing arts center to pay $28M for church land

Agreement calls for city to re-align South Street.

Orlando Business Journal - by Dan Ping Staff Writer

http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/sto...6658000^1556800

[FLheat]

Performing arts center to pay $28M for church land

Agreement calls for city to re-align South Street.

Orlando Business Journal - by Dan Ping Staff Writer

http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/sto...6658000^1556800

I would hope these Christians would be benevolent to give something back to the community that will give them this windfall.

[facilities man]

Performing arts center to pay $28M for church land

Agreement calls for city to re-align South Street.

Orlando Business Journal - by Dan Ping Staff Writer

http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/sto...6658000^1556800

This would never happen if it wasn't public money.

Can you see any developer paying this price for just over an acre? This is crazy.

[Boomer136]

Performing arts center to pay $28M for church land

Agreement calls for city to re-align South Street.

Orlando Business Journal - by Dan Ping Staff Writer

http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/sto...6658000^1556800

I'm glad this forum exists and has documented this. Something to look back on when the inevitable nickle and diming occurs when it comes to the technical infrastructure. More modern US management knowhow - Millions for gilding and brightwork on the executive floors whilst the factory floor has to do with antiquated and obsolete equipment.

I wonder how many donors who thought their money would be spent prudently on aquiring world class performance spaces feel about their money being thrown around so cavalierly.

One more reason this should be built on the site of the old o-rena instead of this 'creative village' that most likely will turn out to be nothing more than a strip mall anchored by a Best Buy.

On the other hand, if this is a Bismark situation, I will apologize for my lack of understanding. But the sausage better be the best I've ever tasted Mr. Pugh.

[jnorlando]

I'm glad this forum exists and has documented this. Something to look back on when the inevitable nickle and diming occurs when it comes to the technical infrastructure. More modern US management knowhow - Millions for gilding and brightwork on the executive floors whilst the factory floor has to do with antiquated and obsolete equipment.

I wonder how many donors who thought their money would be spent prudently on aquiring world class performance spaces feel about their money being thrown around so cavalierly.

One more reason this should be built on the site of the old o-rena instead of this 'creative village' that most likely will turn out to be nothing more than a strip mall anchored by a Best Buy.

On the other hand, if this is a Bismark situation, I will apologize for my lack of understanding. But the sausage better be the best I've ever tasted Mr. Pugh.

i second that

[RedStar25]

I would hope these Christians would be benevolent to give something back to the community that will give them this windfall.

I understand where you are coming from, but these Christians (aka a private nonprofit organization) have to pay for rebuilding more than half of their buildings and the expense of moving the offices, daycare, and ministries.

And before anyone points a finger at this church saying they need to "share the wealth" it should be noted that this church basically started every homeless organization in this city, as well as habitat for humanity, and bucked city laws/ordinances and allowed the homeless to sleep on its campus without fear of being arrested.

Facilities Man "This would never happen if it wasn't public money."

From my understanding the money is coming from the private donations to DPAC.

[FLheat]

I understand where you are coming from, but these Christians (aka a private nonprofit organization) have to pay for rebuilding more than half of their buildings and the expense of moving the offices, daycare, and ministries.

And before anyone points a finger at this church saying they need to "share the wealth" it should be noted that this church basically started every homeless organization in this city, as well as habitat for humanity, and bucked city laws/ordinances and allowed the homeless to sleep on its campus without fear of being arrested.

Facilities Man "This would never happen if it wasn't public money."

From my understanding the money is coming from the private donations to DPAC.

I appreciate everything that they are currently doing for the city; however, a few things rub me the wrong way. One, they knew they venue was coming but they chose to remodel the facilities last year south of South Street. Now they want an extreme premium for the replacement of the building plus relocation. They know they have the upper hand and I believe they are taking advantage of that. It's a windfall, and I hope they do something above and beyond what they currently are doing so some of us in this community can get rid of this bad taste in our mouths.

[RedStar25]

Here is an article from 2005

Downtown church plans $5 million renovation projectImpact on proposed performing arts center unclear

Orlando Business Journal - by Susan Lundine Associate Managing Editor

Five years ago when the Church decided to go ahead with the rebuilding of the building on the DPAC site the performing arts center was very much in question. The Church had been planning on remodeling the building for years but held off in part due to the possibility of the PAC being built. But by 2002 they decided they could wait no longer and went ahead with the renovation.

Anyone in construction knows it takes years to make plans, pull permits, and actually build. So to think the church saw $$ and just decided to renovate the building last year is missing the big picture.

As far as taking advantage of the city... it is estimated to cost 25M to rebuild and relocate.

Edited December 1, 2007 by RedStar25

[spenser1058]

I appreciate everything that they are currently doing for the city; however, a few things rub me the wrong way. One, they knew they venue was coming but they chose to remodel the facilities last year south of South Street. Now they want an extreme premium for the replacement of the building plus relocation. They know they have the upper hand and I believe they are taking advantage of that. It's a windfall, and I hope they do something above and beyond what they currently are doing so some of us in this community can get rid of this bad taste in our mouths.

I don't think one should make the church the bad guy here. It's easy to say now that "they knew the venue was coming". But, the venue has been coming at that location since early in Glenda Hood's term and has yet to come to fruition. In fact, even though public sentiment favors DPAC much more than a new arena, we still see Rich DeVos' new palace bumping ahead in line. We still don't know, although we keep being told otherwise, whether required changes in financing will affect the ability to get DPAC built. As one who continues to hold my tongue on the arena as a compromise as long as DPAC gets built, my hope is that everything is going to work out just fine (and am also keenly aware of some of the games played by City Hall to hold DPAC hostage to both the arena and the Citrus Bowl).

Meanwhile, we have been awaiting a new performing arts center since the renovation of Bob Carr in 1978 (that was supposed to be a "temporary" fix) and not one shovel of earth has been moved to start construction thus far (the number of plans and such for the various incarnations of the project would probably fill up a nice bit of shelf space at OPL, while actual bricks and mortar have yet to materialize). As a result, I can fully understand the decision of the church to move ahead when it did. At the time the renovations occurred, the folks involved with OPAC noted they understood why the church was doing what it was doing since they still had no guarantee they would be able to move forward.

The church is not forcing DPAC to buy the property - in fact, my understanding is that the option exists to incorporate the church buildings into the plans if necessary. Further, as Boomer has pointed out, there is absolutely no requirement for DPAC to build at that location when there is city-owned land available over by Carr. So, the church made its decision based on good faith and its needs at the time and based on what was at that point very nebulous information. DPAC and the City can now make their decisions on property purchases and site location based on the facts on the ground and the amount of money they wish to spend.

(Thanks to Red Star for the link to the OBJ article - you are a much more successful Googler than I, grasshopper - I was looking all over for the article )

Edited December 1, 2007 by spenser1058

[neon9]

.... In fact, even though public sentiment favors DPAC much more than a new arena, we still see Rich DeVos' new palace bumping ahead in line. ....

I love the Weekly's name for it...Rich DeVos' Golden Pleasure Dome. Or something like that.

'course they usually put a tm after that....

[scottb411]

I would hope these Christians would be benevolent to give something back to the community that will give them this windfall.

The downtown churches give back to the community every day without looking for any type of recognition. My wife and I attend the Presbyterian Church downtown on Church St (the 4th largest Presbyterian church in the country) and their current mission statement reads:

"Seeking, Sharing, Serving...All to the Glory of God"

Any type of windfall for the Methodist church will only bring more good to downtown Orlando. Strong churches in the core of downtown make for a stronger downtown.

http://www.unwrapchristmas.com/

Ways that FPCO is giving back to downtown:

http://www.fpco.org/pages/203.asp

[prahaboheme]

The downtown churches give back to the community every day without looking for any type of recognition. My wife and I attend the Presbyterian Church downtown on Church St (the 4th largest Presbyterian church in the country) and their current mission statement reads:

"Seeking, Sharing, Serving...All to the Glory of God"

Any type of windfall for the Methodist church will only bring more good to downtown Orlando. Strong churches in the core of downtown make for a stronger downtown.

http://www.unwrapchristmas.com/

Ways that FPCO is giving back to downtown:

http://www.fpco.org/pages/203.asp

$28 Million to lure biotech and health industries will make downtown Orlando stronger.

[scottb411]

$28 Million to lure biotech and health industries will make downtown Orlando stronger.

Some have stated that giving money to corporations to relocate to Orlando is a waste of money and point to Agere as an example. I happen to have benefited from a success story that I've never seen discussed but can be pointed to in the following document from the City of Orlando website (page 20):

http://www.cityoforlando.net/planning/dept...20July%2000.pdf

...with the city providing $5 million in incentives for Oracle to setup shop in Southeast Orlando. Oracle is now the second biggest software company in the world after Microsoft and have bought other companies recently like Peoplesoft, Seibel, JD Edwards, and are now looking to buy BEA Systems. On any given day, the Orlando center is providing classes for these software applications and providing support.

However, you could probably count on one hand the number of individuals working at Oracle that are living downtown. Since the center is close to the airport, most of the employee's are living in southeast Orlando in Vista Lakes, Waterford Lakes, and Avalon Park. The bulk of the jobs for biotech are going to go to Lake Nona, and the employee's that are working there will also live in the Lake Nona area. Financial incentives are good for metro-Orlando, so downtown does benefit, but indirectly.

I'm all in favor in luring big companies with financial incentives, but Oracle and Burnham are not feeding and providing shelter to the homeless downtown, they aren't going to the prisons to help individuals rebuild their lives, working with the churches in Parramore to assist their members with jobs, and teaching after-school programs at Howard Middle School to help the children living downtown to exceed.

Panhandling and crime in the city core is starting to become a problem. Building more prisons is only a band-aid to the problem. The churches downtown are working everyday to build up the lives of others living in the city to make it a more sustainable place to live because crime and panhandling make downtown Orlando weaker.