Downtown Orlando Project Discussion

[prahaboheme]

19 hours ago, nite owℓ said:

Looks like Kress is getting  a̶ f̶a̶c̶e̶ j̶o̶b̶ some facade work done.

Also feels kinda weird not seeing the Walgreens signage up next door anymore.

Has Walgreens closed?

[codypet]

2 minutes ago, prahaboheme said:

Has Walgreens closed?

It closed on March 30th

[JFW657]

2 hours ago, jrs2 said:

...that nickel-plated beauty Hannibal Smith is holding must be cha-ching today... maybe even more than Mr. T's jewelry...

The gun was probably a fake that belonged to the prop department. 

Can't hazard a guess about Mr. T's bling.  

And I pity the fool who would try.  

38 minutes ago, codypet said:

It closed on March 30th

Is anyone surprised? 

DTO...  

[jliv]

8 hours ago, codypet said:

Speaking of the Jackson.  Has anyone heard about this? https://jacksonorlando.com/

Wow.  This really needs its own board (especially on a site called UrbanPlanet).   Lots of Orlando history here, as their father was responsible for Skull Kingdom and some of the other....ahem...interesting architectural contributions on seedy N. International Drive when it really went pear-shaped in the late 80's/early 90's.  A very Central Florida story, which seems to span generations!  I'll say no more...(wish Spencer was around to complete the blanks!)

Edited May 3, 2023 by jliv

[jrs2]

3 hours ago, JFW657 said:

The gun was probably a fake that belonged to the prop department. 

Can't hazard a guess about Mr. T's bling.  

And I pity the fool who would try.  

Is anyone surprised? 

DTO...  

funny 'cause I saw an episode within the past few years where they had that rifle and I was trying to figure out what it was...and the whole time it might have been fake.

Mr. T scared the hec out of me in Rocky III.  Then I saw him on Facts of Life and Mrs. Garrett was hitting on him...something about his thighs.  Then A-Team. 

So, when you have a show with yet another cool TV Van, guy from Breakfast at Tiffany's, Starbuck, Mr. T, and future Star Trek TNG recurring character, with totally ridiculous scenarios (like a hot air balloon comprised of blow dryers and "Tuh-rash Bags!", and duct tape), what more could one ask for?

[JFW657]

4 hours ago, jliv said:

Wow.  This really needs its own board (especially on a site called UrbanPlanet).   Lots of Orlando history here, as their father was responsible for Skull Kingdom and some of the other....ahem...interesting architectural contributions on seedy N. International Drive when it really went pear-shaped in the late 80's/early 90's.  A very Central Florida story, which seems to span generations!  I'll say no more...(wish Spencer was around to complete the blanks!)

I LOVED that building!!!! 

 

And I soooooo wish it was still there!!!! 

[nite owℓ]

12 hours ago, codypet said:

Speaking of the Jackson.  Has anyone heard about this? https://jacksonorlando.com/

Years ago I considered buying there thinking HOA fees would be lower due to the lack of amenities. Glad I missed out on that fiasco.

One of the newer owners created that site as a way to fight back against the board president and he has been talking about this on NextDoor as well. Based on what I've read, the board president seems like a real scumbag who took advantage of unsophisticated unit owners who didn't realize what was happening until it was too late. Guess he wasn't expecting anyone to fight back, but their story gained traction on the news thanks to the new owner.

The board president recently listed his units for sale as an assemblage of 28 units. Not sure if they were listed like that as a way to lessen the potential of them actually selling (due to the ridiculously high asking price), or if the intention is to screw over the regular unit owners one last time by replacing himself with another investor who might continue down his path (since the Jackson has 52 units, whomever buys that assemblage will have the majority vote).

Based on the info being put out there, I'm sure potential buyers will avoid that place like the plague when they find out what lies beneath. And with the new condo reserve law coming into effect for the state of FL, if their reserves were not being fully funded that could lead to yet another financial hit.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/525-E-Jackson-St-UNIT-28-Orlando-FL-32801/2058379215_zpid/

Edited May 4, 2023 by nite owℓ

[aent]

2 hours ago, nite owℓ said:

One of the newer owners created that site as a way to fight back against the board president and he has been talking about this on NextDoor as well. Based on what I've read, the board president seems like a real scumbag who took advantage of unsophisticated unit owners who didn't realize what was happening until it was too late. Guess he wasn't expecting anyone to fight back, but their story gained traction on the news thanks to the new owner.

 

I admittedly know nothing about this situation, but be careful believing the stories of new residents who buy into condos and just scream "corruption!" The website is an impressive story, but there are lots of obvious contradictions:

- claiming this is a condo with no amenities, no gym, and in a place that needs security, but when full time security is hired, nobody wants it. when the board is trying to add a gym for residents to use, again saying the owners don't want it.

- the whole claim that right of first refusal is some method of punishing owners. Right of first refusal is generally good for all parties, as the selling party gets out of any conditions of the sale, such as inspection periods, mortgage contingencies, etc. The HOA gets to ensure units are not selling below market value, preventing a single unit owner from dropping everyones value in a building by fire selling it.

- there's lots of claims of improper spending, but the examples are again just things this resident doesn't want. A $150,000 renovation of the entrance was "unnecessary" but it does appear to have been done, and done very well from photos online

- the claims of improper reimbursements are for petit amounts of money. On a million dollar project, its insane to worry about literally $50 worth of food bought improperly, split out amongst like 10 receipts for proper material purchases for the building. While it is incorrect, its a simple, minor mistake, especially given thats the total after 10 years on the board

- this guy was apparently paying people $50 for people who stay in the HOA owners rental units to give 1 star reviews and send him screenshots

If you read the website, you should probably also read the response:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zuxa5rkpg39q8gh/Nabeel Ansari - Defamation Lawsuit.pdf?dl=0

 

Again, I know nothing about this situation, but I've seen time and again that a new homeowner comes into an HOA, screams corruption over minor disagreements, and it usually is an attempt for them to get onto the board, and make things far worse for the community, and this wreaks of that to me. HOAs suck, and I sure as hell would want to stay away from this one after seeing both sides... its a guaranteed nightmare.

Edited May 4, 2023 by aent

[jliv]

7 hours ago, aent said:

I admittedly know nothing about this situation, but be careful believing the stories of new residents who buy into condos and just scream "corruption!" The website is an impressive story, but there are lots of obvious contradictions:

- claiming this is a condo with no amenities, no gym, and in a place that needs security, but when full time security is hired, nobody wants it. when the board is trying to add a gym for residents to use, again saying the owners don't want it.

- the whole claim that right of first refusal is some method of punishing owners. Right of first refusal is generally good for all parties, as the selling party gets out of any conditions of the sale, such as inspection periods, mortgage contingencies, etc. The HOA gets to ensure units are not selling below market value, preventing a single unit owner from dropping everyones value in a building by fire selling it.

- there's lots of claims of improper spending, but the examples are again just things this resident doesn't want. A $150,000 renovation of the entrance was "unnecessary" but it does appear to have been done, and done very well from photos online

- the claims of improper reimbursements are for petit amounts of money. On a million dollar project, its insane to worry about literally $50 worth of food bought improperly, split out amongst like 10 receipts for proper material purchases for the building. While it is incorrect, its a simple, minor mistake, especially given thats the total after 10 years on the board

- this guy was apparently paying people $50 for people who stay in the HOA owners rental units to give 1 star reviews and send him screenshots

If you read the website, you should probably also read the response:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zuxa5rkpg39q8gh/Nabeel Ansari - Defamation Lawsuit.pdf?dl=0

 

Again, I know nothing about this situation, but I've seen time and again that a new homeowner comes into an HOA, screams corruption over minor disagreements, and it usually is an attempt for them to get onto the board, and make things far worse for the community, and this wreaks of that to me. HOAs suck, and I sure as hell would want to stay away from this one after seeing both sides... its a guaranteed nightmare.

I always read these complaints with a grain of salt, but the actions of the Ansari brothers make it clear they don't have the best interests of the current residents at heart, and are beyond the pale.  You've cherry-picked some of the less troubling claims from the account, as do the authors of the lawsuit filing, but leave out some of the more troubling ones.  Investing $250,000 from the HOA operating fund in a failed Bitcoin exchange, and not disclosing the losses to the association? The dodges of city ordinances against Airbnb rentals, which the website developer was trying to build evidence of by offering $50 to guests for their digital receipts?  Adding non-resident employees to the board?  One cannot help but feel a bit of outrage and sympathy for the resident owners in the building, especially with the housing affordability crisis.  There are some serious possibilities for fraud they describe which need to be pursued by law enforcement, not civil trial lawyers.

Edited May 4, 2023 by jliv

[dcluley98]

Today they have removed the Video Board of Amway Center that faces I-4.  Not sure what they are doing there, but there is a big hole in the side of the building where the screen used to be. 

Maybe upgrading to 4k? Haha. 

[codypet]

10 hours ago, aent said:

I admittedly know nothing about this situation, but be careful believing the stories of new residents who buy into condos and just scream "corruption!" The website is an impressive story, but there are lots of obvious contradictions:

- claiming this is a condo with no amenities, no gym, and in a place that needs security, but when full time security is hired, nobody wants it. when the board is trying to add a gym for residents to use, again saying the owners don't want it.

- the whole claim that right of first refusal is some method of punishing owners. Right of first refusal is generally good for all parties, as the selling party gets out of any conditions of the sale, such as inspection periods, mortgage contingencies, etc. The HOA gets to ensure units are not selling below market value, preventing a single unit owner from dropping everyones value in a building by fire selling it.

- there's lots of claims of improper spending, but the examples are again just things this resident doesn't want. A $150,000 renovation of the entrance was "unnecessary" but it does appear to have been done, and done very well from photos online

- the claims of improper reimbursements are for petit amounts of money. On a million dollar project, its insane to worry about literally $50 worth of food bought improperly, split out amongst like 10 receipts for proper material purchases for the building. While it is incorrect, its a simple, minor mistake, especially given thats the total after 10 years on the board

- this guy was apparently paying people $50 for people who stay in the HOA owners rental units to give 1 star reviews and send him screenshots

If you read the website, you should probably also read the response:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zuxa5rkpg39q8gh/Nabeel Ansari - Defamation Lawsuit.pdf?dl=0

 

Again, I know nothing about this situation, but I've seen time and again that a new homeowner comes into an HOA, screams corruption over minor disagreements, and it usually is an attempt for them to get onto the board, and make things far worse for the community, and this wreaks of that to me. HOAs suck, and I sure as hell would want to stay away from this one after seeing both sides... its a guaranteed nightmare.

I mean if everything is on the up and up then maybe it would make sense to have a condo board election where its not monopolized by the same people over and over again.  Perhaps term limits?  If everything is on the straight and narrow as it seems and the residents are on the same page than not having Ansari brothers and their friends making up the whole board every year may help.  Having first right of refusal on selling their condo I feel like is crazy.  

Edited May 4, 2023 by codypet

[jrs2]

On 5/3/2023 at 8:19 AM, codypet said:

Speaking of the Jackson.  Has anyone heard about this? https://jacksonorlando.com/

Well, I'm an officer on my HOA Board.  You have to have an Annual Meeting every year where all the homeowners that choose to attend can vote.  They can always hire an HOA attorney; any of them can, or, contact The State for violation of applicable statute.  Hopefully they have D&O insurance that is current.

[aent]

4 hours ago, jliv said:

I always read these complaints with a grain of salt, but the actions of the Ansari brothers make it clear they don't have the best interests of the current residents at heart, and are beyond the pale.  You've cherry-picked some of the less troubling claims from the account, as do the authors of the lawsuit filing, but leave out some of the more troubling ones.  Investing $250,000 from the HOA operating fund in a failed Bitcoin exchange, and not disclosing the losses to the association? The dodges of city ordinances against Airbnb rentals, which the website developer was trying to build evidence of by offering $50 to guests for their digital receipts?  Adding non-resident employees to the board?  One cannot help but feel a bit of outrage and sympathy for the resident owners in the building, especially with the housing affordability crisis.  There are some serious possibilities for fraud they describe which need to be pursued by law enforcement, not civil trial lawyers.

That seems to be a new claim added when a bunch of others were removed after a lawsuit was filed against them for being untrue. If they lost money in investments and didn't disclose it, that is disturbing, but given the misinformation given by the author of the website, who knows if its true at all. It also appears this is a new owner, who bought after the dues were already set somewhat high. The website developer didn't offer guests $50 for digital receipts only, it was $50 for digital receipts with a screenshot of a 1 star review, which paying people to leave 1 star reviews for another company is clearly unethical, a violation of a contract, and possibly criminal as well (although likely would never be prosecuted).

I happen to be a licensed property manager and manage a bunch of properties, and this story repeats itself a lot. I have a recent one where post-COVID, there was high turnover when property values went way up, and the previous owners were just super into keeping dues really low and wanted to generally do minimal maintenance to keep everything in good order, except like 2 residents who wanted a very high level of service, wanted things upgraded, shiny, etc. When all the new residents moved in, these high service residents spoke to all the new owners, told them to come complain to the board about there long list of demands they had, and the new owners combined with the 2 old ones who never got their way berated the board. The board agreed to start implementing the demands of the residents, but over the past 12 years, the dues were dropped by 30%. Needless to say, upgrading a ton of stuff required massive increases, resulting in a 50% increase in the dues, and similar allegations of fraud.

A member of the board owned a company that performed some tasks for the association, but the board member's company beat everyone else's price because he felt it was unnecessary to make his normal profit margin when he's doing work for his own community. The residents once again berated the board at the next meeting, acting like they were stealing from them by using their own companies, even though they were the lowest bidder by far. They didn't care, they "knew" there was fraud. Eventually, most people just got tired of it and gave up.

In this situation at the Jackson, its also disingenuous to say that the board doesn't have the best interests of the other owners. If they own 60%  of the units, they have 60% of all of the interests, and if money is getting lost or stolen, they're getting 60% of the losses, instead of just 2% of the losses. If your gonna steal, why steal 60% from yourself for the same risk?

1 hour ago, codypet said:

I mean if everything is on the up and up then maybe it would make sense to have a condo board election where its not monopolized by the same people over and over again.  Perhaps term limits?  If everything is on the straight and narrow as it seems and the residents are on the same page than not having Ansari brothers and their friends making up the whole board every year may help.  Having first right of refusal on selling their condo I feel like is crazy.  

Term limits have there pros and cons. Many HOAs have very few people interested, and when you get someone who is actually good, you really don't want to term limit them out since it is so rare. Most HOA boards are generally uncontested for the seats in well run HOAs.

I personally recommend everyone adds a right of first refusal, it has basically no cons at all to any owners, but a lot of pros. It was extremely useful when the market got really bad during the great recession, having and exercising a right of first refusal by the HOAs was critical for preventing low class flippers who "fix" things really poorly and make future problems from buying the units. Once something is fixed wrong, its really hard to get it fixed correctly later.

[jrs2]

1 hour ago, aent said:

That seems to be a new claim added when a bunch of others were removed after a lawsuit was filed against them for being untrue. If they lost money in investments and didn't disclose it, that is disturbing, but given the misinformation given by the author of the website, who knows if its true at all. It also appears this is a new owner, who bought after the dues were already set somewhat high. The website developer didn't offer guests $50 for digital receipts only, it was $50 for digital receipts with a screenshot of a 1 star review, which paying people to leave 1 star reviews for another company is clearly unethical, a violation of a contract, and possibly criminal as well (although likely would never be prosecuted).

I happen to be a licensed property manager and manage a bunch of properties, and this story repeats itself a lot. I have a recent one where post-COVID, there was high turnover when property values went way up, and the previous owners were just super into keeping dues really low and wanted to generally do minimal maintenance to keep everything in good order, except like 2 residents who wanted a very high level of service, wanted things upgraded, shiny, etc. When all the new residents moved in, these high service residents spoke to all the new owners, told them to come complain to the board about there long list of demands they had, and the new owners combined with the 2 old ones who never got their way berated the board. The board agreed to start implementing the demands of the residents, but over the past 12 years, the dues were dropped by 30%. Needless to say, upgrading a ton of stuff required massive increases, resulting in a 50% increase in the dues, and similar allegations of fraud.

A member of the board owned a company that performed some tasks for the association, but the board member's company beat everyone else's price because he felt it was unnecessary to make his normal profit margin when he's doing work for his own community. The residents once again berated the board at the next meeting, acting like they were stealing from them by using their own companies, even though they were the lowest bidder by far. They didn't care, they "knew" there was fraud. Eventually, most people just got tired of it and gave up.

In this situation at the Jackson, its also disingenuous to say that the board doesn't have the best interests of the other owners. If they own 60%  of the units, they have 60% of all of the interests, and if money is getting lost or stolen, they're getting 60% of the losses, instead of just 2% of the losses. If your gonna steal, why steal 60% from yourself for the same risk?

Term limits have there pros and cons. Many HOAs have very few people interested, and when you get someone who is actually good, you really don't want to term limit them out since it is so rare. Most HOA boards are generally uncontested for the seats in well run HOAs.

I personally recommend everyone adds a right of first refusal, it has basically no cons at all to any owners, but a lot of pros. It was extremely useful when the market got really bad during the great recession, having and exercising a right of first refusal by the HOAs was critical for preventing low class flippers who "fix" things really poorly and make future problems from buying the units. Once something is fixed wrong, its really hard to get it fixed correctly later.

wow.  I would recommend to any homeowner and people don't typically know this, but the City Police can be asked to do an investigation for any wrongdoing (here, it would be OPD).  They have jurisdiction with HOA fraud issues and/or thefts, etc.  I know because I personally once met with a detective who told me about the voluminous claims they had on the books that were HOA related.  Homeowners have a lot of power...but if they just sit on their a5535 doing nothing, then nothing will get done.

[AmIReal]

File this under unsubstantiated rumor, but 1 local entertainment news source is saying ACE Cafe is closing and being razed. Unlikely, but here it is-  https://www.orlandoentertainmentnews.com/?p=21924

[dcluley98]

That would suck. It is one of the places that actually activates and draws to that area of downtown. 

There are probably much better vacant lots that would be cheaper for a developer to try to purchase. 

[JFW657]

As I recall, that was the site of a proposed development called the Orlando World Trade Center back in the 00's.

https://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/11/prweb567299.htm

I think they used the same renderings for a proposed complex up near Lake Ivanhoe on the same site for the proposed/supposed VMC. 

Anyhoo, let's all hope it never happens. 

[popsiclebrandon]

On 5/6/2023 at 9:32 AM, AmIReal said:

File this under unsubstantiated rumor, but 1 local entertainment news source is saying ACE Cafe is closing and being razed. Unlikely, but here it is-  https://www.orlandoentertainmentnews.com/?p=21924

I was told it was closing but hadn't heard the being razed.

[codypet]

On 5/6/2023 at 9:32 AM, AmIReal said:

File this under unsubstantiated rumor, but 1 local entertainment news source is saying ACE Cafe is closing and being razed. Unlikely, but here it is-  https://www.orlandoentertainmentnews.com/?p=21924

Isn't it a historic building fronting Livingston?

[popsiclebrandon]

Also Chase plaza is about to go into receivership so that's not good.

[jack]

16 hours ago, popsiclebrandon said:

Also Chase plaza is about to go into receivership so that's not good.

Which portion of it? 

[codypet]

https://bungalower.com/2023/05/08/ask-bungalower-is-ace-cafe-for-sale/

There's your answer.  Not officially but it looks like it is.  Also the Leu building is unprotected historic building so there's that.

[jrs2]

20 hours ago, popsiclebrandon said:

Also Chase plaza is about to go into receivership so that's not good.

I was told in Midtown that only 40% of those office buildings off of 6th Ave were occupied... so if that's the office situation there, that's a bad sign.  but Chase Plaza is an office condo, they pay dues, like the other tower does. Are individual units foreclosed on?

[JFW657]

4 hours ago, codypet said:

https://bungalower.com/2023/05/08/ask-bungalower-is-ace-cafe-for-sale/

There's your answer.  Not officially but it looks like it is.  Also the Leu building is unprotected historic building so there's that.

If the city just sits back and allows the old Leu Building to be knocked down without attempting to give it some kind of protected status, then "Orlando Sucks" should replace "The City Beautiful" as the new official slogan. 

And I'll owe spenser a belated apology for defending Buddy Dyer.  

[codypet]

3 hours ago, JFW657 said:

If the city just sits back and allows the old Leu Building to be knocked down without attempting to give it some kind of protected status, then "Orlando Sucks" should replace "The City Beautiful" as the new official slogan. 

And I'll owe spenser a belated apology for defending Buddy Dyer.  

We'll have to add a "Spense was right" flair