Downtown Orlando Project Discussion

[nite owℓ]

On 5/8/2023 at 5:07 PM, popsiclebrandon said:

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

 

Sadly, it appears complications arising from that situation has also seemed to play a factor in Le Gourmet Break's closure:

 

"It is with truly deep emotion that I announce you the closure of Le Gourmet Break.
It has been an exact 10 years journey in Downtown Orlando.

Getting to know every one of you and be honored to serve our French dishes along the years was a blessing.

I sincerely want to thank each of our customers for the forever support especially during COVID episode.

Unfortunately, due to non-compliance with its maintenance obligations, the building has jeopardized the goodwill of our restaurant on numerous occasions over the past 4 years. BECAUSE OF the non resolution of a major problem and lack of communication with the building management, we had to resign ourselves to close our establishment.

I wish the best to all of you! You all will be missed and will forever stay in our minds!!!!
Cheers !!!!"

https://www.legourmetbreak.com/

 

17 hours ago, jrs2 said:

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?

Correct, Chase Plaza includes the North and South Tower Commercial Plaza. A unit owner at the Solaire once explained to me that the residential condo component is a separate entity from the commercial buildings. I used to think the commercial aspect of the complex was an income revenue stream for the residential condo, but no. So for example, the power to the common areas of the commercial towers could be shut off but it would not affect the individual commercial units (or any portion of the residential building).

I used to think that was kind of an odd arrangement, but given Downtown Orlando's MO when it comes to mixed-use development and business longevity, it was probably best to separate any financial liability from the office and residential condos.

[popsiclebrandon]

It only has an $18 mill mortgage so I think they don't own that much of the tower overall.

The lawsuit the cafe filed says they had sewage leaks in their space so many times but the landlord refused to fix it, basically because they couldn't afford to. Just sucks for everyone.

[jrs2]

4 hours ago, nite owℓ said:

 

Sadly, it appears complications arising from that situation has also seemed to play a factor in Le Gourmet Break's closure:

 

"It is with truly deep emotion that I announce you the closure of Le Gourmet Break.
It has been an exact 10 years journey in Downtown Orlando.

Getting to know every one of you and be honored to serve our French dishes along the years was a blessing.

I sincerely want to thank each of our customers for the forever support especially during COVID episode.

Unfortunately, due to non-compliance with its maintenance obligations, the building has jeopardized the goodwill of our restaurant on numerous occasions over the past 4 years. BECAUSE OF the non resolution of a major problem and lack of communication with the building management, we had to resign ourselves to close our establishment.

I wish the best to all of you! You all will be missed and will forever stay in our minds!!!!
Cheers !!!!"

https://www.legourmetbreak.com/

 

Correct, Chase Plaza includes the North and South Tower Commercial Plaza. A unit owner at the Solaire once explained to me that the residential condo component is a separate entity from the commercial buildings. I used to think the commercial aspect of the complex was an income revenue stream for the residential condo, but no. So for example, the power to the common areas of the commercial towers could be shut off but it would not affect the individual commercial units (or any portion of the residential building).

I used to think that was kind of an odd arrangement, but given Downtown Orlando's MO when it comes to mixed-use development and business longevity, it was probably best to separate any financial liability from the office and residential condos.

so my understanding is that the Solaire has its own HOA, the North Tower has it's own HOA, the South Tower has its own HOA, and the commercial portion on the first level (along with the cinema) is a different entity altogether with its own HOA.  So there's four legal entities involved. Four.  Crazy, right?

So, with Le Gourmet Break to be affected, the retail parlors must transcend which building they are currently in.  Remember, the parking deck and North and South towers were built first, then, Wood Partners built Solaire on top of the parking deck and carved out their lobby off of Court.

So if Chase Plaza is close to being in receivership, that must be their HOA and have nothing to do with the retail underneath.  The former Kasa space is being built out as we speak by a new owner, so... what exactly affected Le Gourmet Break?  They are underneath Solaire.

1 hour ago, popsiclebrandon said:

It only has an $18 mill mortgage so I think they don't own that much of the tower overall.

The lawsuit the cafe filed says they had sewage leaks in their space so many times but the landlord refused to fix it, basically because they couldn't afford to. Just sucks for everyone.

sewage leaks...walk in the back of house hallways where the mailrooms are located in the North Tower and you will see sewage leak through the restaurant walls (Mai Tai & Bento) where they had to replace the walls within the past two years.  Water still leaks even now. But I think there, that has to do with their respective kitchens.  Whatever happened to Le Gourmet Break is a completely different animal that would affect them and the former FranknStein's at Magnolia & Church.

[jack]

1 hour ago, jrs2 said:

so my understanding is that the Solaire has its own HOA, the North Tower has it's own HOA, the South Tower has its own HOA, and the commercial portion on the first level (along with the cinema) is a different entity altogether with its own HOA.  So there's four legal entities involved. Four.  Crazy, right?

So, with Le Gourmet Break to be affected, the retail parlors must transcend which building they are currently in.  Remember, the parking deck and North and South towers were built first, then, Wood Partners built Solaire on top of the parking deck and carved out their lobby off of Court.

So if Chase Plaza is close to being in receivership, that must be their HOA and have nothing to do with the retail underneath.  The former Kasa space is being built out as we speak by a new owner, so... what exactly affected Le Gourmet Break?  They are underneath Solaire.

It is the opposite according to the article in Bungalower. The retail ownership is having the problems. 

While there are 4 HOA's it is unrelated to the number of entities. Every unit, parking space, etc is controlled by a separate entity, It just so happens that the retail is owned by one parent company. 

[jrs2]

44 minutes ago, jack said:

It is the opposite according to the article in Bungalower. The retail ownership is having the problems. 

While there are 4 HOA's it is unrelated to the number of entities. Every unit, parking space, etc is controlled by a separate entity, It just so happens that the retail is owned by one parent company. 

yeah, I suspected that it might just be the retail entity, or as they call it, The Land.  

[nite owℓ]

5 hours ago, popsiclebrandon said:

It only has an $18 mill mortgage so I think they don't own that much of the tower overall.

The lawsuit the cafe filed says they had sewage leaks in their space so many times but the landlord refused to fix it, basically because they couldn't afford to. Just sucks for everyone.

4 hours ago, jrs2 said:

so my understanding is that the Solaire has its own HOA, the North Tower has it's own HOA, the South Tower has its own HOA, and the commercial portion on the first level (along with the cinema) is a different entity altogether with its own HOA.  So there's four legal entities involved. Four.  Crazy, right?

So, with Le Gourmet Break to be affected, the retail parlors must transcend which building they are currently in.  Remember, the parking deck and North and South towers were built first, then, Wood Partners built Solaire on top of the parking deck and carved out their lobby off of Court.

So if Chase Plaza is close to being in receivership, that must be their HOA and have nothing to do with the retail underneath.  The former Kasa space is being built out as we speak by a new owner, so... what exactly affected Le Gourmet Break?  They are underneath Solaire.

sewage leaks...walk in the back of house hallways where the mailrooms are located in the North Tower and you will see sewage leak through the restaurant walls (Mai Tai & Bento) where they had to replace the walls within the past two years.  Water still leaks even now. But I think there, that has to do with their respective kitchens.  Whatever happened to Le Gourmet Break is a completely different animal that would affect them and the former FranknStein's at Magnolia & Church.

How does such a new building have so many issues with the plumbing/sewer?? Sounds like issues go beyond a greasetrap cleanout. Seems bizarre that the Cafe had sewage backups when it's located underneath the Solaire unless the residential portion is also having problems?

I saw on Bungalower the owners of the Le Gourmet Break now have to go back to France because of this situation  because they here on an Investor Visa. That's messed up!

https://bungalower.com/2023/05/08/french-cafe-in-downtown-orlando-est-ferme/

[jrs2]

47 minutes ago, nite owℓ said:

How does such a new building have so many issues with the plumbing/sewer?? Sounds like issues go beyond a greasetrap cleanout. Seems bizarre that the Cafe had sewage backups when it's located underneath the Solaire unless the residential portion is also having problems?

I saw on Bungalower the owners of the Le Gourmet Break now have to go back to France because of this situation  because they here on an Investor Visa. That's messed up!

https://bungalower.com/2023/05/08/french-cafe-in-downtown-orlando-est-ferme/

that is tragic

[codypet]

Wow and the losses are so bad, they're not gonna bother moving.  Damn.

[jack]

17 hours ago, nite owℓ said:

How does such a new building have so many issues with the plumbing/sewer?? Sounds like issues go beyond a greasetrap cleanout. Seems bizarre that the Cafe had sewage backups when it's located underneath the Solaire unless the residential portion is also having problems?

I saw on Bungalower the owners of the Le Gourmet Break now have to go back to France because of this situation  because they here on an Investor Visa. That's messed up!

https://bungalower.com/2023/05/08/french-cafe-in-downtown-orlando-est-ferme/

It is 17 years old now. I would say lack of preventive  maintenance. Could be shoddy construction but at this point it is hard to prove. 

It stinks regardless. 

[nite owℓ]

5 hours ago, jack said:

It is 17 years old now. I would say lack of preventive  maintenance. Could be shoddy construction but at this point it is hard to prove. 

It stinks regardless. 

Ok it may be "old" for Orlando, but a 17 year old tower/building is still considered new, to me at least. If it were built maybe 70 years ago with terra cotta sewer pipes then I could kind of rationalize how there would be sewer problems lol.

Sounds like this has been an ongoing issue, so mgmt has had plenty of time to call a commercial plumber in to diagnose the problem and have it addressed by the HOA. It is concerning to hear of this, something is not adding up. Repeated instances of sewage backups does not bode well for long-term quality tenants and it's not fair (or ethical) for tenants who invest money to open up a business in the commercial space (especially if the issue is not disclosed or permanently fixed by mgmt). I wonder if the cafe has any legal recourse.

[Jernigan]

Aloof as usual

[aent]

3 hours ago, nite owℓ said:

Ok it may be "old" for Orlando, but a 17 year old tower/building is still considered new, to me at least. If it were built maybe 70 years ago with terra cotta sewer pipes then I could kind of rationalize how there would be sewer problems lol.

Sounds like this has been an ongoing issue, so mgmt has had plenty of time to call a commercial plumber in to diagnose the problem and have it addressed by the HOA. It is concerning to hear of this, something is not adding up. Repeated instances of sewage backups does not bode well for long-term quality tenants and it's not fair (or ethical) for tenants who invest money to open up a business in the commercial space (especially if the issue is not disclosed or permanently fixed by mgmt). I wonder if the cafe has any legal recourse.

If those responsible for fixing the sewer are in financial trouble, that'd definitely be a fool's errand to try to sue them. These things need maintenance, 17 years isn't new, thats a lot of time for people to stick things down the sewer they're not supposed to, and when that happens, its frequently fixed poorly, its not easy to get these types of problems fixed correctly, "call a plumber"  tends to not be near enough.

[codypet]

14 hours ago, Jernigan said:

Aloof as usual

Oops!

[Jerry95]

Orlando sure does have its priorities backwards 

Edited May 15, 2023 by Jerry95

[Jernigan]

Great freebee for people who were going to go downtown anyway.  

[codypet]

13 hours ago, Jerry95 said:

Orlando sure does have its priorities backwards 

The departments clearly aren't communicating with each other.\

Sidenote:  Can we get some dang EV parking enforcement?  They enforce the hell out of normal spaces, but a Nissan Altima and Dodge Journey's are not EVs and that clearly says EV Charging ONLY.  Ugh (rant over)

Edited May 16, 2023 by codypet

[JFW657]

1 hour ago, codypet said:

The departments clearly aren't communicating with each other.\

Sidenote:  Can we get some dang EV parking enforcement?  They enforce the hell out of normal spaces, but a Nissan Altima and Dodge Journey's are not EVs and that clearly says EV Charging ONLY.  Ugh (rant over)

Good point, but wasted effort if you're only telling us.

Contacting the Parking Enforcement Dept might bring about a better result.

Personally, I'd go as far as reporting individual abuses whenever I saw them. 

Or leaving a snarky note on their windshield.  

[codypet]

2 hours ago, JFW657 said:

Good point, but wasted effort if you're only telling us.

Contacting the Parking Enforcement Dept might bring about a better result.

Personally, I'd go as far as reporting individual abuses whenever I saw them. 

Or leaving a snarky note on their windshield.  

Ohhh hoo hoo boy.  I did that in the Winter Park Library (not even snarky, just "please don't park in EV spots letter") and I got a woman who found my car and left a return letter saying that I was stalking her and she had taken a photo of myself an baby Codypet, and my car and license plate and had given them to the Winter Park Police for stalking.  She ended the letter with "the Police are looking forward to contacting you"  Never mind the complete irony of her letter, I would have loved to see what the police's reaction to her was if she had actually called them.  It still angers me that someone who is in the wrong acts victimized and makes "threatening" statements.

My experience with non EV's parking in EV spaces is that people who do are happy to be confrontational about it.

Edited May 16, 2023 by codypet

[prahaboheme]

Is it just a lack of awareness? I ask honestly as I’ve never once thought about it. 
I’ve had the same Jeep for 25 years.

[JFW657]

1 minute ago, codypet said:

Ohhh hoo hoo boy.  I did that in the Winter Park Library and I got a woman who found my car and left a return letter saying that I was stalking her and she had taken a photo of myself an baby Codypet, and my car and license plate and had given them to the Winter Park Police for stalking.  She ended the letter with "the Police are looking forward to contacting you"  Never mind the complete irony of her letter, I would have loved to see what the police's reaction to her was if she had actually called them.  It still angers me that someone who is in the wrong acts victimized and makes "threatening" statements.

My experience with non EV's parking in EV spaces is that people who do are happy to be confrontational about it.

I'd still report them to Parking Enforcement if it's possible.

Either find out a phone number or just find a meter checker. 

But yeah, you have to be careful that you don't go from leaving the note directly to your own car. 

 

https://www.orlando.gov/Parking-Transportation/Parking/Report-Nuisance-Parkin

https://www.google.com/search?q=report+parking+violations+city+of+Orlando&oq=report+parking+violations+city+of+Orlando+&aqs=chrome..69i57.19865j0j8&client=tablet-android-joyar&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8 

 

[JFW657]

7 minutes ago, prahaboheme said:

Is it just a lack of awareness? I ask honestly as I’ve never once thought about it. 
I’ve had the same Jeep for 25 years.

Some people probably innocently don't notice the sign or the charging station doesn't register in their brain etc, but my guess is that some people just don't care. Probably hate the idea of EV's to begin with and just want to poke their finger in the eye of an EV driver. 

[prahaboheme]

2 minutes ago, JFW657 said:

Some people probably innocently don't notice the sign or the charging station doesn't register in their brain etc, but my guess is that some people just don't care. Probably hate the idea of EV's to begin with and just want to poke their finger in the eye of an EV driver. 

Likely, yes. 
I guess I see an EV station and just avoid it hence not really registering to me.

When my Tesla arrives, I’ll go to Parking Enforcement! 

[codypet]

1 hour ago, prahaboheme said:

Is it just a lack of awareness? I ask honestly as I’ve never once thought about it. 
I’ve had the same Jeep for 25 years.

I tend to not attribute to malice what can be attributed to ignorance or distraction.  But, I feel if it was lack of awareness, I would assume there would just be a simple "I'm sorry" when they're asked to move.  Not a letter saying they're calling the cops or engaging in some sort of confrontation.  

Baldwin Harbor in Baldwin Park keeps getting their EV parking Tow Away Zone sign torn off the wall so it seems like there is somebody upset about the existence  of the station enough to try to sabotage it.

[JFW657]

2 hours ago, codypet said:

I tend to not attribute to malice what can be attributed to ignorance or distraction.  But, I feel if it was lack of awareness, I would assume there would just be a simple "I'm sorry" when they're asked to move.  Not a letter saying they're calling the cops or engaging in some sort of confrontation.  

Baldwin Harbor in Baldwin Park keeps getting their EV parking Tow Away Zone sign torn off the wall so it seems like there is somebody upset about the existence  of the station enough to try to sabotage it.

Seems like it would occur to them to get a metal sign and bolt it to the wall. 

[nite owℓ]

My friend's condo at The Vue faces the EV spots on that side of Lake Eola and I visited frequently as well. I've seen people blatantly park in the space, read the signs and then call out to me while I was on the balcony asking if there is no parking in the EV space. They know, some are more willing to risk getting a ticket.

Most people parking in those EV spots are well aware of it after they make the mistake of parking there. They get out of the car, read the sign, read the writing in green and I would say about 75% get back in the car and drive off in search of another spot.

The other 25% feel entitled to free or convenient parking. They know what the space is for after checking out the charging station and signs before walking off without paying. Some would pull the car forward into the yellow part of the curb or pull into the adjacent Fifth-third bank parking lot and illegally park in the loading zone which creates a clusterfudge situation for delivery trucks who then have to park in traffic to make deliveries. On weekend nights there is a steady stream of people who try to U-Turn out of the bank's parking lot entrance bc they don't want to pay to use the bank's parking lot either.

Metermaids ticket the EV parking space (they do not ticket the bank's loading zone area), and the issue is further exacerbated after metermaids go home for the day, during weekend evenings and especially during events due to limited enforcement.

People even try to sneak into condo parking garages for free parking or sneak in to use restrooms. I really don't miss any of that, some people act like anything goes while downtown and behave like wild animals when you try to correct them.

Paid parking cuts down on a lot of riff raff, sorry but free parking is not the way to go bc the bad apples ruin it for everyone. Most issues arise from people loitering indefinitely in the on-street parking spaces or while parking for free on private lots where there is no enforcement. Downtown residents, myself included, have been complaining about illegally parked cars for years and nothing really gets done bc the issue continued daily/weekly for years in certain hot spots.

Edited May 18, 2023 by nite owℓ