According to officials, Orlando should see full coverage of wireless internet in the downtown area by October of 2007. The original time frame of early 2007 was set back by a few unforeseen technical issues. Some of the obstacles to note were debates over coverage areas, logistical/functionality concerns of the equipment, and current landscaping in selected areas. There are currently several spots of downtown who are up and running on the network(Wall St., the Courthouse, and Library areas) but most will have to wait until October as the equipment is phased in periodically.

The wi-fi coverage ranges a 9-square-mile area that will run to Brookhaven Drive to the north, Gore Street to the south, Summerlin Avenue to the east and Westmoreland Drive on the west.

Smart City Telecom, a Lake Buena Vista company is leading up the project that will provide free internet to the core of downtown Orlando.

Depending on who you talk to and also where those people live(if they are a tax payer and area intrusion) the approved Downtown Orlando Venues may or may not be a refreshing look into the future of the urban cityscape. With all of the people I have spoken to around the city(which have been several dozen in the past 3 or 4 months) the overall consensus is that they like the idea that the City of Orlando is making progress in efforts to establish it’s place in Metropolitan America and a much more diverse scene than just visit to Mickey. The common denominator seems to be… Read the rest of this entry »

Ever been downtown after a performance at the Bob Carr or after a Magic game and wondered where some of best places to eat are? Maybe you live downtown and want to explore some new spots… here are a few sites that can help you out.

I would recommend these as I have used them and have good information including customer reviews:

Orlando Dining Guide

Orlando City Search

Orlando Resturant on Cityguide

I just read that the Solaire movie theater will not be open until the mid-November timeframe. It explicitly says it’s opening Labor Day weekend on it’s site(http://www.plazaorlando.com) but according to the developer who is negotiating the deal with the movie company, they are 90 days out from opening. The current worry is the demographic that the urban downtown Orlando scene is portraying does not match what people are most frequenting movie theaters these days. The area is generally being built up to accommodate young business professionals ages 25-45 but those who tend to drive the movie market are younger age males. The opening has been delayed but I think it’s time they select a date and drive it home!

For those of you who have been wondering, the movie theater for Solaire at the Plaza was set to premier soon after the completion of the 3 towers but have yet to be opened. The mid summer deadline(June/July) has passed and the new date for opening is set for September 3rd, 2007. We’ll keep you updated if we hear of any changes to this date.

Take a look from the past…

Thanks to Tim3167 and all contributors of this forum(which can be found here: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/archive/index.php/t-57455.html) Read the rest of this entry »

If you have taken a peek at the inventory at Solaire and are waiting out the market to see if the prices will dropping lower before the interest rates start to rise, a good place to look is on Craigslist. There are people posting units on there several times a weeks so keep checking and you might just stumble on a deal… Read the rest of this entry »