Downtown Orlando Fireworks at the Fountain 2008

Friday, July 4, 2008 4 p.m. – 10 p.m.

Lake Eola Park – Downtown Orlando

Cost: Free

Entertainment:

* Live entertainment begins at 4 p.m. and will include the K92FM “Colgate Country Showdown” at the Amphitheater and classic rock on the 96.5 WHTQ stage!

* The Orlando Concert Band performs in the Amphitheater at 8 p.m.

* Also, on site will be six of Central Florida’s top radio stations: Star 94.5, AM 580 WDBO, 98.9 WMMO, Power 95.3, 96.5 WHTQ and K92FM, the Orlando Magic and two huge bounce houses in the kids’ area and a state of the art, full-motion driving simulator allowing participants to experience the NASCAR Sprint Cup series.

The City of Orlando began monitoring the streets of downtown and Parramore with a “smart camera” system called IRIS this morning. This system was paid for by federal homeland security funds and aims to help police identify and hold criminals accountable for actions committed/ taped.

These cameras are already used in larger cities across the United States (like Boston) and in Europe to help deter unlawful activity in common crime areas (ATM’s, street corners, construction sites…etc.). There are plans to install close to 60 cameras in the upcoming weeks. The amount currently servicing downtown Orlando is 13.

These cameras will be in the core downtown area to start and only directed/pointed to public areas. Some people argue that this could be invasion of privacy but I believe if you’re in a public place…it’s just that, “Public” and means any actions can be watched or viewed by a 2^nd party. Being proactive is the key to relinquishing crime before it happens. I am glad to see that the city is taking the initiative on this and understands that Orlando’s downtown sector is growing. Getting the word out about this will also help so I wanted to share this new with all of you folks out there that either live, want to live, or dream of living in a downtown condo in the near future. The street cameras will give you an elevated “peace of mind” that you are safe and measures are being taken to assure your safety.

So the verdict is in for all of those folks that wanted to know what happened at March 1st’s auction for Solaire condos. Before we begin, here are some of the facts:

• Appx 150 people registered and were in attendance for this event
• Auction lasted about an hour and a half
• 1br units started at 170K and 2br units started at 250K
• 42 units were available for sale(what was advertised)
• 30 units total sold
• No spectacular, once in a lifetime deals emerged(surprise surprise)

I was not able to attend this auction but have done quite a bit of reading up on the subject. Basically, I think this event shows that we’re feeling a false bottom in the downtown Orlando Condo market. The interest of living a metro-urban lifestyle is there but

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So heres a bit of info for those of you interested in this Inventory Close-Out Auction…

Date: Saturday, March 1, 2008

Time: Bidder Check-in is at 12 Noon and the auction will start at 1pm

Duration: appx 1.5 hrs

Place: Embassy Suites Orlando-Downtown – 191 East Pine St., Orlando, FL

Number of Units: 42 units are available to be sold

The Auction Information Center is open daily 12pm to 7pm.

More Solaire at the Plaza Auction talk here…

Okay, sorry I’ve been a little busy lately but this one was big enough that I have had several people talk to me about it and ask that I post on it. So, I am just catching wind that there will be an auction for some of the units at Solaire next month. There will be a 5k fee to even get in the door and if you win a bid for a unit, you have to put 5% down before walking out. This auction will be held at the Embassy Suites in Downtown Orlando on March 1st.

I don’t know how most of you feel about this but I must say that I am just a tad bit skeptical. One reason for this is because this is not an absolute auction(meaning there is a preset minimum bid of 170k). I guess it’s to weed out the “window-shopping” prospective buyers but that’s what the 5k entrance fee is for right? If they are really wanting to just liquidate, why the min bid? Sounds a bit “Salesy” to me so I have to agree with Mike Thomas of the Orl Sentinel. I am also weary about the financial stability of the entire plaza with such recent events as OUC making it public that Kuhn’s Plaza development is overdue somewhere in the ballpark of $283,000 in utility bills. And hey….where the heck is that darn theater we’ve all been waiting for? Also it kind of sucks if you were one of the early bird closers that thought you were getting a steal by getting in before groundbreaking. Real estate is a fickle industry and does not make exceptions for people when it’s ready to slope downwards. Just the luck of the draw on that one.

Now I love to be optimistic most of the time but this one kind of has me cautious…I think the developers met and thought it’s their best shot of making back “some” of the money spent on the project and be the trendsetter for auctions to come in the future for such projects as Tradition Towers, Star Tower, The Paramount, 101 Eola, The Vue, and 55 West.

I think they are making the right choice in being first becuase from here, the prices will only decline for other potential auctioneers. My only concern is the amount of real interest they will drum up having a non-absolute bidding scheme.

We will all know if a few short weeks.

I’ll pass on this auction and wait for The Vue to do the same with they’re much nicer/contemporary floor layouts and other amenities.

Today is the official “Grand Opening” of the Vue in Downtown Orlando. The ribbon cutting ceremony starts @ 5:30PM and should last until around 8:30PM. If you’re interested on how the place turned out, tonight would be a good time to go and see what all of the hype is about. This facility boasts a 407 foot tall residential tower with great views of Lake Eola(it’s main selling point). Reports released say there are about 50 residents currently living in the facility and another 100 more expected to close soon.

In my personal opinion, I would hold off on getting in on the grassroots level. The Vue has 300+ units and right now…only half of these look likely to be filled soon. That means there are plenty more units available and I am sure there are not enough buyers here in “Poorlando” that can afford it. Half a million for a 1,100 sq/ft seems quite unattainable for most of us. Who the heck are the people that are living there now and what do they do for a living…what do you guys think???

Nonetheless, the unit looks great(overlooking the hefty price tag) and will add a nice touch to the emerging Downtown Orlando skyline.

Other perks are:

• secured private parking for residents only
• 24 hr doorman
• pool, tennis court, cyber cafe, and media room
• acoustically engineered concrete floors and walls to minimize sound transfer between units
• storage rooms available
• club quality fitness center

Last Wednesday, the Mayor of Orlando Buddy Dyer and City Commissioner Pat Sheehan made a visit to Star Tower and amassed views of the city via the roof-top amenity deck. Their tour was part of the grand opening and ribbon-cutting festivities of Star Tower to Orlando’s core business district. Dyer is confident that the development will be successful over time and is glad to see the CBD’s residential market continuing to absorb more young, business savvy professionals and retiree’s alike.

The 100-unit complex is said to have over 80% of it’s inventory sold which is a miracle in itself considering the state of the local condo economy and the real estate market in general. I find this interesting considering I don’t see these units being listed or really advertised for sale anywhere…do you?

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Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer will be hosting the 2007 State of Downtown Address today @ The Ballroom at Church Street. He is expected to talk about the achievements of the past year which include the $3.8 billion in construction planned or underway in the city.

This address is scheduled to start @ Noon today.

For more information and coverage of the speech, click here

After reading a few blogs and news reports, it looks like the rumors are in deed true. In fact, after hearing about this, I checked the Improv’s site and there was proof on the homepage.

The Orlando Improv located in Church Street Station is now closed. It will make way for a new up-scale Italian restaurant called Rustic Steak. The 7,000 square foot facility has been host to many large name acts like Andrew Dice Clay, Bill Bellamy, and Tracy Morgan in the 5 years of existence. The website says they are Temporarily closed so I assume that there are plans to bring the Improv back to life in a different location in town.

The facility had to be closed due to losing it’s liqueur license.

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.