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…

So the trailer for this future condo has been sitting there on the corner of Liberty Ave. and Jackson St. for at least a year now and I drive past it at close to 3 times a week…is it me or does it now seem to be completely vacated? I haven’t seen a single sole walking in or out of it nor have I seen a single car in the parking lot in ages. Somethings up.

Ohhh and It gets better. I now hear that there is some sort of “notice” on the sign in front of the trailer… Is it a notice to vacate…or a notice to potential buyers that their window of opportunity has been shut…? Chime in if you know.

Check back in a day or two as I am going to be looking at this sign when i’m driving downtown in the next day or two to see what the deal is…

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

It looks like those of us who have been wondering about the Premier Trade Plaza’s theater plans(adjacent to Solaire Condo’s) will finally see some light.

On November 8, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. gave the developer Kuhn a commitment to become the permanent tenant in the 1,800-seat, 12-screen multiplex theater built on Orange Avenue downtown. We’ve all heard the mystique before, but let’s see if things “really” pan out this time.
View other posts regarding the Plaza’s movie theater

If getting groceries on the way home from work is something that’s been a chore for those who live downtown currently, your frustrations should be over by mid year 2008. A Publix supermarket will be outfitted on the ground floor of the new 16-story mixed use project Paramount on Lake Eola. This should be a nice accent to the city’s growing downtown area and convenient for those who typically had to drive miles out of the way to do their shopping.

Zom Realty Services Inc. of Orlando revealed plans for the south side of downtown development on Orlando’s Lake Eola in 2004.

What a relief!

As of Thursday 10/4/07, I still have not heard of anything new on this. Those out there reading…feel free to chime in on the status of this if you know anything. I am going to continue to pry around some more to see if I can get this info for everyone…Stay tuned!!!

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.