For many of us, it has been a long time coming. For a few, this is recent news.

The Publix located on the ground floor of The Paramount (17 E. Lake Avenue Orlando FL 32801)will be open for business this  Saturday 9/6/08 at 8am. I have heard that there is basement parking for customers but have not been able to confirm this myself as of yet. Elevators will take you up and down from your car to the shopping floor. There will also be many prizes and giveaways for the ceremony.

I think this will be a great addition to the growing Orlando condo market and the Publix will gain a healthy following from local downtowners and businesses during the week.

According to local reports, there were some well known structural problems that are coming into play with the completion of the Paramount on Lake Eola.

The developer of the 16 Story, 300+ unit condo complex located just south of Lake Eola stated that it spent more than $16 million to add extra bracing to the building. The general contractor noticed cracks on concrete columns caused by insufficient rebar within the beams. The building received a certificate of occupancy after government inspection earlier this year.

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So chatter is really starting to pick up about the Downtown Publix. Some question if the talk of one being located on the ground floor of the Paramount are even true. Others question the grocery store’s commitment to open in the struggling downtown residential market.

Last week, a spokesperson from Publix commented that they are sticking to their commitment. The Publix should be open for business as early as this Fall and the Paramount(16 story condos above the Publix) should be filling their units around the same time.

With the gas prices as high as they are, this will be a nice thing for those folks who live downtown and don’t like their current hike for groceries.

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

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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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!

Downtown Darryl can be your best resource(along with this website of course!) in getting information on any of the pre-existing or new condo developments in the downtown area. I had the pleasure in meeting him a few weekends ago and took a look at some Solaire units. He is very knowledgeable, down to earth, and he will work hard to get you where you want to be. If you’re looking to buy or sell in the downtown area, this is the guy to go to…the name says it all!

You can view his website here: www.downtowndarryl.com

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…

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