The Orlando Sentinel Reports today that the developers/owners of the Plaza Theater plan to work with the City of Orlando to continue moving forward on a plan to finally open the theater. For those of you that have been following this since the plaza opened up back in 2007…it all sounds eerily similar to talks we’ve heard in the past.
According to Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, the theater will bring needed prosperity to the Plaza and surrounding businesses. I think he’s right in saying that the economic development of this area (CBD) could get a boost from the theaters presence but the “Special Tax” is what concerns most. The plan says it will tax the parking garage and plaza businesses in order
to pay back the $6 million dollar loan to finish the theater. People/consumers are already paying in excess of $7 to park in the tight cornered Plaza garage and spending even more than that on a “less than filling” flat bread pseudo-entrée at Urban Flats. This could be the grounds for failure if you ask anyone who has been following the cinema drama. Increasing the rent of local businesses and the fees of plaza parking could in turn alienate the patrons who frequent this area and do more harm than good. There is plenty of Free parking along the city streets, and plenty of $3-$5 lots a couple blocks away. Why continue parking in that garage if there are other less expensive alternatives in close proximity? The real question that needs answering is exactly “HOW MUCH” this tax will be. We are in the limbo of give and take with this one as yes, the surrounding businesses will get more revenue, but they are paying more for their facilities. With that type of methodology, we could see less “economic prosperity” and more “economic parity”. So basically, the business in the Plaza are really no better off with the theater than without.
You mathematicians out there…run the numbers and comment back. We are all interested to hear your thoughts and calculations. We need to make sure the leaders of this project understand that over taxing can delay the project once again….for good.
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Latest Orlando Sentinel Article on the Downtown Plaza Movie Theater
