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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In the past few months (almost years it seems) we have seen the likes of the proposed Plaza 12-screen movie theater follow the ups and downs of the overall real estate market. It was ready to go, then it wasn’t, then it was, and again…it wasn’t. Well I am here to report that it looks like there is life once again…maybe. LOL

That is if the $2.5 million and $3.5 million incentive package from the City of Orlando holds up. This is a loan that the city would provide and would be paid back with theater profits. Anyhow, I’m tired of writing so I’ll just link you to the article on the Orl Sentinel…Thanks.

More Downtown Movie Theater Talk Here!!!

Why the hype? Well…here are a few reasons why more and more people are headed downtown for Good:

• If you work downtown, it’s easy to get around
• Ditching the keys and driving less as gas prices increase
• Tons of restaurants in the city’s core
• Lake Eola park is a great place to spend your evenings and weekends
• New Orlando Events Center coming soon!
• New Orlando Performing Arts Center coming soon!
• Nightlife and lots of entertainment options
• Possible 12 screen movie theater at The Plaza
• Lymmo – Lynx’s Free transit in the city’s core
• Condos with great views of Orlando
• Those great pedicabs!
• New Publix which is set to open late August 2008

Can you think of any other reasons?

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 Lexington Hotel located on SR 50(Colonial Drive) just West of I-4 will be grounds for the latest Orlando branch chain of Crowne Plaza hotels. InterContinental Hotels Group, which is the parent company to Crowne Plaza, mentioned that it hopes to attract and lure travelers of Central Business District companies. The facility will be used to host small to mid size meetings in the downtown Orlando area. Plans are to add approximately 1,500 square feet

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On Thursday June 19th, take advantage and ride the Lynx bus system anywhere in Central Florida for free.

Try it and save some gas!

Visit this site to print out a pass: Dump the Pump Day!

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.

As you may know from reading up on the downtown movie theater subject, there has been significant speculation of what would happen since The Plaza officially opened in early ’07. We heard that one movie company picked it up and then dropped it. Then we heard that the large and reputable AMC Company picked it up

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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…

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