Elements of Urbanism: Orlando

[Metro Jacksonville]

Elements of Urbanism: Orlando



A brief tour around the urban core of a city that is often overshadowed by its notorious theme parks: Orlando.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/986

[urbanjacksonville]

Wow, when you put it like that, Orlando looks pretty cool. I won't hate on O-town anymore. That SODO project is awesome! Seems the the warehouse district in Springfield could benefit from something like this.

[Keith-N-Jax]

Nice thread. I never really cared for the mouse though, but very nice.

[nestliving]

Our historic districts could learn a lot by taking a look at Thornton Park's newer development. The city of Orlando has embraced current design trends and mixed architectural styles which has made that area a much more appealing living environment for people normally attracted to suburban areas. Jacksonville could really benefit by reviving our older urban suburbs in a similar way. People are attracted to this sort of "newness" regardless of whether or not they like the style of Architecture.

[BridgeTroll]

Very cool urban Publix... 

[David]

Urban infill obstacles:

Tampa: Interstate 4 forms a pretty solid barrier between Downtown and Parramore.
Jacksonville: State & Union Streets cut off Downtown Jacksonville from Springfield.

Tampa...Orlando.

Samething.

[thelakelander]

Nice catch.  I used the templete from the Tampa article to set up this one.  It looks like we missed that one.

[zoo]

Springfield is definitely comparable to the Thornton Park area. The main difference between the two is that Orlando recognized the value of Lake Eola and its surrounding parks as a great urban asset that connects rather than separates the community from the CBD. They keep it maintained, clean and do not tolerate vagrancy.

Springfield would still be separated from downtown by State/Union (which could be solved by intelligent or elevated pedestrian-ways) and the Park View Inn blight that needs to come down, but COJ needs to look hard at the Klutho Park system and what an asset it could be to the entire city.

In addition, one of the most visually appealing areas of urban Orlando is the little strip of clubs that is a pedestrian-only walkway. No cars allowed. For some reason, local planners, retailers and residents don't think this could work in Jacksonville ("cars on the street add to urban vibrancy," seems to be the common thinking). But perhaps in a small area, this should be reconsidered.

[heights unknown]

I remember when Orlando was a sleepy town of well under 100,000 people; Wow, how far it has come and it is now a burgeoning metropolis.  Infill, density, fullness downtown, all of what Jacksonville needs but Orlando now has.  Pretty impressive photos.  I guess downtown has a height limit on the skyscrapers; their tallest, which I think is 440 feet, is the limit, otherwise, Orlando would probably look like Tampa.

I'm jealous of Orlando for Jacksonville.

Heights Unknown

[David]

Nice catch.  I used the templete from the Tampa article to set up this one.  It looks like we missed that one.

I thought maybe it was a subconscious jab at Orlando. hehee.

I kid I kid, Out of the two I prefer Orlando as far as urban elements go. Tampa's good for it's gulf coast beaches.

[TPC]

Great article. The last two times I've been to Orlando I've stayed in Winter Park and pretty much rode a bike a everywhere so I didn't see all the parts of the city, but you get a much better perspective of a city and I feel these photos come really close to capturing that.

Its seems like there are some great developments there embracing and promoting walkability. That Publix made me think of The Fountainhead.

Jacksonville has fallen asleep at the wheel.

[thelakelander]

In addition, one of the most visually appealing areas of urban Orlando is the little strip of clubs that is a pedestrian-only walkway. No cars allowed. For some reason, local planners, retailers and residents don't think this could work in Jacksonville ("cars on the street add to urban vibrancy," seems to be the common thinking). But perhaps in a small area, this should be reconsidered.

American history has shown that full blown urban pedestrian malls struggle in cities that don't have the dense immediate residential population to support them.  I would not classify Wall Street as a full blown pedestrian mall.  Its a one block pedestrian alley with vehicular access on both ends.

I also believe it was originally developed by a single developer.  You could say its a smaller version of the pedestrian walk at the Landing with the Toy Factory, Benny's, Hooters, Twisted Martini, etc.

[thelakelander]

The City of Orlando gave Publix incentive money to open that Lake Eola store.

The Economic Development Incentive Agreement dated February 15, 2005 (Agreement) provides for certain City and CRA incentives for the redevelopment project south of Lake Eola across from the Waverly Condominiums as a mixed-use residential, office and retail development with a full-service Publix grocery store.

The incentives consist of the following:

1. Up to $350,000 of permit and related fee credits

2.$2,000,000 in Parking Construction Funds to fund a portion of the cost of the parking facility, to be repaid to the City, with interest, through the levy and collection of a Special Assessment and lien on the property.

3. a Tax Increment Recapture of 35% of the tax increment revenue directly attributable to the project for a period of 8 years.

4. a $1,000,000 Grocery Incentive to be paid in four (4) equal installments of $250,000 at commencement, 50% completion, C.O. issuance, and 1 year after opening.

The Agreement provides that the cumulative amount of the incentives shall not exceed $3,700,000 (Maximum Incentive Amount). It further provides that the Tax Increment Recapture will be applied toward the repayment of the Special Assessment. Due to the limits of the Maximum Incentive Amount, the Tax Increment Recapture available to the Owner may not be sufficient to repay the Special Assessment, thereby increasing the Project costs and jeopardizing the Grocery portion of the Project. In order to insure the feasibility and sustainability of a downtown full-service grocery within the Project, the City has agreed to remove the Maximum Incentive Amount and modify the Special Assessment repayment schedule so that the Tax Increment Recapture can be used to repay the Special Assessment without additional costs to the Project. The removal of the Maximum Incentive Amount will allow the Project to realize the full benefit of the Tax Increment Recapture as a result of the increased assessed property value realized from the redevelopment of the property. In exchange for the removal of the Maximum Incentive Amount and modification of the Special Assessment repayment schedule, the Owner has agreed to the imposition of a requirement that the Owner repay the Grocery Incentive in the event that the Grocery Store is not open and operational for a minimum period of seven (7) years.

http://edocs.ci.orlando.fl.us/asv/paperlessagenda.nsf/b70fccc1d34ca632852573f50052b3a0/ae0703cf3e713598852571620075c087?OpenDocument

[thelakelander]

I remember when Orlando was a sleepy town of well under 100,000 people; Wow, how far it has come and it is now a burgeoning metropolis.  Infill, density, fullness downtown, all of what Jacksonville needs but Orlando now has.  Pretty impressive photos.  I guess downtown has a height limit on the skyscrapers; their tallest, which I think is 440 feet, is the limit, otherwise, Orlando would probably look like Tampa.

I'm jealous of Orlando for Jacksonville.

Heights Unknown

Both downtowns have had a ton of infill development over the last decade or so.  However, Orlando's newer development tends to cluster around and complement its neighbors.  Jax's has not.  This may have a lot to do with Orlando abiding by a detailed master plan calling for complementing activities to take place in a compact setting.  The result is synergy being quickly created.

To Jax's credit, outside of Downtown and the Lake Eola area, urban Orlando feels more like a small suburban town than it does a city.  There are nice older neighborhoods but nothing with the size, density or architectural diversity that you'll find in an area like Riverside/Avondale or Springfield.   Even after decades of poor planning, Jax's bones are still here.  We just need to do a better job of connecting our assets together with proper infill.

[heights unknown]

Thanks Lake for expounding on my jealous concerns regarding Orlando's sucess and prosperity versus Jax's appearance of "falling asleep at the wheel" as someone stated.  Been a while since I've been to Orlando, but you're probably right about the rest of Orlando (sleep village scenario) versus it's downtown's success, but still, it appears their downtown has grown and filled out and filled in in leaps and bounds over Jax.

Heights Unknown