FM Sept 04_PDF.qxd - Orlando Chamber of Commerce

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COVER STORY Rhythm & Flow Lounge in downtown Orlando offers a social urban atmosphere. The Revitalization Craze It’s a common thread across the nation. According to Hank Fishkind, an Orlando economist with Fishkind and Associates, the kind of development in downtown Orlando is symptomatic of a renaissance of downtown areas in Florida, and it will have significant economic impact on the city. Cities throughout the Central Florida region are going through large- and small-scale renovation. Daytona Beach, Cocoa Beach, Lakeland, Kissimmee/St. Cloud, Altamonte Springs and Maitland to name a few are all in some phase of redevelopment. “Lakeland is attracting national attention and is being used as an important resource for other downtown developments,” says Randy Lyon, Chairman of myregion.org and Regional President of Ginn Development in Celebration. “Eustis and Mount Dora are working hard to revitalize but maintain a small town charm. Maitland went out to public referendum to see if the residents thought they should do large-scale redevelopment, and it passed the vote.” And all of this regeneration, says Lyon, makes for a stronger region. “There’s an important dynamic balance,” he says. “If you tried to put everything in downtown Orlando, the infrastructure of the region would collapse. You have to have a central downtown with related downtowns to give people more opportunities.” In other words, each downtown in our region is co-dependent on another. “What downtowns do for a region is gather all of the activity — commercial, social, recreational and cultural — and give us a place to come together,” says Lyon. “In turn, you have a critical mass of people, service and opportunity, which creates communication.” A Changing Landscape The old major retail centers of the past are taking on a different character. Downtowns today are becoming more of a mixed-used location, providing entertainment, nightlife, dining, housing and retail. This is exactly what Plaza at City Centre hopes to achieve when it breaks ground this September. The Plaza is a mixed-use development that will feature office condos, residential lofts, retail and a 12-screen movie theater. Challenged by Mayor Dyer, developer Cameron Kuhn came up with the idea to change the city landscape and is breaking ground less than a year after it was first conceived. “Cameron drives things,” says Rich Roland, Director of Marketing for Kuhn Development. Kuhn recently sold the retail and movie theater space to Unicorp National Development Inc. for some $20 million. Tom Cook, of Wood Properties, will handle the residential sales. Kuhn will focus on the sale of office condos, which Roland believes is the wave of the future all across the country. “The office condo market is exploding,” agrees Kuhn. “No small business owners want to rent when they can own.” “What downtowns do for a region is gather all of the activity — commercial, social, recreational and cultural — and give us a place to come together.” — Randy Lyon — Regional President, Ginn Development Chair, myregion.org Kuhn adds that the impact of Plaza’s office condos will “affect the city center across the board because just having people own their own space empowers them.” To date, the Plaza office condos have presale figures of more than $62 million, and, says Roland, “We just started advertising them about a month ago.” Another commercial project vital to Orlando’s transformation is Florida A&M University’s law school in the Parramore District. “In a couple of years, we’ll have some 500 law school students attending classes downtown,” says Billingsley. “They’ll be using their expertise to provide legal assistance to underprivileged people in our community.” Division Avenue from Washington Street to Church Street will get a facelift, which includes a park, streetlights and streetscaping. Hughes Supply recently built their corporate headquarters to jumpstart the flagging Parramore district. “We also have a transportation bill in conference at the federal level right now,” says Mayor Dyer. “U.S. Representative Corrine Brown is supporting this bill, which could provide $13 million to boost connectivity between downtown and the Parramore district, giving additional East-West access.” With just five projects (CNL headquarters building, a new federal courthouse, Florida A&M University Chamber Connection Leadership Orlando graduate appointed to downtown revitalization boards. Leadership Orlando alumnus and Hughes Supply executive Monroe Harrison has been appointed by Mayor Buddy Dyer to the Downtown Development Board (DDB) and Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Advisory Board. Harrison will work with the current board members and DDB/CRA staff in the pursuit of continued redevelopment and revitalization in Downtown Orlando’s core area. “We’re looking forward to having Monroe join us in our efforts to bring more investment and continued growth to Downtown Orlando,” said Sarah Kelly, Chair of the DDB Board and CRA Advisory Board. “He has shown a great amount of interest in and involvement with the Orlando community, and we know he will be a very valued member of the team.” Harrison has been an active Orlando resident for more than 10 years and works as the Manager of Corporate Citizenship for Hughes Supply. “I am excited and honored to be appointed to this board,” he said. “I look forward to working with the current members and staff to further enhance all of Downtown Orlando as a great place to work, live and play.” Monroe Harrison About the DDB and CRA Under the guidance of a five-member board, the DDB provides planning, implementation and administration of numerous ongoing programs focused on the enhancement of Downtown Orlando. The Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) aggressively pursues redevelopment and revitalization activities within the Downtown Orlando Redevelopment Area, with an emphasis on providing more housing and cultural arts opportunities, improving long-term transportation needs and encouraging retail development. 22 SEPTEMBER 2004 FM
Law School, the Washington Street Plaza and 55 West) there’s almost a billion dollars worth of construction pumping new life into downtown, says Mayor Dyer. These businesses will house more than 450 new high-paying jobs. “Downtown employers pay better,” says Beitsch. And, with those high paid jobs come some of the bigger retail and dining ventures. Shopping Spree There are currently more than 300 retail operations in downtown, according to Geoffrey Brown of the Downtown Development Board. Of those, nearly one-third of them are food operations or restaurants. There are also 15 arts and cultural related destinations, including theatres, museums, library and art galleries and some 10 retail banking branch operations. “We will have some turnover in the retail sector with the residential movement,” says Kuhn. “As the smaller businesses make money, the bigger players will see that and move in, creating competition.” That’s good news for Orlando, as residents will have more options. And, it can be good news for niche players as well. Maxwell says that more than 50 percent of the people who come to Mad Cow Theatre do something else downtown. “They eat out. We’re partnering with local restaurants to cross promote,” she says. “We’re trading patrons.” The little projects are important to this transformation, as well. Just look at the downtown media arts center. The UCF School of Film and Digital Media has a coffee house and 80-seat independent cinema, but the arts center brings together several of the goals of downtown leaders, including bringing students downtown. The number of proposed and ongoing projects is astounding. Orlando is a flurry of new developments: mixed-use buildings, arts and culture centers, living spaces, office buildings and more. At last count, there were 34 major commercial and residential projects already started or slated to start in the next year or so. And other cities are taking notice. “We had a group from Tampa come a few weeks ago to look at the residential explosion in our downtown,” says Billingsley. “We have a unique community.” Downtown Orlando is quickly becoming the city of envy. “We want other cities to model their downtowns after ours,” says Mayor Dyer. What’s Up Downtown! With so much going on, it’s hard to keep pace with the new downtown development. The Downtown Development Board has a solution — a monthly update at its headquarters. What’s Up Downtown! is an opportunity for Central Florida residents, business owners, employees, educators and others to learn more about the exciting developments and initiatives happening and being planned for Downtown Orlando. On the first Thursday of each month, Frank Billingsley, Executive Director of the Downtown Development Board, will provide a PowerPoint presentation on Downtown Orlando with a question and answer session following. What’s Up Downtown! begins at 8:30 a.m. and lasts approximately an hour. As seating and room size is limited, please call to the Downtown Development Board at 407-246-2555 or e-mail cmidkiff@downtownorlando.com to reserve your spot. What’s Up Downtown! is held at the Development Board’s office, 201 South Orange Avenue, Suite 1230 — the 12th floor of Signature Plaza at the corner of Church Street and Orange Avenue. Validated parking is available at two City parking garages — the Library Garage at 112 East Central and the Market Garage at 60 West Pine. What’s Up Downtown! is scheduled for the following Thursdays in 2004: September 2 October 7 November 4 December 2 Check out the Web site at www.DowntownOrlando.com for upcoming Downtown events and happenings. FM SEPTEMBER 2004 23
Page 1: Volume 7, Number 9 SEPT 2004 A Hip
Page 4 and 5: UPFRONT World-Class Partnership Cen
Page 6: BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY THE LATEST NE
Page 9 and 10: The Human Relations Doctor Dr. Mimi
Page 12 and 13: BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY Better Covere
Page 14: BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY Because labor
Page 17 and 18: Good Credit Equals Good Business Ho
Page 24 and 25: LEADERSHIP & EDUCATION EVERY COMMUN
Page 26 and 27: LEADERSHIP & EDUCATION Putting Drea
Page 30: TOURISM, TRADE & TRANSPORTATION THE
Page 33 and 34: Metro Orlando Lodging Posts Big Gai
Page 35 and 36: Economic “M-Powerment” Financia
Page 37 and 38: MEMBERSHIP WELCOME JULY’S NEW MEM

FM Sept 04_PDF.qxd - Orlando Chamber of Commerce

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