World Trade Center Orlando (Conway, Lee: real estate, to buy, tenants)

[GLS2010]

World Trade Center Orlando (http://www.worldtradecenterorlando.org/index.html - broken link)

I heard about the plans for WTC Orlando last year, and i havent heard much about it since. The website still says its underway and the towers will open in 2010, it shows no pictures of the construction site to see how it looks now. I dont ever drive in that area either so i dont know if they have even started on it yet. Has anyone seen this construction site yet? are these actually being built?

[FlyMIA]

Never heard of it either, seems like some one's idea that never fell through or just a fake. Cant really tell.

[Practice]

I've never heard anything about this. I don't drive up by Ivanhoe too much though.

[Parrotrosie]

This link indicated they were supposed to begin building...

Skyrise Development Group to Start Building World Trade Center in Orlando in Early 2008

And a news article about it...

Plans For Orlando World Trade Center Approved - Central Florida News 13

So I don't think it is / was a fake...but did it ever get started? Or did the bubble burst and it get scrapped....

I am still looking....

[blueoktober]

At one point 16 new buildings were in the planning stage that would have dramatically changed the skyline...of course now every one of them have been scrapped.

[nb1968]

Is the site visible from I-4? I drive past there every day and havent noticed anything there. Maybe it is one of the scrapped plans.

[boy3365]

Perhaps it was just delayed because of the economy. Could the same thing be said for the "great wheel" thing in the tourist area and the Super Target anchored "The Current" shopping center in Lee Vista?

We definitely have lots of empty office buildings around here already. There are also tons of empty warehouse space. They took old farm land on South Conway Rd and built a distribution complex that is completely empty. ugh...

[IAm_FloridaBorn]

Well any height downtown is certainly welcomed. But I'm not sure about it. anyway here are the details.

Grow Orlando

http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/p...o-returns.html

[IAm_FloridaBorn]

So I dug up the rest of the report from Orlando Business Journal.
It goes on to state:



Sutton said his firm has the site under contract for an undisclosed amount and expects to buy it from the Diocese of Orlando this summer (2012) and begin construction this fall (2012). The property is valued at about $3.6 Million. Representatives from the Diocese of Orlando couldn't be reached for comment.

Sutton will submit the plan to the city within the next month or two for approvals.

That will put the project together in time to capture anticipated growth in international business with the opening of the expanded Panama Canal. "We have a large number of our tenants identified," Sutton said. "The international market is very strong and will grow robustly. The need is there."

He declined to name the tenants or reveal the project cost, but real estate sources estimated it at $50 million - $100 million. Sutton's firm has yet to select a general contractor.

Daryl LeBlanc, associate principal with Orlando-based architect firm VOA Associates Inc., said his firm has worked on several versions of World Trade Center Orlando, and this installment seems to have more legs than it's predecessors. "the last few years, the market just wasn't right for a project like this, but things are changing."

In fact, market conditions are improving somewhat in downtown Orlando, which had a 16.7 percent first-quarter 2012 office vacancy rate, better than the overall market's 20 percent vacancy rate, said commercial real estate brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle. The sub market also had a net absorption of 104,234 square feet, meaning that much vacated space was backfilled during the quarter.

Meanwhile, the retail sub market that includes downtown Orlando has a 5.7 percent vacancy rate in the first-quarter 2012, along with a net absorption of 59,921 square feet, said CBRE Inc.

Formal plans for World Trade Center Orlando have yet to be submitted to the city, but at a city council workshop earlier this month, Orlando City Commissioner Daisy Lynum said the project had reared its head yet again.

She also said the project should be further advertised to construction firms, in part because of its proximity to one of downtown's planned SunRail commuter rail stations. (Lynx Central Station). The $1.3 Billion, 61-mile SunRail has four stations planned for downtown Orlando. Lynum was unavailable for further comment on the project.

^^^^
So there really is more to it. World Trade Center in Orlando opens up doors to international inter-connectivity with this city and other cities. That is tremendous for Orlando. I truly hope this comes to fruition. That is a huge step for Orlando, I'm actually impressed.

I also after further doing some research predict a new tallest here.:banana: The article mentions 30 stories, but I'm just going to guess it will be higher and FAA will give this project a brake. Either that or it will be 30 stories with a minor building adjacent. Thats just my guess until further details are mentioned.

I'll stay tuned for the early July City Council Workshop with more info!

[Crane's Rooster]

Wow I'm really excited about this particularly given that they have already identified the potential market and tenants they will target. With this new project and the proposed Skyhouse this could shift the focus of our skyline from south part of downtown the central area. This would put the Vue, Skyhouse, BOA building, Orange County Courthouse, WTC, and Southern Bank Building in a cluster. Not to mention it remains to be seen how the Rida development will impact the skyline. Exciting times!