5 Ways to Bring People Back to Downtown: Examples from Orlando, Florida

[M II A II R II K]

5 Ways to Bring People Back to Downtown: Examples from Orlando, Florida


January 29 2013

Read More: http://www.globalsiteplans.com/uncat...lando-florida/

Orlando, Florida’s downtown is undergoing what you might call a “residential renaissance.” As one of the leaders in this national trend, Orlando is seeing faster growth in its downtown than in its suburbs.

Economists suspect thousands of apartment units will be added to Orlando’s urban core over the next four years, with a handful of projects already under construction. This is great news for the city, since urban planners consider dense development patterns more economically powerful and more environmentally responsible.

Here are five ways downtown Orlando is attracting new residents:

1. Transit - New rail and bus projects are transforming the way Central Floridians get around. Living and working close to a transit stop is seen as an asset, making well-connected developments easier to market. Building to watch: Central Station mixed-use TOD

2. Jobs - A major draw for any downtown resident is the close proximity to their place of work. In Orlando, some of these include governmental facilities, schools, sporting venues, and, of course, the Central Business District offices. Building to watch: Sky House apartments; The Sevens mixed-use project

3. Vibe - People move to downtowns because they want to experience everything from trendy restaurants to quality people-watching. They want to be close to major venues, museums, and events. Building to watch: Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center.

4. Convenience - Downtowns generally represent the epicenter of a city, with major highways and transportation hubs making it easy to get just about anywhere. Furthermore, apartments are replacing pre-bust condominiums, allowing a wider audience to live downtown. Buildings to watch: Steel House and NORA apartments

5. Value - Usually we think of living downtown as expensive. However, downtowns are looking to diversify their populations by adding affordable housing, workforce housing, and student housing. On top of that, rents in downtown Orlando can rival those in other parts of the region. Buildings to watch: Health Village and Affordable Housing apartments

.....

[Prahaboheme]

Downtown Orlando has always had a fairly decent downtown population, and certainly isn't lacking in "vibe."

The real game-changer for Orlando is going to be the commuter rail system, fully operational in 2014. At last commuters will have a mass transit alternative to the heavily clogged Central Florida roadways.

SunRail map:

[MolsonExport]

"Bringing them back" presumes:
1) they were lost, which further presumes
2) they were there to begin with


On these bases, is Orlando a good candidate for elucidating these criteria ("5 ways")?

transit, jobs, vibe, convenience, value: basically a powerpoint presentation slide of nebulous and/or empty slogans.

[bobdreamz]

Orlando is seeing faster growth in its downtown than in its suburbs.

Although downtown Orlando is going through a bit of a renaissance now with a new Performing Arts Center U/C, a few new condos also U/C and the establishment of a Sunrail commuter staion the above statement is not true at all. The Orlando suburbs continue to expand at a much faster pace. Orlando's downtown isn't even that big compared to the rest of the city or the suburbs.

[mhays]

Isn't every city in the US seeing faster growth downtown vs. its suburbs? Even if a metro is growing at 2% or 3% per year, it's hard to imagine that today's downtown living trend isn't pushing those numbers up by more than that on average including the pre-bust years.

[atlantaguy]

Originally Posted by bobdreamz

Orlando is seeing faster growth in its downtown than in its suburbs.

Although downtown Orlando is going through a bit of a renaissance now with a new Performing Arts Center U/C, a few new condos also U/C and the establishment of a Sunrail commuter staion the above statement is not true at all. The Orlando suburbs continue to expand at a much faster pace. Orlando's downtown isn't even that big compared to the rest of the city or the suburbs.

While it may not actually be growing in raw numbers as fast as the vast suburbs of Central Florida, Downtown Orlando and adjacent hoods are doing pretty damn well when you look at the total picture.

I know you don't like Orlando Bob, but how about giving credit where credit is due? The core of Orlando has never looked better in any of our lifetimes.

[bobdreamz]

Originally Posted by atlantaguy

While it may not actually be growing in raw numbers as fast as the vast suburbs of Central Florida, Downtown Orlando and adjacent hoods are doing pretty damn well when you look at the total picture.

I know you don't like Orlando Bob, but how about giving credit where credit is due? The core of Orlando has never looked better in any of our lifetimes.

I applaud downtown Orlando and the recent developments taking place since it's about the only place that even comes close to being urban. I'm glad to see one other Florida city/metro finally getting commuter rail.

[initiald]

Orlando is getting a Skyhouse too? Who ISN'T getting a Skyhouse? They are ambitious building them in so many cities.

[dc_denizen]

Originally Posted by initiald

Orlando is getting a Skyhouse too? Who ISN'T getting a Skyhouse? They are ambitious building them in so many cities.

Seriously, Austin, Orlando, Arlington VA...must be more skyhouses elsewhere that I can't recall..

[atlantaguy]

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

Seriously, Austin, Orlando, Arlington VA...must be more skyhouses elsewhere that I can't recall..

There are two here. One has just been completed and leasing is underway, the second just started construction last week.

[min-chi-cbus]

There's also a national trend of urban revitalization in the form of apartment construction going on, so I wonder how much of Orlando's success is due to some of the 5 key characteristics provided or the overall macro economy? Is the horse leading the carrot or the carrot leading the horse??

I'm not denying an urban revitalization in Orlando but how does it compare (in relative terms) to other cities: both cities its size or cities with similar growth rates?

[min-chi-cbus]

Originally Posted by atlantaguy

There are two here. One has just been completed and leasing is underway, the second just started construction last week.

What's a Skyhouse?

[volguus zildrohar]

Originally Posted by min-chi-cbus

What's a Skyhouse?

I second that. Must be a Sunbelt thing.

[atlantaguy]

Originally Posted by min-chi-cbus

What's a Skyhouse?

Here you go:

http://skyhousemidtown.com/

In addition to the second one here that I mentioned previously there are nearly identical ones underway in Austin, Houston, Orlando, Charlotte & Raleigh.

[miketoronto]

An interesting stat for people who think downtown residents are the silver bullet to downtown renewal. A study in Kingston, Ontario found that 80% of patrons to downtown restaurants, shops, and entertainment venues do not live downtown.

[min-chi-cbus]

Originally Posted by atlantaguy

Here you go:

http://skyhousemidtown.com/

In addition to the second one here that I mentioned previously there are nearly identical ones underway in Austin, Houston, Orlando, Charlotte & Raleigh.

So a developer uses the same concept and name for multiple different projects? I've never heard of that -- kind of like McMansion apartments!

[Reverberation]

Gotta hand it to Skyhouse. They had a good idea and stuck with it.

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

An interesting stat for people who think downtown residents are the silver bullet to downtown renewal. A study in Kingston, Ontario found that 80% of patrons to downtown restaurants, shops, and entertainment venues do not live downtown.

Except that Kingston largely lacks downtown residential - it should therefore come as no surprise that there are few downtown residents patronizing local businesses. Its a pretty meaningless statistic in the context of downtown residential development as a revitalizer when the city in question has had no such development. Its also a metro of 160,000 people, the retail core is easily accessible to the bulk of the city's population unlike a larger city such as Orlando.

Seeing a figure for place of residence for patrons of downtown businesses in a major city that has seen significant residential development in recent years on the other hand, would be far more telling.

[mhays]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

An interesting stat for people who think downtown residents are the silver bullet to downtown renewal. A study in Kingston, Ontario found that 80% of patrons to downtown restaurants, shops, and entertainment venues do not live downtown.

The boundaries would be a huge variable about this stat of course. (Edit...what Monkey said!)

But yes, of course. For a department store or similar, the percentage will obviously be very low. A grocery on the other hand will be the opposite typically. For office workers and tourists to have good grocery options, they need residents to provide the critical mass. And for residents to have good options for buying clothes, they need destination shoppers from around town and/or tourists.

Residents are part of the stew you need to have great retail. But just a part.