Our Town

DOWNTOWN ORLANDO

Unless you're a member, chances are you'd walk right past the unremarkable downtown facilities of the exclusive University Club and not even notice. The one-story brick building, painted a shade of yellow most often found adorning 1970s-era kitchen appliances, houses the private club's decidedly un-trendy dining room, where Orlando's old-line movers and shakers still gather for leisurely lunches.

It's true that the new generation of local influentials mostly eschew this musty place in favor of the newer, glitzier Citrus Club, with its panoramic downtown views, plush furnishings and white-glove service.

But the creaky old University Club may once again become a favored hangout for cool people, thanks to a decision by the club's membership to sell its 1.5-acre site on East Central Boulevard to developers planning to build twin 37-story towers featuring 325 condominium units, 50,000 square feet of office space and 18,000 square feet of retail space on the lower floors.

To be more precise, the 500-member organization actually traded its land for ownership of a two-story bridge that will connect the towers and house the club's operations. When that happens, the University Club will have a home as impressive as any comparable club in the country.

That's the way it's going in downtown Orlando these days. Scarcely a week passes without another major condominium project—many boosted by controversial tax incentives—being announced. And as quickly as announcements are made, buyers swoop in and plunk down deposits.

Remarkably, this rush of interest comes after years of apathy about downtown and its prospects as a desirable place to live, work and play. Just ask attorney William J. Sheaffer, who in the mid-1980s remodeled an old house on Central Boulevard and converted it to an office for his criminal law practice.

"We did it because it was close to the courthouse," says Sheaffer. "Beyond that, downtown didn't hold a whole lot of appeal. Not a lot to do, nowhere to go."

"It was like a ghost town down here back then," adds Carol Sheaffer, who manages her husband's practice. "There wasn't much going on even during business hours. And after that, forget about it."

Fast forward to 2005, and it's a very different scene on Central Boulevard.

Just east of the Sheaffers' office, at the bustling mixed-use complex known as Thornton Park Central, the day begins when gourmet-trendy Central City Market opens for breakfast.

Next door, Shari Sushi Lounge attracts a glittery lunch and evening crowd while the spacious Urban Think! Bookstore offers in-the-know readers a gallery/bistro hangout.

And at the corner, trendy Hue remains one of the hottest dining spots in town, especially during its monthly "Disco Brunches," when the restaurant's self-serve Bloody Mary bar draws long lines and the retro sounds of Donna Summer fill the street.

And all that barely covers just one neighborhood within Orlando's kinetic downtown corridor.

In addition to all the new shops and markets, and an ever-changing firmament of nightclubs and restaurants, the city's central core has become one of the liveliest real estate markets in the region, attracting not only youngish, single career seekers who like to congregate where the action is, but middle-aged professional couples who appreciate the convenience of a daily routine that doesn't depend on the vagaries of Central Florida traffic.

"I can't even begin to tell you how much moving to downtown has improved our quality of life. We can walk to almost everything we need, and the diversity of the neighborhood, all the different kinds of people, keeps it interesting," says Jerol Gardner, whose husband, Winston "Bud" Gardner, is chief operating officer of TLC Engineers and a former state senator from Brevard County.

The Gardners, who moved downtown several years ago from Merritt Island, were among the first owners at the 56-unit Lofts of Thornton Park Central, one of several acclaimed residential projects by developer Phil Rampy, who named the once-forlorn neighborhood east of Lake Eola and is credited with transforming it into arguably the most prestigious address in the region.

"The area needed an identity," says Rampy. "Back in the early 1990s, I was looking at an abstract for a house I owned at the corner of Thornton Avenue and Jefferson Street, and it just came to me—Thornton Park. The whole area deserved to be called something."

In fact, so vibrant is Thornton Park that it's even getting its own Publix supermarket—the first downtown supermarket in decades. The 29,000-square-foot store, to be located on the south side of Lake Eola, will anchor a complex that will also include The Paramount on Lake Eola, with 312 condominium units and 8,000 square feet of office space.

Rampy's bullishness on downtown, not to mention his success in parlaying previously undesirable downtown parcels into retail and residential moneymakers, has since been embraced by a cadre of other developers. In fact, you almost need a scorecard to keep up with all the players and their latest projects.

Among the most intriguing is developer Cameron Kuhn's plan for a 750,000-square-foot, mixed-use development that will encompass an entire block of downtown bounded by Orange Avenue on the east, Washington Street on the south, Jefferson Street on the north and a city-owned parking lot on the west.

The project, dubbed Premier Trade Plaza, will contain two condominium-office towers with 383,000 square feet of space; 105,000 square feet of retail space, including a 12-screen movie theater; and a 310-unit residential condominium tower. Downtown Orlando hasn't had a movie theater since the vaudeville-era Beecham was converted into a nightclub in the 1970s.

Kuhn also plans to redevelop a second downtown block, this one bounded by Orange Avenue on the east, Washington Street on the south, Jefferson Street on the north and a city parking lot on the west. That project, as-yet unnamed, might include a hotel as well as residential, retail and office space.

Given the current boom, it's difficult to imagine that five short years ago downtown contained just four major condominium communities with some 350 units: The Reeves House, Park Lake Towers, The Ivanhoe and 530 E. Central.

Since then, 19 new and conversion condominium projects have either been announced or completed. If everything currently proposed is actually built, the total number of downtown units would increase to almost 3,600.

Of course, some plans may never come to fruition and others may be altered based upon market conditions.

But of the projects currently on the market, none appear to be struggling.

A prime example is The Metropolitan at Lake Eola, a building still known to longtime locals as the old Harley Hotel. Developer David Eichenblatt, who bought the property last December and began converting it to condominiums, sold all 128 units within 72 hours of opening a sales office.

Attracted by prices that ranged from $110,000 to $150,000, people waited in line to put down deposits. And there's a standby list of would-be buyers who are hoping some of the deals fall through.

"We aimed for a hip, sophisticated clientele," says Eichenblatt, who professes not to be surprised at the response. "It's a perfect location because you have Lake Eola at your front door and you can walk to work from your back door. Plus we have huge balconies and a price point that can't be beat."

On Church Street, 55 West on The Esplanade, a 32-story, 363-unit condominium tower, broke ground in April but construction has been delayed due to rising costs for building materials and design changes, according to the developer, Tampa-based Euro-American Advisors.

With prices starting at $300,000, 55 West will be topped off by eight luxury penthouses selling in the $3 million range, and residents will be able to enjoy such sybaritic pleasures as an on-site spa and 24-hour concierge service.

At the north end of downtown, near the intersection of Colonial Drive and Orange Avenue, 31-year-old developer Steve Kodsi is launching a seven-acre, mixed-used project dubbed Midtown, which he says will include some 500,000 square feet of commercial space and 700 to 800 condominium units.

Kodsi is also the developer of The Sanctuary, a 173-unit, 18-story condominium project between Pine and Church streets on Eola Avenue. Units, which offer up to 4,000 square feet of living space, range in price from $320,000 to more than $2.5 million.

And as if he weren't already busy enough, Kodsi also plans to build Star Tower, a $30 million, 18-story condominium project between Jackson and Mariposa streets. Star Tower, with 100 units priced between the $400s and $2.5 million, is slated to be complete by the first quarter of 2007, according to Kodsi.

In the meantime Rampy's firm has filled a majority of 23 luxurious Eola South "city houses," which feature large balconies overlooking Lake Eola, granite kitchen counters, stainless-steel appliances, marble baths and private garages.

And Rampy's 26-unit Osceola Brownstones, where prices range from the mid-$200s through the high $300s, should be finished soon. The three-story project features brown brick stucco, roof gardens and two-car garages.

A newcomer to the downtown market is The VUE at Lake Eola, a 323-unit tower next to The Metropolitan that sold about 90 percent of its units in a little more than a year. Prices of the remaining units range from $300,000 to $3 million, and the project is slated for completion in early 2007.

About five minutes south of downtown, at 525 E. Michigan Ave., developer Barry Miller's Copley Square brownstones and Victorian town homes are 50 percent pre-sold, with Phase One nearing completion. The project, with a distinctive Bostonian flair, features its own amphitheater for local productions. Three- and four-bedroom homes range from $430,000 to $480,000.

Of course, there are residential options downtown aside from new condominiums.

The charming old neighborhoods ringing the city have been gentrifying since the late 1980s. While Thornton Park is perhaps the highest-profile example, property values are also soaring in the city's other designated historic districts, including Lake Eola Heights, Lake Lawsona, Lake Cherokee and Lake Copeland.

As builders build and buyers buy, Mayor Buddy Dyer and other boosters are looking for ways to boost downtown arts and entertainment options while enhancing pedestrian-friendly transportation systems and attracting a greater variety of businesses.

Everyone agrees that a downtown performing arts center, which Dyer has made a priority, would be a wonderful addition. But almost no one agrees on how such a project, which would cost at least $150 million, would be financed.

Still, Dyer has promised that ground will be broken by the end of his term in 2008, and a committee of community movers and shakers is working to develop a plan.

Renovating or replacing the TD Waterhouse Centre, home to the NBA's Orlando Magic, is also on Dyer's to-do list, as is an overhaul of the Citrus Bowl, currently home to the University of Central Florida Golden Knights and two annual bowl match-ups.

But the so-called "O-rena" would cost $70 million to renovate while a new facility would cost perhaps four times that much. And the Citrus Bowl upgrade, which would cost at least $150 million, has recently become an iffy proposition as UCF officials finalize plans to build an on-campus stadium by 2006.

Despite these hurdles, the foundation for enormous change downtown is already in place, says Downtown Development Board executive director Frank Billingsley.

"There's a trend across America of more and more people moving into downtowns, and we have a very desirable and pleasant downtown infrastructure in place," says Billingsley, who points to the city's brick streets, urban lakes and architectural variety.

"Our downtown is a neighborhood where you can feel very connected to friends, family, and community. It's a much richer experience living in an urban environment, where you can feel connected to the pulse of the community."

WINDERMERE

Nestled among the spring-fed Butler Chain of Lakes, the cozy Town of Windermere, population 2,300, has emerged as the region's new-money address of choice.

"This is where it's at," says longtime Windermere resident Suzi Karr, owner of Suzi Karr Realty. "We're the hot area."

With Lake Butler on the west, Lake Down on the east and Lake Bessie on the southeast, Windermere is a verdant peninsula on which some of Central Florida's priciest real estate sits.

But, although they advertise Windermere addresses, most of the ritzy developments aren't technically in Windermere.

The town itself is just 689 acres, and consists largely of a laid-back retail district with some mom-and-pop stores and a scattering of older homes lining sandy streets. Those streets remain unpaved to discourage traffic and prevent runoff from damaging the Butler Chain, which consists of eight pristine lakes connected by a canal system.

The lakes attracted one of Windermere's first investors, Joseph Hill Scott, an English clergyman who in 1885 bought 150 acres. Scott's son, Stanley, homesteaded the property and supposedly named it after Lake Windermere in England.

The railroad connected Windermere and Kissimmee in 1889, but freezes in 1894 and 1895 destroyed the town's citrus industry. Little changed until 1910, when a pair of Ohio investors named D.H. Johnson and J. Calvin Palmer bought all the land they could piece together and formed the Windermere Improvement Company for the purpose of developing it.

The pair promoted "Beautiful Lakes of Pure Spring Water," and aimed their marketing at moneyed Northerners.

What worked nearly a century ago is working today. The lakes, along with world-class golf courses, stunning scenery and a bucolic ambiance, still attract new residents to this west Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County enclave.

Although few who live here want to see the town change significantly, Windermere city officials are making concessions to the growth surrounding it.

The town is working on a $3.4 million project to revamp the downtown area, bricking three blocks of Main and Frontage streets, expanding parking lots, replacing stop signs with roundabouts and generally upgrading its appearance.

And developer Kevin Azzouz, who in 2003 purchased much of the property in the business district, has talked about creating a town center, much to the consternation of residents who like downtown's unpretentious combination of shabby and chic.

Consultants are also working with elected officials on an annexation policy, which would give the city control over development outside its current borders. In the past, residents have fought annexation because it would dramatically increase the city's population.

WINTER GARDEN

It was 1857 when Becky Roper Stafford's great-great-grandfather first glimpsed Lake Apopka. W.C. Roper was riding through the backwoods of west Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County on horseback, seeking a place to build a home for his family waiting back in Merriwether County, Ga.

Roper bought 600 acres along the shore, between present-day Winter Garden and Oakland, and returned a year later with his wife and 10 children. The ambitious settler operated a sawmill, gristmill, sugar mill and cotton gin. Later he built a tannery for making shoes, and served as Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County's superintendent of schools from 1873 to 1877.

Fast-forward to the 1920s, when Roper's son Frank planted the area's first orange trees, marking the humble beginnings of an industry that would sustain and define Winter Garden, which had been incorporated in 1903, for the next six decades.

It was a busy time for Winter Garden's three-story Edgewater Hotel, now a bed-and-breakfast, which opened in 1927 with a telegraph office, electric heating and fire sprinkler system. As the only hotel in the western portion of the county for nearly 30 years, the Edgewater emerged as a primary community gathering spot, a place where special events were held and business deals were sealed.

Winter Garden remained an idyllic small town throughout World War II and into the 1950s and 1960s. Far removed from Orlando, which was about to be reshaped by the advent of Disney World, the city remained self-sufficient and unpretentious.

"I grew up with the scent of orange blossoms," says Stafford, whose father Bert was also a prominent local citrus grower. She remembers when Davis' Pharmacy was the place to meet friends for a vanilla Coke and when the Starlite Drive-In attracted weekend crowds of teens and families alike.

"Winter Garden was the quintessential vibrant small town," says Stafford. "We had the distinction of being the only town with two train depots because it was such a busy shipping community with fresh fruit going all over the world."

Fast-forward again to the 1980s, when devastating freezes destroyed thousands of acres of citrus. Roper Growers Cooperative, Heller Brothers and Louis Dreyfus Citrus eventually recovered. But as growers regrouped or retreated, once bustling downtown Winter Garden became a virtual ghost town.

Concurrently, developers began buying up decimated groves for new homes, creating new subdivisions seemingly overnight. But most of the residential growth, and the retail growth that followed, was outside the city, which made Winter Garden proper even more of an anachronism.

Then came a brilliant project called Rails to Trails, through which abandoned rail beds across the country were converted into hiking and biking trails. The popular West Orange Trail passed directly through Winter Garden, thus converting the all-but-forgotten city into an oasis for thousands of ready-to-spend strollers.

"Rails to Trails has been an incredible catalyst," says Stafford, who now works with the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation to help rekindle her hometown memories. "All of a sudden, we had 10,000, then 20,000, now 50,000 people a month coming through downtown Winter Garden."

City officials have made certain that these visitors will be charmed by what they see. In 2001, the tired downtown district underwent a facelift. Brick streets were restored, old buildings were remodeled and Centennial Fountain, saluting the city's citrus-growing heritage, was constructed.

Today locals and outlanders gather at Choctaw Willie's in the reopened Edgewater Hotel for barbecue, collard greens and sweet tea. Across the street, Moon Cricket Caf?serves eclectic cuisine and an array of micro-brewed beers. Winter Garden Pizza Factory is all about pasta, fresh pies and family fun.

Proprietor-owned shops, like JR's Attic, Downtown Herb Shoppe and Every Little Girl's Dream, are thriving. But you'll still find a wonderfully cluttered hardware store that sells farming supplies, which serves as a reminder that this town quaintness isn't contrived.

And, locals proudly note, Winter Garden features two historical museums open seven days a week. There's the Central Florida Railroad Museum and the Heritage Museum, both housed in restored depots. History buffs may also stroll around the city and view such landmarks as the 1860s-era Beulah Baptist Church.

And redevelopment is on a roll: Stafford is hard at work with the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation to renovate the historic Garden Theater on Plant Street, which will become a 300-seat performing arts center.

While the old downtown is re-emerging as a force to be reckoned with, several miles south a 147-acre, open-air mall called Winter Garden Village has passed preliminary approval hurdles and could open next year. The mall, to be located between Winter Garden-Vineland Road and the Western Beltway south of S.R. 50, will have a 24-screen movie theater and nearly 1.15 million square feet of retail space, including major department stores.

Also to the south of downtown, along C.R. 535 and S.R. 545, more than 40 communities totaling 25,000 homes are expected to be built where citrus groves once flourished.

The biggest of the new developments is Horizon West, a 38,000-acre master-planned community that has been in the planning stages for a decade. At buildout, its two villages—Bridgewater and Lakeside—will contain nearly 18,000 homes.

The first neighborhood is Independence, located in the Bridgewater village and developed by Transeastern Properties. The 1,342-acre project will encompass 2,415 homes, a 5,300-square-foot clubhouse, two town centers, three schools, two lakes and 600 acres of parks and preservation areas.

Although neighborhoods within Horizon West will have easy access to town centers, expect additional retail and commercial development to follow homebuyers west. Facilitating that growth is construction of the Western Beltway from the Florida Turnpike to the north and U.S. 192 to the south.

The burgeoning area may even get a community college. Valencia Community College is eyeing a 200-acre site on Schofield Road, near C.R. 545 and Horizon West.

WINTER PARK

Once a haven for artists, writers and some of the most influential families in the country, Winter Park was promoted in the late 1800s as a refuge for "the cultured and wealthy." Those early boosters would almost certainly be pleased to see how it all turned out.

Today, the city is home to 70 parks and nearly as many oak trees (20,000) as residents (24,090). Its eight square miles encompass lovely old homes, an upscale shopping district, a prestigious liberal arts college, a plethora of galleries and museums and street signs that admonish motorists to "drive with extraordinary care."

The heart of Winter Park is Park Avenue, stretching 10 blocks and boasting more than 100 shops, from upscale national retailers to one-of-a-kind boutiques. The Avenue, as locals call it, is a European-inspired thoroughfare featuring hidden courtyards, sidewalk caf? and charming Central Park facing the storefronts.

The park—Winter Park's jealously guarded centerpiece—will never be developed, but a new mixed-use project called Central Park Station is slated for the park's northwest corner. The four-story buildings comprising Central Park Station will be designed in English cottage style, and will include condominiums, retail shops and office space.

In addition, the downtown shopping district has begun to spread west on New England Avenue as developer Dan Bellows builds posh apartments and retail stores in previously blighted areas.

On the south end of Park Avenue is the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, showcasing the world's largest collection of Tiffany glass. Each Christmas, a set of priceless, holiday-themed Tiffany windows are moved to Central Park, where they're displayed as part of the city's seasonal festivities.

Several blocks farther west is Winter Park Village, a red-hot retail and entertainment center on U.S. Highway 17-92. New condominiums are available in the Village, which attracts a generally younger crowd than Park Avenue and has emerged as one of Central Florida's most popular see-and-be-seen destinations.

Year-round the city is alive with festivals and special events, from the Sidewalk Art Festival, drawing more than 250,000 guests each spring, to the Exotic Car Show and assorted celebrations in Central Park.

On the shores of Lake Virginia, beautiful Rollins College, the oldest institution of higher education in Florida and one of the top-rated private liberal arts colleges in the country, is home to the Cornell Fine Arts Museum and the internationally renowned Bach Festival Choir.

Incongruous as it may sound, Winter Park also hosts a Saturday morning Farmers Market, where visitors can buy everything from fresh produce to houseplants and crafts.

Although the city was essentially built out decades ago, several infill projects offer new homes in older neighborhoods. The largest new single-family home development is Windsong, carved from heavily forested, lakefront property once owned by the estate of philanthropists Hugh McKean and his wife Jeanette Genius McKean.

The property adjacent to Windsong, where Glenridge Middle School once stood, is being incorporated into the development despite the objections of residents who had hoped the city-owned land could become a park. Forty homes, ranging in price from $900,000 to $8 million, are planned for the 16-acre site.

Still, it's high-end condominiums that account for most new residential construction in Winter Park.

Over the next year, the former Sprint building on New York Avenue will be converted into a luxury, multi-level comdominium complex called Douglas Grand at Winter Park. And along Pennsylvania Avenue, 1100 Pennsylvania broke ground in November, while Casa Jardin started its second phase.

More luxury condominiums are under way on New England Avenue, where the once-glamorous Langford Hotel welcomed moneyed guests for more than a half-century.

The fading, circa-1950s resort was demolished last year to make room for Langford Condominiums, the Residences at the Regent and a boutique resort, the Regent Winter Park Hotel & Spa. The site, just a block off Park Avenue, is the very embodiment of the real estate axiom "location, location, location."

To see Winter Park as it should be seen, shell out five bucks and take a guided tour along the Winter Park Chain of Lakes. Scenic Boat Tours, headquartered at Dinky Dock near Rollins College, has been cruising these canals since 1938, offering regular folks a chance to peek into the backyards of the rich and occasionally famous.