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Living in a high-rise condominium, shopping at an urban grocery store, or a night out at the

movies. None of these were feasible in downtownOrlando 20 years ago. Nowadays, however, theseoptions are the norm with “The City Beautiful” evolvinginto a place where many choose to live, work and play.C

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The recently openedParamount Towers includes a

Publix grocery store.

GOOD LIFETheBy

Sandra Carr

i n t e l l i g e n t f o r m s o f l i f e s t y l e

The VUE at Lake Eola offers spectacular views of the city’s skyline.

casual dining destinations to downtownwith his other company, Urban LifeManagement Restaurant Group.Restaurants include HUE, Citrus, Cityfish and Kres. The eateries havemade a mark in O-town.

“Our thought process was to have arestaurant group that would bringunique and one-of-a-kind concepts todowntown Orlando and make themspecifically be anti-chain or very differ-ent from the other offerings that wereavailable in the market.”

Living blocks away from work has its advantages.

Third generation Orlandoan and visionary Craig Ustler, owner and president of Ustler Development, Inc.,was ahead of the game eight years agowhen he built loft condominiums atThornton Park Central. He was one ofthe forerunners in shaping one of down-town Orlando’s urban neighborhoods.

“Thornton Park Central is the signa-ture project we think was catalytic inlaunching a lot of the redevelopment indowntown. We also feel that we havetransformed downtown into a neigh-borhood,” says Ustler.

Ustler has also brought upscale,

URBAN LIVING ABOUNDS IN DOWNTOWN ORLANDO.

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design, development and marketing ofThe Sanctuary and of Star Tower. Each18-story high-rise condominium has an upscale ambiance, but a charm of its own.

The Sanctuary, which opened inDecember 2005, has 173 condosbetween 1,325 and 5,000 square feet

for $400,000 and up. The building isalmost sold out but its counterpart, theStar Tower, has availability.

The Star Tower opened in Decem-ber 2007 and features 100 condos that are around 2,000 square feet. Framedphotos of movie stars and musiciansdecorate the building and a “Sky Garden” features an array of plantsalong with its view of downtownOrlando. Star Tower prices are in thehigh $300,000s and up.

Both condominium complexes pro-vide urban dwellers with convenience.

“You’re in the heart of everythingand it’s a better and more efficient wayto live,” says HCDD’s chief operatingofficer Ted Maines.

The VUE at Lake Eola, opened twoyears ago, provides residents with

spectacular views of Lake Eola Parkand the city’s skyline. The 36-story,contemporary building has 375 con-dos ranging from 568 to 3,209 squarefeet with a price tag of $199,000 to$2.9 million dollars.

Developers and owners Westmin-ster Partners went the extra mile when building The VUE.

“The primary target when buildingThe VUE was a single woman thatwanted nice things and convenience,”explains vice president of sales andmarketing, Lindsey Pfaender. “TheVUE offers a high-end, luxury, urbanlifestyle catering to someone thatwants to have the quality of life ofhome but the social interaction of whatyou get in downtown.”

Art deco makes a resurgence inZOM’s Paramount Towers. The 16-floorfacility opened last year and features313 condos available in 650- to 4,000-square-foot options for purchase orrent. Penthouses and villas also haveprivate parking garages. Condos arepriced from the low $200,000s to over$1 mil l ion. Rentals are $1,400 to$9,000 a month.

The Paramount Towers provides itsresidents and other urban dwellerswith a shopping option.

“The 28,900-square-foot Publix grocery store is the most uniqueamenity that we have and it’s a first indowntown Orlando in almost 30years,” says senior vice president GregWest.

Newcomer 55 West on theEsplanade will open this fall. GrossePointe Development has taken overthe project from Euro-American and is

Downtown Orlando offers a plethora of unique drinking and dining experiences, from Citrus (left) to Ember (center) to theBig Belly Brewery on Church Street.

“Having residents in downtownhelps reduce urban sprawl,” explainsCity of Orlando’s economic develop-ment director Frank Bi l l ingsley. “Downtown is a major employmentcenter with 60,000 workers. A lot of those workers now have the opportunity to live footsteps awayfrom their office, which takes cars offof the road.”

Besides walking, the free LYMMObus service has delivered residentsand commuters alike to different partsof downtown Orlando seven days aweek for the past 12 years. The systemtransports 10 million people each year.

By this fall, LYMMO will utilize bio-diesel buses, and in the next yearhybrid-electr ic buses wil l hit thestreets. LYMMO has come a long waywith its downtown shuttling service.

“LYMMO was the first bus rapid-transit system in the country and is amodel that’s now being used through-out the U.S.,” says LYNX spokespersonMatt Friedman. “LYMMO provides a wayto move people around to urban coresin a timely fashion with bus-only lanes.”

A plethora of condominium optionsare appealing to downtown dwellers,ranging from young professionals toempty nesters. Open f loor plansinclude one, two and three bedrooms,as well as penthouses with 24-hoursecurity, concierge service, floor-to-ceiling glass and balconies, modernappliances, wood or tile flooring,pools, fitness centers, communityrooms with state-of-the-art technologyand pet areas.

Historic Creations Design & Devel-opment (HCDD) was involved in the

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The Sanctuary

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managing the 32-floor high-rise con-dominiums located in the ChurchStreet district. The building will feature377 units ranging from 1,010 to 1,808square feet. The condos currently rentin the low $1,000s.

“55 West is in the center of it all. It’sa landmark building where there are a lot of things to do within walking distance and it’s a great addition to the city’s skyline,” says chief executiveofficer Bob Hensley.

For those living and working indowntown Orlando there are an arrayof entertainment options. Dining andnightlife are steps away from down-town condos. Choices include grab-bing a bite to eat and a brewski withfriends in the Church Street district, atEmber or in the Wall Street Plaza; towining and dining the Italian andMediterranean way at The Black Oliverestaurant at the Plaza Orlando.

Afterwards, catch a flick around thecorner at the Plaza Cinema Cafe. Thealmost 60,000-square-foot, high-endtheater opened in RP Realty Partners,LLC’s space last May and features 12screening rooms, 10-inch custom arm-rest tables with beverage holders ateach chair and around 1,200 leatherrockers in a stadium-seating atmos-phere, along with two wine bars.

“The Plaza Cinema Cafe is in thehub of downtown’s entertainment dis-trict and provides an affordable enter-

tainment experience with an upscaleurban feel,” says director of businessdevelopment Kim Ellis.

In the future, downtown Orlan-doans can look forward to attendingOrlando Magic games and concerts atthe $380-million Amway Center in theChurch Street district, which is slatedto open in fall 2010. The 875,000-square-foot, environmentally-friendlyfacility will seat 20,000 patrons andfeature seven levels, including suites,

an outdoor patio, six clubs, full-servicethemed restaurants and lounges overlooking the event floor, and state-of-the-art amenities.

The Amway Center hopes to bringeven more vigor to downtownOrlando.

“We really believe that this is goingto be a catalyst for development here,particularly in an area of downtown thatneeds some revital ization,” saysOrlando Magic’s chief operating officerAlex Martins.

Urban dwellers also will have anopportunity to appreciate the arts atthe $383-million Dr. Phillips PerformingArts Center (DPAC). The state-of-the-art, green venue will be situated acrossfrom City Hall in downtown Orlando.

On the drawing board at DPAC arean amplified hall, which will feature aproscenium for Broadway and large-scale productions and seat 2,800 atten-dees; an acoustic hall for the Orlando

Urban dwellers will have a host of new entertainment options when the Dr. PhillipsPerforming Arts Center (left) and the new Amway Center (middle) open. Right:Developments such as 55 West are making urban lifestyles easy to achieve in Orlando.

The New Plaza Cinema Cafe is inthe hub of downtown.

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“DOWNTOWN IS A MAJOR EMPLOYMENT CENTER WITH 60,000WORKERS. A LOT OF THOSE WORKERS NOW HAVE THE OPPORTUNITYTO LIVE FOOTSTEPS AWAY FROM THEIR OFFICE ...” — FRANK BILLINGSLEY,CITY OF ORLANDO’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

Philharmonic Orchestra and theOrlando Ballet; a glass community hall,designed as a multi-purpose area forlocal groups, and education space withclassrooms; as well as performanceareas, rehearsal halls, a roof garden anda public plaza for outdoor perfor-mances, which will accommodate3,000 people.

Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center’spresident Kathy Ramsberger says thefacility will fill a void in Orlando.

“The nobility of this institution [Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center] iswhat Orlando is craving. The key is toengender pride and to really startputting a pulse in downtown that galvanizes the community.”

032-34 Lifestyle:000 Lifestyle 9/1/09 6:17 PM Page 32

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