Orlando is laying the ground work for a well rounded city of the future! (apartments, homes)

[JMatl]

Originally Posted by clevelander1991

See I think that Fort Lauderdale, along with Sarasota (Even WPB for that matter) have pretty nice downtowns . But then again, so does St. Augustine , so the question becomes where you draw a line between nice big and small cities. St. Petersburg has a gorgeous waterfront with a beach walking distance from downtown , amazing park space and architecture. And out of the group appeared to have the most restaurants and bars representing vast swaths of the population. And it had a feel of big leagueness which Sarasota and Fort Laudy lacked IMO because of the skyline, and pro sports. Orlando is very close to St Pete though, and should surpass it easily with some new infill, the UCF downtown campus and the new MLS Stadium in.

Agreed, on all but WPB (which I haven't seen in years).

I think the difference for me with Orlando is the seamless blend into the surrounding great neighborhoods to the north, east & south. As you mentioned, the west side is about to explode. The core of Downtown also feels more urban to me, with a decent amount of brick and a handful of unique historic buildings. And I realize it's not the same as being on a river or bay, but Lakes Ivanhoe, Eola, Lucerne & Cherokee are wonderful assets.

I admit I'm biased though, as I used to live there and am very proud of my former home.

[theurbanfiles]

I was amazed the last time I visited West Palm Beach, as I knew it did not have the best reputation. Perhaps there are some rough areas on the edges of these, but they had a nice waterfront trail and a park that appeared to have just been redone, a downtown shopping mall (grocery store as well?) Obviously directed at the many very wealthy people that frequent the area, but still having nice retail in any downtown is a plus. Then Clematis Street was literally a half mile wall of interesting bars, restaurants, shops, coffee houses, etc. It was largely based in mom/pops which I'm biased towards, but then I believe it also had Grimaldi's and Shake Shack? No big surprise with all the New Yorkers, but a cool place to have around. I would say that out of the group, Orlando really does have a big plus when you think about all the close to town, functional neighborhoods there are. I suppose that's one of the benefits of being at least somewhat newer than Tampa, Jacksonville and Miami.

[pvande55]

Visited last year. Sure has grown since my father (RIP) lived there 20 years ago.

[PDF]

Originally Posted by clevelander1991

I was amazed the last time I visited West Palm Beach, as I knew it did not have the best reputation. Perhaps there are some rough areas on the edges of these, but they had a nice waterfront trail and a park that appeared to have just been redone, a downtown shopping mall (grocery store as well?) Obviously directed at the many very wealthy people that frequent the area, but still having nice retail in any downtown is a plus. Then Clematis Street was literally a half mile wall of interesting bars, restaurants, shops, coffee houses, etc. It was largely based in mom/pops which I'm biased towards, but then I believe it also had Grimaldi's and Shake Shack? No big surprise with all the New Yorkers, but a cool place to have around. I would say that out of the group, Orlando really does have a big plus when you think about all the close to town, functional neighborhoods there are. I suppose that's one of the benefits of being at least somewhat newer than Tampa, Jacksonville and Miami.

There's a Shake Shack in Boca Raton, but not WPB. But I do like downtown WPB. And regarding your earlier post, I have never gotten that "big-league feel" with St. Pete's downtown.

[JMatl]

Originally Posted by clevelander1991

I was amazed the last time I visited West Palm Beach, as I knew it did not have the best reputation. Perhaps there are some rough areas on the edges of these, but they had a nice waterfront trail and a park that appeared to have just been redone, a downtown shopping mall (grocery store as well?) Obviously directed at the many very wealthy people that frequent the area, but still having nice retail in any downtown is a plus. Then Clematis Street was literally a half mile wall of interesting bars, restaurants, shops, coffee houses, etc. It was largely based in mom/pops which I'm biased towards, but then I believe it also had Grimaldi's and Shake Shack? No big surprise with all the New Yorkers, but a cool place to have around. I would say that out of the group, Orlando really does have a big plus when you think about all the close to town, functional neighborhoods there are. I suppose that's one of the benefits of being at least somewhat newer than Tampa, Jacksonville and Miami.

Sounds very nice, clevelander1991. I'll have to check it out the next time I'm down south.

[Eric1026]

Just announced yesterday.........
Lockheed Martin and Orange County Public Schools are launching a multimillion-dollar initiative to address the shortage of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, education.
The two companies will be in partnership with Project Lead the Way, the nation's leading nonprofit organization that has developed STEM programs in more than 6,500 schools across the United States.
The announcement for the initiative is set for Feb. 5 at 3 p.m. at Walker Middle School in Orlando.

Lockheed Martin to kick off multimillion-dollar STEM initiative - Orlando Business Journal

This is the type of infrastructure partnership (in this case between schools and businesses) that lead to more jobs and economic impact in the future.

[lr5497]

Originally Posted by Eric1026

Just announced yesterday.........
Lockheed Martin and Orange County Public Schools are launching a multimillion-dollar initiative to address the shortage of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, education.
The two companies will be in partnership with Project Lead the Way, the nation's leading nonprofit organization that has developed STEM programs in more than 6,500 schools across the United States.
The announcement for the initiative is set for Feb. 5 at 3 p.m. at Walker Middle School in Orlando.

Lockheed Martin to kick off multimillion-dollar STEM initiative - Orlando Business Journal

This is the type of infrastructure partnership (in this case between schools and businesses) that lead to more jobs and economic impact in the future.

THIS! When companies invest in their own neighborhoods. Orlando has certainly been an example of Public Private Partnerships and adapting.

[Eric1026]

This was a business brief originally in a South Florida newspaper and then reprinted in the Orlando Sentinel yesterday:

Florida's tech industry grew 4.2% from 2014-2015 which equates to a net gain of 12,500 jobs in that industry with average wages of $ 80,400 (which is 88% higher then the $ 42,800 for other private-sector jobs).

Tech jobs grew 4.2 percent in Florida last year - Sun Sentinel

I have to say I am an x-silicon valley techie but with that said their are two things to look for in these kind of jobs. The first is the obvious tech job itself which comes with a great salary that helps all of Florida gain in that regard. The second and not so obvious is the "secondary" jobs these jobs create = managerial, systems and process support, etc.

Imagine if Florida can reach the tipping point in terms of angel investing several years from now and have enough start up seeding to where a few dozen companies are going public every year. The tax revenues from those type of events are staggering.

[Eric1026]

Hopefully this type of high wage growth continues. Couple of recent announcements include:
Tech firm Knetik Media doubling its work force by adding 25+ more people:

Knetik to double - Orlando Sentinel

Orlando company Server Intellect merged with Chicago based tech firm SingleHop and will add high wage jobs to their already 150 person presence:

Data management company bought - Orlando Sentinel

Also not business related per say but did everyone see the inaugural Orlando City vs NY City soccer match? Wow - over 60k plus fans dressed in purple. I wonder if the permanent stadium they are building for the Lions at 20k is too small? Did they not realize our diverse population and number of people from South America and Europe that love their soccer (football') versus American Football?

[MrKnight]

Originally Posted by Eric1026

Also not business related per say but did everyone see the inaugural Orlando City vs NY City soccer match? Wow - over 60k plus fans dressed in purple. I wonder if the permanent stadium they are building for the Lions at 20k is too small? Did they not realize our diverse population and number of people from South America and Europe that love their soccer (football') versus American Football?

This was beginning of a new era for Orlando, a city that has finally reached the "real city" status that it has been aggressively fighting for so many years and truly deserves.. I am proud of my city!