Downtown News and Stuff…

There is some good news and bad news for the “The Paramount on Lake Eola” condominium project located on Central Blvd. The good, it is completing final construction in the next few weeks and the sidewalks that have been closed for the past 2 years have finally opened, along with the mounting of a “unique” metal sculpture at the corner near the entrance to the Publix supermarket that will be located on the ground floor. The Publix is set to open on Labor Day. The bad news, well kind of bad news, is that a lawsuit has been filed by some condo buyers concerning a structural problem that arose early on in construction. However city and structural inspectors have repeatedly stated that the massive iron structures and supports brought in are more than sufficient to resolve any possible structural issues discovered, and the remedy is common practice in high-rise concrete structures when cracks are discovered during construction. It is the developer’s opinion that the lawsuit is being filed by buyers who want to “back-out” of their contracts and is using the structural issue as an excuse to have their deposits refunded. The Paramount has sold all but 5 of the 313 total units.

In other development news, Doc’s Restaurant, located on South Orange Ave. across from ORMC is closing to make room for a hotel. The existing structure will be partially demolished to make room for a Hampton Inn hotel that will include space for a new Doc’s Restaurant. In the meantime, Doc’s Restaurant owners are looking for another downtown location to open up during construction and beyond.

Also in Orlando news, Fast Company Magazine (June 2008 issue) has named Orlando as one of 12 global cities best for innovation. Only 2 other U.S. cities are included in the list (Seattle and Kansas City). The top reasons noted for Orlando’s inclusion are its interactive and simulation software, and biotech industries, noting the future medical hub complex to be located in Lake Nona that will include the UCF Medical School, Burnham Institute, Nemours Children’s Hospital, VA Medical Center, and M.D. Anderson Cancer Research Center.

And some good drinking and dining news (well drinking anyway), the new Stardust Lounge located in the former Lee’s Underground Tavern space mentioned last week definitely lives up to its expectations. I don’t know how they did it, maybe through smoke and mirrors, but somehow the space looks bigger than I remember when it was Lee’s Tavern. It’s still of course a pretty small space, but they did a great job on the renovation. Drinks were top, though there is no beer on tap (only bottles), but hey, this is a lounge after all, and while they do have a rather nice list of themed specialty drinks, my posse prefers to kick it old school with some White Russians and Tom Collins. Also to my surprise, it’s non-smoking, which is great news for anyone who has been to Tanqueray's Bar on Orange Ave (another small Orlando underground bar but does allow smoking). Also, on one visit to Stardust, food menus were displayed showing a limited subset of The Beacon’s menu (apparently food will be brought over from The Beacon a couple blocks away).