Great time to buy in Park North

I just got back from the monthly Homeowner’s board meeting. Our Property Manager pulled up the recent sales in Park North and five condos have sold this past month. This is great news. Now the bad news- those condos sold for considerably less than we bought our condos back in 2004 and 2005. However, this is happening everywhere- so Park North is not an exception.

What a great time to buy a condo in Park North! These are not exact figures. I’m doing this off memory.

1/1 sold for about $125k

2/2 sold for about $175k

3/2 sold for about $190k

Park North has condos available for sale! Keep Park North in mind and make sure to recommend a friend to stop with a real estate agent to check out the deals.

Warrantable

Park North has some real benefits over other condo complexes in Orlando. For one, Park North is warrantable. Warrantable means that a buyer can obtain a loan that is eligible to be sold to Fannie Mae or Feddie Mac (FNMA). Loans which are not saleable to FNMA (non-conforming) are considered riskier, typically with higher loan rates and larger down payment requirements. Park North is warrantable so it is considered a normal loan. Here’s the complete Fannie Mae criteria as of November 2007. Related link: Finding FHA approved condos. Another downtown condo might not be warrantable so make sure you ask!

Low HOA fees!

Another benefit is that we have one of the lowest or the lowest HOA fees for a luxury downtown complex. On average, downtown Orlando’s condos charge $.32 a square ft. Park North’s fees are only $.28 a square ft. Park North owners pay about 25% less in HOA fees than other condos in downtown Orlando.

Save money on gas

Living downtown has its benefits. You’re close to everything. Even if you might not walk to the store or dinner every night- living downtown will still save you fuel and money. If you have to meet a friend in Lake Mary or South Orlando you are centrally located so you never have to drive too far in any one direction. Plus, Park North is incredibly close to I-4 which makes driving a breeze. No more spending 20 minutes to get to I-4 now you’ll only be 2 minutes away.

Call Park North at 407-426-8300 to set get more info about buying in Park North.

Update on 800 N Orange Ave & Parking Permits (don’t get towed)

My apologies for the delay. I am an owner at Park North and I volunteer for the Board. In recent weeks, I’ve been incredibly busy and I haven’t had a chance to keep up with the Park North blog. I volunteer to write the blog to help every stay informed about what is happening at Park North.

800 N Orange Ave Development Update

It seems as if we’ve made great stride with the development at the adjacent lot once labeled Future Park. The developer, Ustler Development, is now requesting a 45ft set back from the building. This is considerably bigger than the original 3ft proposed set back. From what I understand from our Park North lawyer this is a terrific outcome for Park North. The land adjacent to Park North is zoned commercial and was purchased for commercial use. I have attached a link to the plan for you to see the proposed building. The new proposed building will not have a parking garage and will not require an easement off our land! We will not lose any guest parking spaces nor will we have to deal with the extra congestion of people coming in and out of the building through our guest parking area. The new development will be accessible off Orange Ave. The 45ft offset will be for those condos that are facing downtown. The other condos that are facing 801 N Orange building (on the side of the fenced lot- bordering to the parking garage) will only be set back a couple of feet. The building will be right against the guest parking lot line.

Check out the proposed building rendering

DON’T get towed!

Starting next month, you will need to use a guest parking pass to park in our guest lot. Please note that if you or a guest do not have your tag visible in your window then you’re car/truck will be towed at your expense. There is nothing worse than getting towed and having to pay for it! Please be mindful of this. The goal is not to punish our owners as we do not get any revenue from the tow truck company. The goal is to keep people that have no right to park there out of our spaces such as the law firm next door and the restaurant guests at 801 N Orange. I have heard the valet guys directing people to park in our lot. Our spaces are only for Park North owners and their guests.

Get Involved!

I implore all of you to get involved and attend our Board meetings generally scheduled the last Thursday of the month. Unfortunately, I probably will be out of town next Thursday and will not be able to attend. I look forward to meeting all of you.

Thanks, Renee

Seeking Additional Legal Council

Some of you have wrote comments about seeking additional legal council. Park North Association has it’s own legal council Karen Wonsetler, P.A., however, it might make sense to explore additional representation on an individual basis. One of our residence, Brenda, has already retained legal council. I had asked her to write an email so I can add it to the blog.

“Fellow Park North Owners:

I have decided to retain legal representation for my units @ Park North in relation to the proposed building @ 800 N. Orange Ave. J. Christy Wilson of Wilson, Garber and Small, P.A. is an attorney specializing in Condemnation Law. He is also representing another owner at Park North. He has met with Karen Wonsetler, P.A. who represents Park North at Cheney Place Condo Assoc. and has gotten up to date info on where the situation stands now. He has spoken to Attorney R. Payne for the City and is planning on meeting with him in regard to the “proposed easement” on the property. Mr. Payne said that Mr. Ustler’s legal team is trying to find written documentation re: the easement and admits that he thinks there is no such paper trail. If this is so that would be great for our case. In addition Attorney Wilson plans on addressing the variance that was granted to Mr. Ustler for the three foot setback from our building. If Mr. Payne does not meet with my attorney in the very near future, he is filing for Inverse Condemnation of his clients units to the city.

I believe it is important that we protect our investments not only collectively through our Association and it’s legal representation, but also on an individual basis through our own representation. One thing I do know is that if the project at 800 N Orange Avenue is not stopped, each owner does have a case for suing the city and developer for Inverse Condemnation of our properties. Therefore, if anyone is interested in seeking legal counsel, using this law firm who already is involved in this matter would be very prudent. I should add that the legal fees are surprisingly negligible. If this matter does reach the stage where a law suit takes place, the attorney fees become a percentage of the monies received from the suit if won.

-Brenda H.”

Write letters to your Commissioners

What you can do… what you need to do.

Park North’s Board of Directors and Property Manager can only do so much. If we write letters to our Commissioners, which we have, then it only counts as a couple of emails/letters. If we ALL write letters then it’s over 300 emails, letters and complaints. What has more power 4 emails or 300 plus emails?

Just start writing!

I am also a resident at Park North and what is happening here is outlandish! We need to stand up and fight for our property rights. Are you pissed off at what’s happening to us? Then start writing! We are much more powerful as a collective.

Intimidated by the process? Let me guide you through it. Start by writing a letter to the Commissioners. It doesn’t need to be legalese.  It counts more if the letter is sincere and honest. Tell them why this is upsetting, tell them why we should be heard… tell them that you are unhappy with what’s going on… just tell them!

Personally, I just wrote an email to Buddy Dyer and I’m not stopping there. It takes 20 minutes to write an email and proof it. What is 20 minutes out of your day when your investment is at risk here?

Here are the email addresses for the Commissioners:

Phil.diamond@cityoforlando.net

betty.wyman@cityoforlando.net

patty.sheehan@cityoforlando.net

daisy.lynum@cityoforlando.net

samuel.ings@cityoforlando.net

Please reach out if you’re still not sure what to do or how to do it. We are here to help. We are a community- so I am more than happy to help.

Will you spend the minutes to write to your Commissioners?

Reverse Condemnation

I’ve heard some residence facing the ‘future park’ view (city view) say that this Ustler Development will cause reverse condemnation. I’ll tell you a little bit more about reverse condemnation in a second, but first a little background.

When Park North converted over from apartments to condos all of the original owners where shown renderings that the plot of land adjacent to the building will become a city park. Why shouldn’t we have believed it? The land was owned by a Trust which was known for philanthropy (they had donated to Orlando already in terms of theaters, parks, etc) why would this not hold true now? Also, Orlando is known as the City Beautiful; however, we only very few parks in downtown Orlando. It makes sense to add another park in ‘Uptown’ (the area of downtown Orlando that is North of HWY 50).

Why would any of us doubt there would be a city park?? We saw it say City Park in all the renderings we looked at when we purchased. People facing the city also paid a premium to have a view of the future park and city! Why would someone have paid so much more to face a building parking garage???

Now the scary part.... the new Ustler development will only be 3 feet away from our building! This means that all 51 units facing the city view will now be facing a 9-story building, of which the first 4 floors will be a parking garage! These 51 units who paid a premium to buy will now have to deal with what many have labeled it as reverse condemnation.

What is reverse condemnation? Well, these 51 units facing the parking garage will be in perpetual darkness.. these units will be unsellable and unrentable!! Who will want to buy with a view of a parking garage only 3 feet away from their windows??? Seriously, only 3 feet away. This new development will dwarf our building. These 51 units will be unsellable and might be abandoned by the original owners- if we let this happen. We can destroy people’s lives by devastating their home values.

Why do many of these 51 until homeowners think their units will be unsellable? If you were a buyer and saw one of these units you would ask yourself…

Who never wants to have natural light shine through their windows?

Who wants to put themselves at risk since the fire department cannot access their units??

Who wants to hear cars driving past their windows as they circle the parking garage looking for a parking space?

Who wants to hear a car alarm go off in the early hours of the morning- literally right outside their window?

Has the City of Orlando lost it’s mind? How can they allow this? This isn’t the best use of the land! You can’t in good conscious destroy the value of all 51 condo units facing the south. Those are 51 families who paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to live there. We are messing with peoples lives!

This can negatively impact everyone living at Park North and potentially Uptown condos, too.

When you want to sell your condo an appraiser will do what is called a comparable. They compare your condo against some of the other condos in your building and the buildings next to you. If these 51 units lose their value, this will negatively impact everyone living at Park North in relation to condo values. This might also impact Uptown since they do comparables with condos nearby.

Are we going to allow the City of Orlando and Ustler Development lower our condo values/investments??? Are we just going to let this happen?

Meeting moved from April 15 to May 20, if at all

The meeting time and date has changed. I reached out to ask Bridgette to ask her what time the meeting is scheduled for on April 15th.

New date May 20th- if at all!!!
This is Brigette’s response, “I received notice on Friday that the meeting in April has been changed to May 20th – if at all. Ustler is trying to get the meeting postponed or canceled by legal maneuvering.”

Ustler is going everything in it’s power to get the people of Park North off it’s back. They think they can skirt this issue and build this building in the shadows. This is dirty and underhanded!! At this rate, we might not even be heard!

I’m not sure if you’re aware, but The Vue, downtown Orlando, encroached on their neighbor’s land and this was only discovered after the building was built. Let’s not let this happen to us! We need to fight now and not after this building is constructed.

If you have an opinion then you need to share it! If you don’t believe that this is right… tell us. Otherwise, we are not a collective. We are just a couple of people who passionately disagree with this development… don’t be a passive complainer about this… we need to hear what you think!

We Need your Help & Participation – Get Involved!

Park North Residence,

I have sent out an email notification requesting your stories, questions and comments about the development. We need all of you to get involved in this fight. Please click on the comments link. This is where your comments and your fellow residents’ comments will be posted.

Summary of development:

Address: 800 N. Orange Ave.

Description of development: 9 stories building, first 4 stories are a parking garage. The tenants will be a mix of retail, office condos and residential condos. (Everyone facing the South side ‘future park’ will be looking directly at a parking garage approximately three feet away. Say good bye to light.. your condos will now be in perpetual darkness with the occasional headlight from a car going around the parking garage.)

Accessibility: 800 N. Orange Ave (new development) their tenants and visitors will need to drive through our guest parking (the road we use to access our parking garage) to get in and out of the building.

Store fronts=$$$ for Ustler: The building will not have access from Orange Ave since they want to use this for retail space (store front). Why not have direct access from Orange Ave? Doesn’t that make the most sense? However, Ustler wouldn’t be able to sign retail clients without store fronts. This all comes down to money $$$! Ustler wants to make more money at our expense and in violation of our rights.

Instead of having parking garage access from Orange Ave. they want to optimize their store fronts and have access to their building by using our land! This will cause congestion and safety concerns for all of us. They will have tenants, visitors, dump trucks, and construction vehicles all accessing our guest parking road to get to their building. We will also end up losing a majority of our guest parking spaces without any compensation. It’s unconstitutional to take our rights away and give them to another private owner. Ustler is not a part of the City… he’s just a private developer out to make a profit.

Our residents will be responsible for continuing to maintain this access road and pay to insure it, while Ustler’s development will be able to use it. Come on…. how is Orlando Business Development supporting this? Oh, Ustler is on the Development Board… that’s right. Now, it all makes sense.

To what extent will the City of Orlando go to screw us? We have 303 units. I have estimated that we pay almost a million in property taxes a year. We need to be heard as a collective.

This project will adversely affect all of us. Our investments and homes are at risk… contact Bridgette in the front office to get involved. She is very informative and will be able tell you more about what’s going on with your investment. Call the front office at 407-426-8300. Also, start emailing your council members!!!! Also, try to attend the Hearing which is April 15th at City Hall.

Here is some more info on the development:

Park North is appealing the Planning/Zoning Determination recently awarded under the new plan filed of LDC2008-00021

Interestingly, Mark.Cechman (mark.cechman@cityoforlando.net) stated to me in a MPB technical committee meeting that “he had serious problems” with Ustlers plan and YET, now he is signing off on the same proposal without holding them to the City Code!

The City Attorney, Kyle Shephard was the one who threatened Park North with a Code Violation for not allowing the cross access use agreement (never existed) – where we have a letter (all owners do) from the City of Orlando stating that no code issues exist Reference Exhibit XVI in our Condominium Prospectus, dated June 18th 2004…

SIMPLY PUT: This effort of taking lot 12 is unconstitutional as it puts us in a state of inverse condemnation – yet the City will still demand property taxes off of our Owners!
BTW: Recent Email requests to our own City Commissioners have been ignored…thanks for watching our back! Robert.stewart@cityoforlando.net

Interested in tracking the City of Orlando escapade?
www.cityoforlando.net (search for permit case# LDC2008-00054- the new one).

What are your thoughts on this?

800 N Orange Development [details about the development]

The 800 North Orange property is zoned AC-3A/T by the City of Orlando (this is the small lot next to the parking garage that is adjacent to our building). The owner/developer, Ustler Development, is considering two development options for the site. Both options are mid-rise office/commercial/residential buildings with 9 stories. The existing zoning allows for much taller high-rise buildings with much more square footage.

Both development options utilize the joint cross-access driveway that services the Park North Condominiums and the 800 North Orange Avenue property. [This is what we are fighting!!! The City is giving Ustler rights to take our guest parking spacing and drive on OUR property without compensation]. It is unconstitutional to take property rights away from a private owner and give it to another private owner.

This will cause safety risks for those 51 units facing the North. At this time, the 800 N Orange Ave is planning to build only three feet away from our property. How will a fire engine be able to get to a unit with only a three foot set back?

How is this happening? We have over 300 units in this building all paying property taxes. I’ve estimated that our property, as a collective, pays about $1.2 million in property taxes a year. Why are we not being heard?

Welcome to Park North’s Blog

Welcome to Park North at Cheney Place’s blog. We are here to inform you about the happenings at Park North including the controversial development project adjacent to the building.