Downtown is home to many urban amenities such as an 18,000 seat arena now known as the Amway Arena which hosts the Orlando Magic NBA team and the Orlando Predators Arena Football League team and the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center which hosts the Broadway Series. Incorporated within the Downtown area, the central business district is the most recognized and urban region of downtown. It consists mostly of high-rises with an occasional skyscraper and contains many nightclubs, bars and restaurants. There are a number of office towers, including offices for Bank of America, South Trust Bank, Wachovia, SunTrust Center and Lincoln Center. The Orlando City Hall and the Orange County Courthouse are also located downtown. PremierTrade Plaza which is a large mixed use development consisting of two office towers opened this year.

Several new high rise residential condos have opened in the past year including The Vue, which is the 2nd tallest building in the city, and the Solaire, a 27 story tower which is on the same block as the newly constructed Premier Trade Plaza. These two new condos join the Sanctuary and the Waverly adding a multitude of options for condo dwellers downtown. Several mid-rise condos also opened this year, The Jackson and 101 Eola join the existing condo market and the Paramount, another high rise residential condo opened this year. The Publix on the ground floor has created excitement in the downtown community. Many residents are moving downtown to enjoy the “live, work, play” lifestyle.

The main street through downtown is Orange Avenue, a one-way street on which traffic flows to the south. It is known by locals for it’s nightlife and for all the tall buildings that line the street as well as the old historic buildings from the past. Magnolia and Rosalind are the two roads that run north through downtown. Two main highways that intersect in downtown are Interstate 4 and the East-West Expressway (Toll SR 408).

On July 26th a bill was passed for a joint venture between Orange County and the City of Orlando to build a 1.2 billion dollar project in downtown, which will consist of the following:

• A Performing arts center with three halls
• A new arena for the Orlando Magic and other events
• Renovations to the Florida Citrus Bowl to bring it up to date as a world class football stadium.

This ambitious series of plans has been dubbed the “Triple Crown for Downtown” by Mayor Buddy Dyer. By all accounts downtown Orlando is a vibrant and active city.