Lincoln Property submits plan for residential conversion of downtown office building

A downtown office building at the corner of Orange Avenue and Church Street is slated for conversion into apartments, if city officials approve the plans.

Lincoln Property Company has owned the building at 200 S. Orange Ave. since 2014. The 10-story building shares an atrium lobby with the 30-story SunTrust Center, which is under different ownership. With the neighboring tower having lost its anchor tenant, it now has nearly 90,000 square feet of Class A office space available for lease. Meanwhile, the LPC was simultaneously marketing its entire 110,000 square foot building as available for lease with plans for extensive renovations, including a new rooftop amenity.

But instead the company opted to reposition the smaller SOAB building as mixed-use 143 residential units, maintaining the ground level retail site now occupied by Wahlburgers. The building also has a deli and dry cleaner on the ground floor.

This is the view looking south, toward Orlando City Hall. Most of the 143 apartments would be micro-units, with communal lounges and kitchens on each floor. (Baker Barrios)

The design by Jed Prest, principal at Baker Barrios, calls for a $20 million makeover. The exterior would be transformed with inset balcony units and floor-to-ceiling windows. There’s also an new sign package that includes an LED video screen wrapping the entire second floor corner over the Wahlburgers space.

The ground floor also allocates 2,139 square feet to the apartment building office and 2,374 square feet for residential amenity space. The 12,273-square-foot second floor is entirely dedicated to leasible office space. The remaining levels are all designed with an emphasis on micro-unit apartments with a handful of studios and traditional floorplans. Each floor has a common lounge and kitchen/dining space just off the elevator lobby.

Each floor has 13 mico-units and one studio apartment. Levels 3-6 have four one-bedroom apartments and one two-bedroom corner apartment. Levels 7-10 have five one-bedroom apartments. The top floor has a shared laundry facility, a business conference room that opens up to a rooftop terrace.

Prest estimates the total construction cost for the project will ring in at $20 million. LPC hopes to start construction in January, with completion slated for July 2022.

LPC is seeking a major certificate of appearance review from the city’s Appearance Review Board. The case also goes to the Municipal Planning Board in July for master plan approval, which would include a density bonus and parking reduction of 21% to allow a minimum of 125 parking spaces where 157 spaces is required. The building currently has 75 parking spaces allotted in the SunTrust Plaza garage and is negotiating an agreement for another 50 spaces in the city-managed portion of the 55 West Parking Garage.

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