Downtown Orlando

Health and well being is usually foremost in our minds but the last thing in our daily routines. We lead such busy lives at work, and at home with our families that it seems we have difficulty maintaining our health and well being.

The Om Lab is here to make it easier for you to find time to relax, unwind and maintain your spirituality. The Om Lab is Downtown Orlando’s center for yoga, health and healing. They have a wide selection of yoga workshops for anyone who would like to join in. The Om Lab also offers massages and appointments with the practicing acupuncturist.

As you step off the elevator your first point of healing is the enlightening artwork displayed around the entrance of The Om Lab. The open spaces and décor promote peace and tranquility. Large windows admit healing light and a marvelous view of Downtown Orlando. The healing space is a great place to start or end your day.

If you want to break away on a whim from your busy day, they have mats and clothes for sale that you can purchase for the yoga class. There is also a selection of candles, artwork, jewelry and teas available for purchase.

Holly Hussey, founder of The Om Lab, describes The Om Lab as “a collaboration of spiritual healing people working together in one community space.”

The Om Lab had a great celebration of its grand opening on Thursday, March 11 from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM. The opening celebration featured the art of Consuelo Bellini. She portrays her image of spirituality in the colorful artwork that will be prominently displayed in the lobby. Refreshments and drinks were served at the grand opening. A big thank you goes out to all who attended; be sure to stop by if you didn't get the chance. 

You can find The Om Lab located in the Angelbilt Building on the 11th floor, 37 N. Orange Ave, Suite 1100. For more information please visit www.theomlab.com.

Spring is here and summer is fast approaching. Bring on the warm weather and sunny beaches. Many people will be hitting the gym working on their beach bodies in anticipation of summer days on the water. Try out one of these gyms located conveniently Downtown.

Bodies by Mahmood

Bodies by Mahmood was established in 1989 by Mahmood Ghaiszarzadeh. For over 20 years Bodies by Mahmood has been dedicated to health and fitness with an intense style. Mahmood was a talented soccer player, among other talented athletes in his family. But, it was the ailing health of his father that really encouraged his passion for fitness. He also attained a degree in Sports Physiology and Sports Nutrition at the University of South Florida.

Bodies by Mahmood, is located at 888 N. Orange Avenue. They provide personal training, sports rehabilitation, concierge medicine, as well as premium health and fitness products. For more information visit them at www.bodiesbymahmood.com.

Metro 24/7 Fitness

Metro 24/7 Fitness has been voted, by the people, as the Best Fitness Center of the Year for Central Florida for 2007, 2008 and 2009. They provide a wide range of services for all your fitness needs. Metro 24/7 Fitness has a personal training staff that will work one on one with you to set up attainable fitness goals. They also have Body in Motion Group Exercise classes that will get your blood pumping and your body moving. For the working parent they have a Metro Kid’s Care available for you so you can work out worry free while your kids have fun. Metro 24/7 Fitness also has Tanning beds and booths that you can take advantage of.

Metro 24/7 Fitness is located at 133 E. Robinson St. For more information visit them at www.metro247fitness.com.

Creative duo Chrissy Cowdrey and Dan Scalia, who garner a variety of experience from big name companies such as Disney, MTV, Gatorade and Verizon, have merged to launch GreenStraw Creative (GSC).

“If you can imagine it, we can brand it,” is GSC’s motto.  A new company to Downtown Orlando, GSC is located in the Bryan Adams building at 23 S. Osceola Ave. As an agency specializing in interactive, social media and advertising/branding, GSC has an advantage: being a young, powerful small team of individuals enthusiastic about their company, new location and new and future campaigns.

When asked what her favorite thing is about being located downtown, Chrissy quickly makes her Starbucks addiction apparent. With her favorite coffee shop within walking distance, an obvious perk, she also finds the fact that she has a wide variety of places to take clients an attractive part of being downtown. Chrissy spends her weekends in Thornton Park. In fact, you’ll probably spot her walking the sidewalks alongside her dog, Jpeg, sipping her favorite drink through a green straw (get where the name of the company came from?).

As for Dan, one of his downtown favorites is Stardust Lounge. Chrissy admits Dan is the brain of the company, while she is the creative asset. GSC, which is an interactive team of only six people, caters to the young, dynamic and trendy. GreenStraw Creative, being a newer company, doesn’t consider the fact that they are not yet established as a bad thing; they are flexible across the board, love the interactive part of what they do and are excited to build relationships with downtown, including other creative agencies.

Visit their website at www.greenstrawcreative.com to learn more!

Whether it is for the colorful atmosphere, delicious Tex-Mex food, or the sweet and spicy Hot Sauce Bar, Tijuana Flats has become a favorite of many downtowners and Floridians alike. Started by a UCF graduate, the first one opened in 1995. The company now has 65 restaurants and is still growing!

We are lucky to have a location right here in Downtown Orlando at 8 N. Summerlin Ave. This locals-haven, fast service restaurant offers hard to beat specials throughout the week. Every Tuesday you can enjoy “Taco Tuesdaze,” a meal-deal that offers two tacos, chips and a drink for only $4.99. On Thursdays, at this location only, you can experience “Throwback Thursdays;” sport bright colors and a side ponytail for $1.00 Bud Light drafts, $2.00 wines, $10.00 domestic buckets and $12.00 import buckets. Starting this Thursday, March 18, the Summerlin Tijuana Flats is featuring The Curtis Earth Trivia Show! On Friday nights at Tijuana Flats you can enjoy live music from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Tijuana Flats validates parking up to an hour, so there are no excuses now! Check out Tijuana Flats on any day of the week and you’ll be sure to find a reason to keep coming back.

For more information or a look at the menu visit www.tijuanaflats.com.

Orlando is home to one of the nation’s largest digital media clusters. As Downtown awaits the new Amway Center’s completion, the City of Orlando has an unprecedented opportunity to begin looking at ways to redevelop the site of the current Amway Arena into a Creative Village(www.cityoforlando.net/creativevillage). This will be a place where creative companies will be located and workers will live, work and play!

The Creative Village builds on the vision and leadership of Mayor Dyer and the City of Orlando. It hopes to support and develop the digital media and simulation industries, create jobs for our residents and grow and diversify our City’s economy.

For a sneak preview, please join the City of Orlando on Monday, March 22 to learn how this much anticipated project is beginning to unfold and how you can be part of the Creative Village! Come Downtown to the 2nd floor of City Hall at 400 S. Orange Ave at 10:00AM.

There is free parking available in the City Hall visitor’s parking lot at the southeast corner of South St. and Orange Ave. Parking is also available in the City Commons garage on Boone Ave. between South St. and Anderson St.

For more information, please contact Brooke Bonnett at 407. 246.2719 or Brooke.Bonnett@cityoforlando.net.

For the many who pass through the Lake Eola Heights neighborhood, most are unaware that it is a nationally registered historical district. Not only is Lake Eola Heights a historic treasure, but its premier location on Lake Eola provides the neighborhood access to some of Downtown's finest resources and academics. Shady, tree-lined streets cover this residential area, just blocks from Lake Eola Park and the hub of Downtown with Thornton Park and South Eola District both just a short walk away. Set back within the Eola Heights District are two incredible private schools and one wonderful public school.

St. James Cathedral Private School is located at 505. E. Ridgewood St. This Pre K - 8th grade school is home to many Downtown children. St. James is an accredited Florida Catholic Conference Catholic grade school nestled in Downtown Orlando across from beautiful Lake Eola. They have a very dedicated staff and offer a challenging curriculum in a Christian environment. St. James School maintains small class sizes with a maximum of 27 students per class in grades K through 8. St. James Cathedral School is a Catholic educational institution committed to creating an environment based on Christ-centered values and Gospel teachings. For more information about St. James visit their website at www.stjcs.com or call 407.849.6053 and speak with one of their friendly office staff! 

For 50 years Trinity Lutheran Private School has devoted their ministry to enriching the lives of children from the ages of Pre-K – 8th. Their high teacher to student ratio translates into a more personal approach to education and allows for a greater emphasis on educational facets sometimes neglected in other schools. Students are involved in organized team sports as early as the fourth grade. Importance is also placed on foreign language, computer, music and art education. Coupled with the entire academic curriculum, a child is given a wide range of opportunities not always found in other schools. Located at 123 E. Livingston St., Trinity is an ideal location for Downtown education. For more information visit their website at www.trinitydowntown.org or call 407.422.5704.

Hillcrest Elementary has been excelling as one of Downtown’s most gifted public schools for ages Pre-K – 5th. Hillcrest is a proud part of the Orange County Public School System. As our area is the destination for hundreds of thousands of tourists and immigrants from all over the world, our State and County have a significant need for effective bilingual education. Hillcrest has been meeting those needs for over 20 years. The Foreign Language Academy was created to provide the opportunity for all our students, English and non-English speaking, to become bilingual. English speaking students have the opportunity to study Spanish or French. Non-English speaking students study English as their second language. Hillcrest is located in the historic Lake Eola Heights area of Downtown Orlando. With brick streets, huge old oak trees, and friendly neighborhoods, Hillcrest is a pleasant part of our community and you can learn more about them at www.hillcrest.ocps.net or by calling 407.245.1770.

Lake Eola Heights is known  for more than just its school district. Parents and friends also enjoy the retail of this fine area. One such establishment is Eola Skin Company which was founded in 2000 with the goal of making clients look and feel their very best using exemplary service as well as consultations for optimal skincare health. Some of their services include: calming facials, deep pore cleansing facials, gel peel treatments, waxing, airbrush tans and makeup. For more information about Eola Skin Company make sure to visit them at 717 E. Washington Street inside Nube Nove Salon, call 407.590.3935 or visit www.eolaskincompany.com. If you bring your Buy Local Orlando card in you get 10% off of any service!

Be sure and check out all Lake Eola Heights has to offer at www.downtownorlando.com.

Downtown Orlando is sporting a refreshed logo with new colors and a new graphics treatment, but some would call it new, trendy clothes for an old friend. And that’s okay with those involved in the process.

The logo began its transformation back in the fall when graphic designers brought it through many twists and turns before posting multiple concepts on the web for public input. The logo is part of an overall re-branding effort for the City of Orlando’s Downtown Development Board (DDB), and one that purposefully encouraged input from a variety of sources.

“This refreshed logo is a component of a ‘Branding Update’ consistent with our ongoing marketing campaign. It results from a process in which the public, as well as key stakeholders provided input,” said Thomas Chatmon, Executive Director of the Downtown Development Board. “We knew we needed a logo that could be adapted to all of the new marketing platforms now available.”

Downtown’s website was also undergoing an update, which includes interactive capabilities. This allowed the DDB to post some edgy designs of proposed logos for public input. Key downtown stakeholders also were brought into the process and all input was considered and applied to the final design.

“The responses were pretty consistent throughout the process,” Chatmon said. “Ultimately, we learned that though most agreed that a change was needed, several stakeholders and key staffers, felt that the ‘brand equity’ built up in recent years would be best continued by refreshing the present logo rather than introducing a totally new look. Fortunately, the professional designers at Evolve Design Group were up to the challenge. We’re all very pleased with the result.”

According to Mark Calvert, CEO of Evolve, the design challenge was to blend the particular timeless aspects of the skyline logo with modern treatments. “Downtown Orlando’s logo was in need of updating. We developed a fresh look that embraces the past and acknowledges the former logo’s brand equity.” Calvert said that the logo is specifically designed to be applied in many flexible branding treatments.

“This was very personal for us. This is our downtown – where we all live and work,” Calvert said. “This was an important task and we had a lot of fun in the process.” But now, Calvert said, the hardest work begins. The DDB is embarking on a marketing and branding campaign that is very specific in its objective.

“Simply stated, we are developing a campaign that will bring more businesses to Downtown Orlando and more people to frequent those businesses,” emphasized Chatmon. “And I believe we have the team to make this happen, even in the mist of these extraordinary economic conditions.  We intend to continue building upon the successes of Mayor Dyer's administration and further solidifying Downtown Orlando as the Urban Core of Central Florida.”