Developer plans 2 skyscrapers in north downtown

New York-based Acram Group has filed plans with the City of Orlando for a pair of mixed-use towers in the Orlando’s North Quarter District, between the Central Business District and Ivanhoe Village.

Acram, formerly JMC Holdings, paid $6.7 million last August for a pair of 50-year-old, low-rise office buildings at 924 and 934 N. Magnolia Ave. Those buildings would be razed to the clear the way for a pair of towers and parking garage that would add 386 residential units — including some live-work units — to the downtown market.

The $96.5 million project would put a new spin on the city’s requirement for street-level uses by providing a public plaza and garden elevated three feet above the street and accessible from Magnolia and Weber and the Orlando Urban Trail. The elevated plaza would include retail space, a restaurant, and two access-controlled lobbies for the residential towers. The north-facing tower would also have 4,170square feet of live-work space and retail fronting on Weber Street.

In all, the plan by Baker Barrios includes nearly 35,000 square feet of non-residential space, including a restaurant on the plaza garden and 3,500 square feet of retail facing Magnolia.

The north tower would be taller of the two, with 19 stories and a building height of 235 feet, while the east tower would be 17 stories..

The buildings’ amenities are divided across multiple levels, including nearly 4,000 square feet that opens out to the elevated garden plaza. The building plan also shows the garage roof with a pool, shade pavilion and dog walk area accessible from the ninth floor of all three buildings. The east building that faces Magnolia is designed with an open breezeway in the center of the building leading to the pool deck.

Two blocks to the west is the site of the proposed Vertical Medical City tower, which has an approved plan for a 444-foot mixed-use tower. Orlando Utilities Commission’s historic Lake Ivanoe building on Orange Avenue hit the market in late 2021. And just across the street at Magnolia and Marks, local architect Brian Ray has assembled several parcels with plans to market the property for a 20-story mixeduse tower.