ORLANDO, Fla. — Owners of four buildings that housed nightclubs in the city’s downtown entertainment district have filed permit applications asking for permission to resume operations.
The buildings on West Church Street and West Central Boulevard once served as the home for Ember, Chillers, High Tide and Irish Shannons, among others. They closed within the past six months after the city began cracking down on nightlife.
The permit applications ask that the city waive its new 300-foot distancing rule between establishments, which was put in place last fall as the city tries to diversify the downtown core.
“The previous nightclub operation ceased due to police fees and other regulatory changes associated with Orlando’s updated After Midnight Sales ordinance within the Downtown Entertainment Area,” three of the applications said. “These changes made it temporarily unfeasible for the prior operator to continue operations under the new rules. The applicant now seeks to restore use of the property as a nightclub under updated operational standards, with full awareness of and alignment with current zoning and conditional use requirements.”
The openings would mark the first glimmer of hope for the industry in months. Once considered the heart of Orlando, the Church Street area has been diminishing since Universal opened CityWalk.
The latest blow came in January, when the annual New Year’s Eve Orange Ball Drop moved to rival Thornton Park.
“We have filed what our consultants have advised us to file,” former Ember landlord Warren Williams wrote in an email. “You know more about what [the] City is doing and has done to the various operators of Bars in the Downtown Business district. They have not been kind to landlords or Tenants.”
Williams’ consultant, Monica McCown, said the filing is in hopes the city’s six-month grace period after a club closes can be put on hold for two years.
Each of the applications mention extensive renovations to the historic structures, which McCown said would be undertaken before a new nightclub tenant is found.
The fourth project, at 50 W. Central Boulevard, intends to open as an all-day social setting offering coffee, grab n’ go lunches, pastries, small bites and cocktails, its filing said. However, the application listed two other addresses on E. Central Boulevard and Magnolia Street. Efforts to reach the owner Friday weren’t successful.
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