TRUDY MCCAIN: This is Trudy McCain interviewing Dan Bellows of Winter Park, Florida and it is May 1st, 2006. Mr. Bellows, tell me about yourself. 

                DAN BELLOWS: Well, I'm uh... 41 years old. I was born and raised here in Winter Park. Uh... Went to Broderick [ph] Elementary, Maitland Jr. High and Winter Park High School. And uh... one year at Olympia, which uh...

[00:00:29]      Right out of high school, I went to work for Barnett Bank on Park Avenue and they paid my tuition for Valencia. And uh... I was doing numerous businesses, uh... landscaping and I owned an outdoor advertising business that I started while at Barnett Bank.

                And uhm... I uh... ended up selling those businesses to find some real estate.

[00:01:02]      TRUDY MCCAIN: What year was that?

                DAN BELLOWS: Uh... '83. Uh... And the real estate uh... that I was purchasing then was in Orlando on uh... Pooring Drive, over by the Navy base. And then in uh... '89, I sold that real estate and started purchasing uh... real estate in Hannibal Square in Winter Park.

                TRUDY MCCAIN: What got you interested in real estate?

[00:01:37]      DAN BELLOWS: My uh... grandfather had a TV and appliances place that he started in uh... '57 and uh... he used to say that was his bread and butter business, that he invested with those proceeds in real estate uh... throughout Orlando. And uh... I enjoyed uh... following him around and listening to him talk about his projects and uh... I think that was probably the sole uh... reason that I was interested in real estate.

                TRUDY MCCAIN: So your grandfather played a big role in inspiring you?

[00:02:17]      DAN BELLOWS: Uh... Absolutely. Actually, both my grandparents, uh... grandfathers did uh... My grandfather Hudson was a hardworking uh... man and uh... very disciplined. And uh... my grandfather Bellows uh... was very entrepreneurial and uh... did uh... His real estate ventures were warehousing and- and uh... strip centers and office buildings and so he diversified into real estate.

                Uh... but both of them were uh... inspirations and- and mentors at the time.

                TRUDY MCCAIN: Can you tell me some more about the rest of your family?

[00:02:58]      DAN BELLOWS: Uh... My mom and dad uh... are uh... still around and uh... spend a lot of time in North Carolina. I have three older brothers and a younger sister. Uh... Everybody's still here in town, except my oldest brother Rick is up in Tennessee. Uh... I am uh... I was married uh... 12 years, divorced about four years ago, five years ago. I have two children. Uh... My son Morgan is 15, uh... at Winter Park High and my daughter Sidney, who's 13 and she's at uh... Maitland Middle.

                And uh... I have a dog, Cooper and a dog, DeeDee and some llamas and some cows and some sheep and goat.

                TRUDY MCCAIN: Can you tell me some more about your experience in Winter Park? Have things changed? You're 41 years old--

                DAN BELLOWS: How- how has Winter Park changed?

                [Tape glitch]

                TRUDY MCCAIN: How do you think Winter Park has changed since you [inaudible]?

[00:04:24]      DAN BELLOWS: Uh... Growing up in Winter Park uh... you know, to me, was a wonderful place to grow up. I'm very appreciative uh... It's been a, you know, great experience, uh... being able to uh... be out on the lakes and- and to have a town that really is built around the waterway system and- and the lakes has been uh... It's wonderful for kids, you know, growing up. Uh...

                It is a little shameful or uh... that the lakes have deteriorated the way they have, but I think with technology and- and uh... and the city taking an active interest uh... the- the water qu- quality is coming back.

[00:05:14]      Uhm... You know, Winter Park was- was founded I think in 1890 by Chapman and [inaudible] who were uh... investors from up north and- and they founded the downtown in a very- very urban design. And uh... And I think over the years, it continued to change into a very suburban uh... community and uh... I'm not a very big fan of that and I'm grateful that over the last uh... 15 years, uh... the- the town has taken an active uh... role in- in kind of getting back to the original founders' uh... concept that [inaudible] currently urban quality development and uh... and it's really been uh... wonderful to see that evolve.

[00:06:13]      And uh... I think as the, you know, the years and-- the years to come, people are gonna appreciate uh... the efforts of the uh... developers today that have uh... you know, stuck with this new urbanism.

                TRUDY MCCAIN: Can you define what you mean by uhm... urban developments [inaudible]?

[00:06:40]      DAN BELLOWS: Chapman and [inaudible], you know, when they laid out Park Avenue, uh... you know, it- it zero lot line development and uh... then they created a- a higher density than you would in a suburban-style-- If you go down to Maitland, for example, you can see how suburban their downtown is and it- it, you know, it- it uh... it's sprawling and it- it's not friendly uh... for pedestrians or a bicyclist or uhm... It's uh... very, very vehicle-oriented and uhm... and it just takes up uh... a lot of land that you could otherwise have green space. Uh... Whereas Park Avenue is a higher density, zero lot line, uhm... The sidewalks are friendly.

[00:07:32]      The- the uh... configuration of Central Park as it relates to the uh... road bridge of- of the commercial patterns and then most importantly, uhm... there's the mixture uh... zoning uh... where it encourages uh... residential uh... and/or office over retail. Uh... That- that is what creates a- a viable uh... constant living city, a- a 24-hour community uh... in a- in a certain district. And uh... that is- that is the- the original-- the original intent of the uh... town developers and uh... 

                So what- what's going on in- in today in 2006 in Winter Park is- is really nothing new at all. It is just the re-affirmation of- of what uh... the founders of Winter Park had- had started or created.

[00:08:30]      And certainly in Hannibal Square, uh... that is what was set up in- in the uh... the neighborhood has just declined over 35 years. So it's just re-establishing the community as it originally was- was designed and uh... you know, it's uh... turning out well.

                TRUDY MCCAIN: And uh... what do you think of the development of the rest of Winter Park? How do you see- how do you see human nature of Winter Park?

                DAN BELLOWS: How do you see the what?

                TRUDY MCCAIN: The human nature of Winter Park. How do you think it's redeveloping and resurfacing and what do you see as the future of the city?

[00:09:08]      DAN BELLOWS: The uh... the outlying neighborhoods will- will stay-- uh... in my opinion, will stay as they are. Uh... They are the suburban nature. I think our downtown core uhm... I hope will continue to increase its density uh... and uh... You know, we've been fortunate that we have so many people with conflicting opinions of- of that happening. I mean, I- I literally believe there's people that are- are scared of density. Uh... 

                You know, I believe in our downtown core. We should have a higher density. We should go vertical rather than horizontal. We should encourage green space and parks and- and uh... a- a 24 hour activity core in our downtown, which requires uhm... vertical, higher-density construction, and encourage residential. And- and there should be incentives to bring residences into our downtown as it relates to the surrounding neighborhoods and communities. It- it is just-- 

[00:10:20]      We- we just are so lucky to have these wonderful big trees, these- these uhm... old and newer homes that uh... co-mingled in together and uh... I think with the uh... desirable uh... location and [inaudible]

                [Tape glitch]

                Uh... My [inaudible] was that uh... I- I just believe that Winter Park is- is very desirable so you're always gonna have people, you know, wanting to come in here and uh... and it's a very real community. I mean, there's lots of uh... new communities popping up around Central Florida that are desirable.

                But Winter park is- is real. Celebration was built to- to model this real community and uh... And so when I drive in Baldwin Park or Celebration, I mean, you obviously can tell that they were- they're wanting to build what Winter Park, you know--

[00:11:24]      They wanted to just emulate what Winter Park is. So, I'm grateful that we have a real town to live in.

                TRUDY MCCAIN: A lot of people think that the vertical development from Park Avenue will change the character of Winter Park. What do you say to that and how do you think you can get it reconciled here?

                DAN BELLOWS: Now, that's uh... It's a tough thing. How do you reconcile [inaudible]? I don't know that they can be. You- you uh... I- I've learned over the last 17 years that- that people have their- their opinions and I'm not so sure that I want to take the time to go out and change it. Uh... It-- They- they, whoever, has a differing opinion from someone else, it's uh... it's just their opinion.

[00:12:17]      And uh... I- I uh... As much as someone would say they think it's gonna change or alter the uh... the character of Winter Park in a negative way, uh... I and there are many others that believe it- it's going to enhance the character of Winter Park and-- 

                You know, Winter Park is a beautiful place and- and for our downtown, we have so few people living in it, it- it's really ridiculous. I- I'm not sure why you wouldn't want more people living in our downtown.

                TRUDY MCCAIN: What role do you think you play in changing the vision of Winter Park?

[00:13:03]      DAN BELLOWS: I think that uh... I think it's certainly been interesting uh... over the years that uh... I believe that a lot of people believed that parts of the west side was just written off and that uh... that they were avoided uh... by the masses. And- and uh... I think I'd certainly shown that uh... that the uh... entire community is a special community and- and that it's a revitalization that has taken place has been a wonderful asset made to the community, not only having pride of ownership to the entire west side but uh... increasing our taxes, eliminating our- our uh... tax dollar expenditure in- in maintaining and policing the uh... the west side area. 

[00:13:54]      And I- I hear now, frequently, that the density and scale and the mixed-use environment that has been established on New England Avenue is wonderful. So I find that interesting because uh... a lot of people were opposed to it for many, many years. But now that they see it, uh... in action, they believe it's uh... a very nice asset to the community.

                TRUDY MCCAIN: Regarding the west side that you mentioned, that's a pretty hot topic right now in Winter Park politics. Uhm... A lot of people believe that uhm... the redevelopments kind of taking the nature of the west side, thinking that it's- that it's got a separate character of its own from Park Avenue. What do you say about that?

[00:14:43]      DAN BELLOWS: Uh... I'm not exactly sure of the question. Uh... Do they believe that the west side redevelopment is- it has a different character than Park Avenue?

                TRUDY MCCAIN: The west side itself has a different character.

                DAN BELLOWS: Right, I totally agree with that. I mean, I- I totally agree with that and I- I uh... I hope and pray that it will always have a different character than Park Avenue. Uh... 

                You know, Savanna, Georgia; Charleston, South Carolina; St. Augustine; uh... Cocoanut Grove. Uhm... all of these areas are- are extremely sought after, popular, uh... wonderful places that all have a uh... predominantly uh... African-American community and uh... The- the redevelopment that is intertwined in the cultural diversity that- that then comes in uh... and the uh... the uh... creation of a more uh... stable economy-- uh...

[00:15:46]      All that together in one pot, mix it up, it really creates an area that has a lot of character, a lot of personality and uh... and that's, you know, what I'm trying to do. Uh... It would be-- It would absolutely be awful if you went into the west side of Winter Park and bulldozed the whole place and uh... built a Baldwin Park.

                Then you- you have absolutely ruined it. We are- we are uh... You know, it- it is fantastic that we have a road grid and- and a- and a stable community that currently exists in the west side and we can come in and redevelop these areas, where they were vacant land or boarded up buildings and then uh... you know, at the end of the day, it's a wonderful- wonderful area to be.

[00:16:40]      TRUDY MCCAIN: Are there any projects of importance that you [inaudible] in Winter Park? What has been the most important?

                DAN BELLOWS: Uh... In 1994, the city created or adopted the Community uh... Redevelopment Plan. Uh... You know, that plan could've just sat there. But uh... I think I was certainly instrumental in following the exact guidelines that the plan uh... set forth with the redevelopment of Morris Boulevard, Pennsylvania, and New England; and specifically-- I mean, Hannibal Square is the heart of the west side and uh... I immediately uh... set out to start the redevelopment there in Hannibal Square and uh... Every--

                You know, the Dexter Building, Dexter's Project, you know, was the-- one of the first larger ones and uh... we kind of built around that. But also, bringing in Valencia Community College, you know, that was huge.

[00:17:37]      Uhm... That property had been vacant for 13 years, 14 years. It was an old barn, I think and then [inaudible] office in- and- and a Guaranty Insurance office before that; and then an orange grove.

                But you have Valencia come in and take a building that has been completely boarded up for so many years and to establish an educational facility in the heart of a CRA-- You know, I think uhm... it- it was extremely important.

                Uh... And then uh... and then the Dexter's project in Hannibal Square. That was uh...

                TRUDY MCCAIN: What is the Dexter Project?

[00:18:16]      DAN BELLOWS: That is a three-story, 37,000 square foot mixed-use building that brought in, you know, businesses as well as residences uh... to an area that uh... you know, was uh... just uh... had a couple of seedy bars and a pool hall and uh... just a lot of uh... blighted conditions on that particular block.

                TRUDY MCCAIN: Is there anything else you'd like to say?

                DAN BELLOWS: Uh... I'm absolutely uh... grateful and delighted that uh... I live in Winter Park. I think it's an absolutely wonderful place. I think it's fantastic that we have uh... Rollins College here and Rollins, like Park Avenue and our lakes, are what brings people down here and uh...

                [End of Tape]