An award-winning chef who had planned a $1.5 million renovation of a shuttered fast-food restaurant on West Colonial Drive inexplicably changed course last week, demolishing the building without any notice to the city and starting work on a new structure without permits.
Amit Kumar, who paid $1.1 million last year for the former Burger King at 744 W. Colonial Dr., has not returned calls or emails from GrowthSpotter about the project. He previously stated that he planned to convert the building into a test kitchen for his expanding portfolio of Indian restaurants, as well as a limited-seating restaurant offering a five-course chef’s tasting menu.
Kumar currently owns and operates three restaurants in the Orlando area, including Bombay Street Kitchen, which has earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand for three straight years. He is building a fourth, a fine dining restaurant called Sama, in Winter Park.
In February, he told GrowthSpotter he bought the West Colonial site so he could be close to downtown and I-4. He wanted to be a catalyst to help spur redevelopment in an area that was primed for growth. He said he was working with an architect to submit plans that would have called for a full gut renovation with a new kitchen and dining area.
It was welcome news for city planners, who were just launching a new study of the West Colonial corridor between I-4 and Tampa Avenue to determine how to create a more attractive gateway into downtown. The 1.4-mile stretch has 32 vacant lots and buildings, making it one of the most blighted streets in the city.
Kumar never submitted any plans for the building, and he didn’t apply for a demolition permit. Normally, the property owner would be required to get approval from the city’s Appearance Review Board before demolishing a structure in downtown Orlando and a second approval for any new construction. The site plan would also require approval from the city’s Municipal Planning Board and City Council, a process that typically takes at least six months.
City Spokeswoman Andrea Otera said the case was referred to Code Enforcement, which issued a stop-work order on May 30. By that time, the contractor not only had razed the building without a permit, but he also had poured a foundation and started building a whole new structure.
“They will be required to come in for the building permits; typically, the after-fact permit fee is 100% of the application cost,” she said. “They will be required to comply with all of the rules/regulations for ARB as well…once they apply.”
It’s unclear who the general contractor is, since there are no permits posted on the building site. The concrete block walls were erected after the stop-work order was issued, and the order appears to have been removed.
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