Last week, an award-winning chef who was planning a $1.5 million renovation of a shuttered fast food restaurant on West Colonial Drive was inexplicably changed, destroying the building without notice to the city of Orlando and began working on the new structure without permission.
Amit Kumar, who paid $1.1 million to Dr. 744 W. Colonial’s former Burger King last year, has not returned calls or emails from Growth Spotter about the project. He previously said he plans to convert the building into a test kitchen for a limited-seat restaurant offering an expanding portfolio of Indian restaurants and a five-course chef tasting menu.
Kumar currently owns and operates three restaurants in the Orlando area. This is the third year in a row that has won the Michelin Bib Gourmand. He calls the fourth finest restaurant in Winter Park Sama.
In February he told Growth Spotter he bought a Western Colonial site so he could get closer to Downtown and I-4. He wanted to be a catalyst to help promote redevelopment in areas that were ready for growth. He said he is working with the architect to submit plans that called for a complete gut renovation in the new kitchen and dining area.
It was welcome news for city planners who have just begun a new study of the West Colonial Corridor between I-4 and Tampa Avenue. The 1.4-mile stretch features 32 open lots and buildings, making it one of the city’s most devastated streets.
However, Kumar never submitted plans for the building and he did not apply for permission to demolish it. Typically, owners must obtain approval from the city’s exterior review board before destroying the structure in downtown Orlando, and then a second time for new construction. Site plans also require approval from the city’s city planning committee and city council. This is a process that usually takes at least six months.
City spokeswoman Andrea Otero said the incident was referred to code enforcement, which issued a suspension work order on May 30. By then, the contractor not only destroyed the building without permission, but he also poured the foundations into construction and said he began building new structures.
“They need to come for a building permit. Usually, the post-permit fee is 100% of the application fee,” she said. “They must also comply with all ARB rules/regulations.
It is unclear who the general contractor is because there is no permission listed on the building. The concrete block walls are built after the order of stopping work has been issued, and the order appears to have been deleted.
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