Neighbors Want "I-4 Eyesore" Finished

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla.,None — Some call it the 'I-4 eyesore' and now there's new, organized opposition to a controversial skyscraper in Seminole County that's still incomplete more than a decade after construction started. Many frustrated neighbors are turning to social media to put pressure on local leaders to do something about it.

It's the only high-rise on the horizon that Josh Hoffman can see from his office in uptown Altamonte.

"It's become a regional nuisance," Hoffman said.

Now, the urban planner is leading an online offensive to destroy what he calls the "I-4 eyesore." He created one of two groups on Facebook (Hoffman's Facebook page) demanding something be done with the 300-foot-tall building owned by religious broadcaster SuperChannel.

It still isn't finished, ten years after construction started. A second group wants it turned into a casino (see their Facebook page), but Hoffman is more practical.

"Either finish the building, or tear it down and create some jobs tearing it down," Hoffman said.

Even from Apopka on SR-436, you can see part of the building. Only from up close can you tell it's still a long way from being finished, but opponents are not ready to stop calling it an eyesore; it earned the nickname 'I-4 eyesore' before the frame of the building was covered in glass panels.

"Is it really still an eyesore?" WFTV reporter Eric Rasmussen asked.

"It's definitely a nice piece of architecture, I'm not trying to be a style police on that, but they do need to finish it and put it to use or they need to take it down and do something better with the property," Hoffman said.

But Altamonte Springs officials said there's nothing they can do, as long as the owners do some work every six months.

"Going to have to go ahead and be patient. We do have faith the building will be completed," said Tony Apfelbeck, city of Altamonte Springs.

Faith is exactly what SuperChannel CEO Claud Bowers is counting on. His group is only using pledged money as it comes in and won't borrow a dime to finish the $40 million project.

"This approach is working. We're building. We're paying as we go, we're paying our bills and we just want to speed it up," Bowers said.

Hoffman isn't giving up his Internet fight either.

"It's way more effective than holding signs on the street, and it's consistent. Every day my [Facebook] page is there," Hoffman said.

Combined, the two groups on Facebook now have more than 400 members. The building's owners say they believe it can be finished sometime in 2012.

WFTV