Broadcaster Sets Completion Date For I-4 Eyesore

It’s become known as the “Eyesore on I-4.” And more than ten years after construction first started, it’s still not finished.

The so-called Majesty Building stretches more than 300-feet into the skies above Altamonte Springs. The oddly-shaped glass office building was the brainchild of religious broadcaster Claud Bowers, the president of WACX-TV.   At the time the project was announced more than a decade ago, Bowers said the building would be a “pulpit to the world” with state-of-the-art broadcasting facilities and office space that could be leased by members of the community. Bowers promised donors that the Majesty Building would be built debt-free. No loans. Nothing purchased on credit.

What was an admirable debt-free promise at the time has turned out to be a nightmare with an economy that’s in shambles. In the past four years, construction on the Majesty Building has mostly come to a grinding halt. Perhaps sensing the same well of donors had been tapped too many times, Bowers stopped holding telethons asking for money.

At the same time, community opposition to the building continued to grow. Dozens of residents have taken to social media websites like Facebook to express their distaste for the endless project. Many have even suggested other uses for the structure like turning it into a condo building or a casino. Others believe it should be torn down.

For the most part, Bowers has stayed quiet on the progress of the Majesty Building over the last several years. But that all changed last month when he took to the airwaves again asking viewers for donations to get the project done. During a fundraising drive he called “September to Remember,” Bowers asked for money to finish the building, especially the U-shaped concrete garage.

The biggest surprise during this month of fundraising was that Bowers finally set a completion date for the Majesty Building project. He told viewers that God had placed a certain date on his heart. It so happens to be two years away.

Bowers said, that God willing, the Majesty Building will be completed on or before October 30, 2012.

So now we’re talking about a building project that will have taken more than a dozen years to complete if the 2012 date comes to fruition. Twelve-plus years.

The area that the Majesty Building overlooks has changed a great deal during the past half-decade. Crane’s Roost Park has undergone a major facelift with Uptown Altamonte becoming a hot spot for locals. Restaurants, shops and special events draw thousands every day. The new development has an upscale, old-world feel that’s cohesive in its style and a jewel in the city of Altamonte. Unfortunately, the skyscraper across the water looks out of place, like it was built during a different era.  At ten years old, time has passed it by before it ever got to live.   Now, it looks more like a relic than something of the future.

After years of controversy, I applaud Mr. Bowers for finally having the guts to announce a completion date for the Majesty Building.  And I hope that by October 30, 2012, the network will have moved into the facility. But that’s a major leap of faith for those of us who have already lived with this project for more than a decade. If Halloween 2012 comes and it’s still not done, I might just be voting for the casino option.