eurokie

It's a 45 minute commute, so few people actually do that. It's actually one of the more desirable towns in the region, so people request to transfer. ConocoPhillips has maintained a huge presence.

When a mod says we need to get back to the topic, that means we need to get back to the topic. Not back to the topic after trying to get in one last comment.

Then why is UA in the Akron real estate market? http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2015/12/04/the-razing-at-university-of-akron-must-stop-guest-editorial

Fail.

Interesting that no one cares if you don't want a bunch of "Johnny manziel types" (ie. Bro's, frat boys, partiers) but if someone says I don't want all those low class bums on public square everyone explodes and says you need to be more 'tolerant', 'accepting' or "this is a city stay in the burbs if you dont like it". I can totally see why someone wouldn't want manziel types all over but if were gonna be PC lets not be hypocritical. One group is bothering the public, the other group isn't bothering the public...

These projects are cool and could evoke some interesting synergy if the dots were connected. Why does Columbus not double down more on the "Warehouse District" branding? It would be no more contrived than "Arena District" or "Italian Village" and sounds way more compelling than "Discovery District."

It's interesting to have nice spaces such as this on a street with ZERO streetscape let alone consistent sidewalks (3rd is the worst, doesn't even have them except for Market District's parking lot). Even Dublin has sidewalks for their faux urban area...Westerville has a great streetscape for their actual urban area...

I think it's kind of a typically subtle design approach from Design Group. Definitely would have gotten something bolder out of Berardi.

It sounds like they suffer from some chronic leadership issues. Who is Wiedefeld accountable to, is it like a board of regional mayors, or is it Congress? That accountability issue is a unique problem in the DC area...

I've seen some people upset about this. There has been general conversation about other Cleveland church's as well. The problem is that church's are very hard to re purpose. The spaces are not functional or conducive to renovation and heating and cooling is a money pit. Who is going to pay to maintain and secure a building with no use? That's not true. Churches make some of the coolest adaptive reuse projects. Breweries. Climbing gyms. Innovation hubs. All of these are examples that exist within a 3 hour drive of Akron... Urban Krag in Dayton Brew Church in Pittsburgh Nottingham Spirk Inovation Center in Cleveland I could also see restaurants, hotel lobbies (build a tower w rooms adjacent), yoga studio, art studios, and other growing uses. We're going to wish we held onto these churches bc these are the types of projects that make Dayton, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh special. We all know that Cleveland is squandering a lot of its potential to be something really special.

Equity planning rears its lovely head again.

It's a "growth industry" in a lot of cities, Musica is pretty successful but a little dated now, and EJT/UA is a disaster even though Akron actually has great demographics for entertainment. OKC has gone from having no respectable live music venue besides the symphony hall, to 6 awesome ones under development right now. Austin opens a new music hall every other year. I could see this working and being a huge success here. Worst case it will be great for the first few years and really establish the East End, and 15 years from now people will say "Yeah do you remember that concert hall at Goodyear? They used to get pretty decent shows back then.." Yet another Akron project that other mid-sized Midwestern cities would kill for...

You got me too. This coming from someone who has lost any and all respect for Columbus Underground in the last two days lol. Sherwin w/ a mid-rise on that site makes a lot of sense actually, as they are growing but would never vacate Tower City. I question that Brickman has the capacity for that AND everything else he's doing.

Bartlesville was the historic HQ of the Phillips 66 Petroleum Corp (which merged with Conoco, located in nearby Ponca City, OK). It's a really beautiful place. The terrain on the border between the tall grass prairie and the Osage hills is really cool. It's also that one city in NE Oklahoma that I can't talk shit about because it punches so far above its weight.

So what is it then, Martian? :P

Kinda funny that 595 SF is an exceptionally small unit for this project. That's a pretty big unit IMO.

I wonder if ADA has something to do with it, as well. In Toronto the streetcars just stop in the middle of the street and crossing-guards come out (like a school bus), and riders literally have to hop on and hop off. I have been scratching my head about this for a long time. We have to do these things. To not do these projects is irresponsible, so I'm not sure if Yglesias is doing good reporting or not. I am skeptical given his history...

Yeah, my first reaction was also wondering about that move...

These pics are incredible, good job TPH. I'll also say I've enjoyed learning more about Detroit from you in general. I actually really like these wide boulevards. I was in Philly recently and have never seen such a heavy preponderance of tiny alleys, which was also really cool. I just get tired of seeing the exact same 4-lane roadway with no median, in every neighborhood of every city, all across the Midwest. Detroit's huge ROW widths also at least creates a really unique sense of place.. Woodward Ave going up through Oakland is similarly kinda cool (and it's getting a cycle track!). They will need better way-finding through to help non-motorized users find the downtowns in Royal Oak and Birmingham, etc.

Great set ink! Especially good job with the one pic that has people milling outside on a downtown street, a rare occurrence there! lol I can tell you went past the Art Deco Home Depot but did not indulge us with a photo! Also several changes since. They don't have a lot of development happening, but the City Hall complex ("closed for renovations" banner in your pics) was sold and turned into a really cool mid-century Aloft Hotel. That cool 1-story white and blue faded brick building is now a bike shop. Aaaand that's about it.

Iowa is a good state, actually a lot bluer than people realize politically. They're also always up there with Minnesota and Wisconsin on education spending and stuff like that. SUX? Ouch that's unfortunate. Iowa's a different shade of blue, as you undoubtedly know. More populism and way less identity politics than most blue states, a lot less religious influence than other farm states. If it wasn't for the caucuses, they'd risk the Dems ignoring their priorities like they did West Virginia. Yeah, SUX is their local airport code, and there's a SUX Store. They're very proud of SUX lol.

Interesting that you guys go more for substantive boldness (MAPS3), than for visual panache. I was mostly just talking about the distinctive local design flavor, in large part furthered by a half-dozen local architects who grew up there. One example is Wade Scaramucci who grew up in OKC, became a partner with AHMM in London, which has since done about 6 downtown projects - all of them bringing a modern U.K. design aesthetic (minimalist modern). They also use bright colors, lighting elements, sharp angles, glass panels, and especially alternative building materials like wood and metal. I think OKC is also on the forefront of the shipping container design movement. By bold I mostly meant "not faux Victorian" I guess.

Great thread ink, sorry I'm just now seeing it. SUX keeps chugging along. The Iowa SHPO actually made the developer of the United Lofts (on 4th next to the cheesy new theater) screen the windows because the steel frames were inappropriate. There is another large project with several blocks under development just on the other side of the theater, effectively stretching downtown closer toward I-29. We eat at SoHo and the Diving Elk a lot - so those would have been good spots to grab a bite. Sadly, they've lost so much around I-29 that there is still "ample" room for parking. ^ Dig the old streetcar tracks still in the ground. The last unrestored block of Pearl Street is getting rehabbed: Last year they also begun a public process to plan a new downtown central park, so that will be forthcoming. Iowa is a good state, actually a lot bluer than people realize politically. They're also always up there with Minnesota and Wisconsin on education spending and stuff like that.

I have been in New York, DC, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and Toronto this year. Is it fair to say that Toronto is North America's most impressive urban development boom underway right now? The most impressive city? I know we'd all agree it is the most livable city. Can't speak for LA or Miami... I usually think it makes someone seem small-minded when they assert that [some place] has the most impressive building boom. I still can't get over what all Toronto is doing. It's just such an incredibly impressive city. Even without Rob Ford.

Nice photo set, ink. Hadn't expected that Downtown Honolulu would be gritty. Kind of looks a lot like LA's coastal suburbs. Aside from the obvious paradise context..