17thState

Obviously disappointing, but from the pictures it doesn't really seem like there was much there besides a fascade anyway, the inside just looked like it had been gutted and was at this point just an empty brick rectangle. Maybe there is something special (woodwork, original ticketbooth, etc.) about the lobby that could be saved, but it will probably be easier for them to build new anyway.

I'm going to be the contrarian here and say I actually like both of these buildings. I think the architecture is unique and defined by their era. Now I wouldn't want an entire city of brutalist structures, but a couple add some interest. Plus they can look really cool when lit with modern led lighting, check out Boston City Hall's 2019 renovation. (I also think Boston City Hall can feel desolate because of the giant brick plaza out front, a fate that Newark doesn't seem to suffer from)

Saw this NY Times article this morning that supports what I was thinking above. http://The New York Times: Manhattan Faces a Reckoning if Working From Home Becomes the Norm. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/12/nyregion/coronavirus-work-from-home.html One excerpt: David Kenny, the chief executive at Nielsen, said the company plans to convert its New York offices to team meeting spaces where workers gather maybe once or twice a week. “If you are coming and working at your desk, you certainly could do that from home,” Mr. Kenny said. “We have leases that are coming due, and it’s absolutely driving those kinds of decisions.’’ “I have done an about-face on this,” he added.

I agree, I think we'll see a hybrid model moving forward where you maybe WFH 2 or 3 days and are in the office 2 or 3 days a week. Maybe with a shared workspace, instead of a dedicated desk. I think this has given people a taste and proven to companies that they can work effectively remotely, so why not sell it as a benefit and reduce your office costs. It doesn't work great for everyone, but I haven't missed my commute (although I'm getting real sick of 5+ hours of Google Meet a day) I know anecdotely that both my wife and I's company's have sent survey's out asking for feedback on possible permanent WFH scenarios, I've heard the same from many friends. I think this will be one of the lingering structural changes that we see resulting from COVID-19. Probably hurts the commercial real-estate market, but could boost some of the smaller towns around the state that have cheap housing, but few jobs. Total side bar, I also hope that all this secures high-speed internet as an essential service and sees it classified as a utility.

I think one of the structural changes resulting from COVID-19 is that WFH will become much more commonly accepted. If you are WFH most days, but still have to head into the office occasionally it makes the commute from places like Newark much easier to accept if it's something you only need to do infrequently. I think that might help give a boost to the some of the smaller cities near big job centers that have a lot to offer, but might not have a lot of local jobs.

Wasn't it built as an office building by Bank One? Per an old dispatch article: "Bank One, bought by Chase in 2004, completed the first phase of the building in 1996. The second phase, which more than doubled its size, was finished in 2001. The bank, which had employees scattered in offices throughout the area, opened the building as part of a move to concentrate employees into a handful of locations in the city."

Good eyes. I'd missed that originally. I'd almost rather they not force it and leave one or two lots as an empty grass lot for now and then go taller later.

I thought this exact same thing. This location probably has the best view of their entire lot, why not go higher, maximize what you charge for views, and shorten the waitlist? Overall, I don't mind the design and like that it's built out to sidewalk. Hopefully this encourages some density when they redevelop the old giant eagle lot up the block.

These are awesome. Any sense of what these things cost? They seem like a great solution.

Ooofff (actual sound I made when I saw these). This is pretty bad, but they couldn't get their nicer/denser project passed, they couldn't sell the lot, so they brought in the cost cutters and here you are. You can't really blame them, they need to get something out of the site.

I thought this would be an issue and I'm surprised they didn't try to front the tracks with the parking garage component. They're not even taking that approach with Gravity 2.0, so either they're not that concerned about it or they've found some other way to mitigate it.

Sweet math bro. Wpcc88 is entitled to his own opinion, particularly, since it's his neighborhood. No need to force him out of his house, because you got a hard on for some renderings.

I just want to know what he intends to see scuba diving in his brand new mud lake? It's not exactly like they'll be coral or a shipwreck

Yeah, I don't fully understand what residents are complaining? I don't agree with them, but I at least can understand that for those who paid $400k+ for a house in German Village why there'd be a vocal minority. But who living in this area cares enough to complain. Isn't most everyone just renting?

This might be my favorite version so far

I personally love the big red "risk of closure" banner. Anyway, so we don't get one ourselves... I still have some faith in the stadium development. I know they've scaled it back, but I'm hopeful that just means they'll be lots they leave for future development, call it a pocket park or something in the interim. I'd hate for it all to be a bunch of cheap as possible 3 story buildings.

Sorry, I meant on the existing Breen parking lots. I hadn't realized how much of that land is parking/grass. I know it might involve a bit more of a shuffle logistically than a completely new site, but if you build a garage I'd think they'd have plenty of room to develop around the existing buildings.

First time anyone on the internet has said that. If the peninsula won't work why couldn't Sherwin just a build a parking garage and new R&D facility on the parking lots for their existing R&D facility? I didn't realize how much room they had there until KJP posted the map. It maybe not be as easy as building a new site, but if they're committed to downtown, then this doesn't seem like it would be too much of a stretch to make happen.

The development is great and I think a little quirkiness can be good to mix things up. But something about the way this building interacts (or rather doesn't at all) with its neighbors is a little off-putting. I think the biggest thing for me is the wing at the top. That seems the most out of place, had me looking for palm trees in the rendering

Honestly, they should just propose a 2 story brick house B&B, get it approved then just build the original design. Apparently there aren't any repurcussions if you build to a different design in this city anyway. Worst case they have to blame it on a mix-up and paint a mural.

Impossible was probably too strong, but I think it's relevant to the conversation to put the costs of these projects (particularly underground projects) into perspective. When people look to much larger cities or metro areas and say "well why can't we just have that" there's a cost to consider. How much of a tax increase or rearranging of spend are people actually going to support? A full blown transit network is going to require more than an extra 0.5% sales tax or something similar. I hope we get much better transit, but we should be smart in how we approach it.

I think this probably is the best solution, but the insane cost of underground rail, makes this basically impossible. The cheapest recent subway line, Seattle's ULine cost $600 Million per mile in 2012 and on the other end you have New York's second avenue subway which cost $2.5 Billion per mile. So a 10 mile stretch would put you at $6-25 billion dollars. COTA's current operating budget is only $170 Million. The entire city's 2020 Projected Revenue (from income/property/hotel/etc taxes) is $1.1 billion. I know you don't have to fund it all in a single year, but if you spread it over a 25 year bond, with zero interest, with the cheapest possible option that's still $240 million a year, or 22% of the entire city's income devoted to paying for a subway for 25 years. On the high end its 90%. Even if you get half the funding from the feds or the state, the numbers are still crazy. Even ODOT's budget is only $3.7 Billion per year. I hope we get meaningful light rail transit, but I just wouldn't expect it to be underground.

Glad to see those buildings along Indianola are still in the works. I was a little nervous those may have been dropped.

Ugh, now you've ruined it for me too. Soo many vents.

I don't understand how they don't have someone drive around and compare completed developments to the approved renderings. It can't be that hard, don't these people work or at least meet downtown. There should be a strict policy on if you don't build what is approved then you automatically lose any tax abatements or TIFS and if you don't bring the building back in spec then you are fined. This is nonsense. I couldn't pay 50% of my state taxes then blame it on a new accountant. The fact that there's any negotiation is nonsense. If the city approved a certain design you don't get to avoid it and then try to spray paint some sh*tty mural as mitigation. To whoever submitted the 311 claim, you sir, are a hero. I'll try to pay more attention to these things myself moving forward so that I can follow in your footsteps.