Pack it up, Pack It In, Let Me Begin...
USAToday ran an article today on the changing face of suburban development.
In Maricopa and elsewhere, a movement is underway to transform suburbs from bedroom communities that sprang up during an era of cheap gasoline to lively, more cosmopolitan places that mix houses with jobs, shops, restaurants, colleges and entertainment.Stamford is moving in this direction. Even neighborhoods outside of downtown are restructuring under this philosophy. The East Side is building towards creating a transit oriented community along East Main (and crossing their fingers for a train station to come in). Harbor Point in the South End is considered a national model for sustainable, community development. Glenbrook & Springdale are rezoning to encourage development of village centers. Light Rail is being studied to link different centers.
Suburbs on the far edge of metro areas are turning aside strip malls and creating new downtowns and neighborhoods that favor pedestrians.
The article did not mention any of the backlash communities typically experience in this process. Stamford certainly has a vocal group armed with pharses like “Mini-Manhattan” or “Postage Stamp Sized Lot” or any reference to Trump. I’m curious if this group is outweighed by a less conspicuous majority open to a 21 century philosophy of urban/ suburban planning.
6 comments :
I'm all for the redevlopment. I think Harbor Point is going to be amazing when it's completed.
But....I happen to work in the ONLY building directly affected by the Urban Transitway & Harbor Point project. It's grown tiresome. And it's a fight to get to and from the office each day. My car is infinitely filthy from the dust. We have to fight with the Rubino's scrapyard people on a daily basis just to get down Canal and wait for the 15 trucks they have parked along side to move. When I step outside, I see about 130 machines in every direction. What was once a functional parking lot for my building now has a road going down the middle of it, and the "solution" Antares came up with for the tenants is pathetic.
Again, I truly believe upon completion Harbor Pt will be such a wonderful thing for the city...but dealing with everything it entails several times a day is very very tiresome.
"The article did not mention any of the backlash communities typically experience in this process. Stamford certainly has a vocal group armed with pharses like “Mini-Manhattan” or “Postage Stamp Sized Lot” or any reference to Trump. I’m curious if this group is outweighed by a less conspicuous majority open to a 21 century philosophy of urban/ suburban planning."
I think, and rightfully so, mostly, those that are opposed to "downtown development" are those (retired, laid off, etc) that can't afford the fincancial increases (property taxes for one) that go hand-in-hand with the same. I do feel for them :(
Otherwise, I think d/t renters will be happier and non-phased; and d/t owners will rest assured that their property values are rising as we speak.
There's two sides to the coin here, and I would guess that it leans in favor of redevelopment!
Amanda, Harbor Point looks almost as atrocious as the Trump Parc . . .
As an Eastsider working downtown, I'm all for redevelopment. I'd love to have light rail access throughout Stamford as well as a Myrtle Ave Metro North stop into NYC. Stamford will only benefit if it creates a grid of easy accessible mass transit. I feel rather foolish driving 1 mile to work each morning, but it's simply the easiest way to get to the office.
Looking over the Eastside Commons website (The Glenview House site is down for a redesign - the new version can't be any worse than the placeholder junk they had) and reading the NYT article does give one some hope that Stamford might just revitalize itself.
Now if only they could fix the schools...
What don't you like about Harbor Point? It's actually very different from Trump with mostly 5-8 story buildings. Personally I'm a fan of both.
Irene, I've got a pretty little book full of nice shiny pictures that Antares gave us for what the projected HP will look like. Again, I think it will be nice upon completion. For the next 5-10 yrs...it's going to be a massive struggle. I am in no way a fan of Antares, I think they're a bunch of shady businessmen and many of their tactics disgusting - but that's another story. However, they've got a vision for the South End that has literally been sitting and wasting away for how many years now. If it wasn't them, it would've been someone else - eventually.
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