tombarnes

That's not an encouraging article. However, I do like the thought of HRI possibly being involved in the project if Full Spectrum decides to bow out. I think that HRI's record is soild, but the bit about public money being necessary may not be a good sign of things to come. I hoipe everything works out for the WTC project.

The New Yorker

gargoyle

All of you guys are in my thoughts and prayers tonight. Stay safe guys.

As Gustav rears his ugly head, the Coast has been evacuated, or is at least under orders to do so. I'm still hoping the storm will track well west of the Coast and New Orleans so that its damage may be limited to a more unpopulated area. It is good to see that there is more advance planning this time around and that there is some aparent organization on the ground. As for the visit of McCain and Palin to Mississippi today, I wonder if the resources necessary for such a visit would be better spent elsewhere. Still, it's a gesture.

grease

The FBI Building on Pennsylvania Avenue

That's a great looking plan. I can well imagine that it will have no trouble filling its offices and condos. The growth in that area is phenomenal- almost scarily so. I regret that I do not keep up with developmentsa outside the city as much as I ought to. There is so much going on in this area, but it is remarkable to see how much of the development here is not in the District itself. This may change as certain areas are opened to development, but the current housing slump might keep certain areas underveloped at this time. Not that the DC area has really suffered much of a slump anyway, but it's still there to a certain degree- at least on the development side of things, if not in real estate prices.

hospital

Buildings across from the old State Capitol building in Jackson

From what I have heard, construction may begin in Tyson's Corner, but as you say, we shall have to see it before believing that it will actually come to pass. For the sake of the region, I hope this is consummated quickly. it will be a long road in any event, but this is a vital step toward the integration of Tyson's Corner into the region at large. I remain guardedly hopeful.

Nice photographs. You will be able to post them on Urban Planet once you have the requisite number of posts. I think it may be ten. If you have any trouble, just ask. We look forward to your participation here.

Plans Could be Firm by October.... The plans for Farish Street are now more ambitious than ever, with the possibility of a boutique hotel, more restaurants and the involvement of people like Morgan Freeman and B.B. King. I think that keeping this from becoming a free-for-all 24 hour beerfest is a smart idea. As noted in the article, the 24 hour "resort" license didn't help the Red River Landing district in Shreveport. I have faith that this time it's going to work. The Clarion-Ledger

The Tampa-St. Petersburg area could certainly use a light rail system. I hope the visit produces something more than mere talk. It is good to see that there has been movement toward the establishment of a system in Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Please keep us up to date on this.

Buildings along Connecticut Avenue (this section is technically 18th Street- go figure) in downtown Washington. The Guitar Shop is an interesting store where many famous musicians have visited. Fuddrucker's below simply has lousy hamburgers.

The Regions Bank building in Jackson

Farish Street Shapes Up? It has been a tortuous road for the Farish Street project in downtown Jackson. Finally, action is taking place. A company from Minneapolis, Hope Development, will oversee effforts to create housing units, cafes, stores and nighspots along what has been a bedraggled thoroughfare in recent years. The renderings so far suggest a low-rise development in keeping with the history of the area. So far, it looks very, very good. The Clarion=Ledger

Without a doubt, the houses are attractive. Yes, they are worthy of being a model for suburban development. While I agree with you that the current popularity for faux-Georgian "Builderesque" hoiuses and the awful townhouses which follow in their wake have cluttered many DC suburbs with architrash, I hesitate to think that this will change except through a gradual shift away from such things. My tendencies toward architectural absolutism heartily concur with you that such things are a wretched addition to our environment, Unfortunately, they are not likely to go away until an educated populace demands more. We are seeing this already in many places, and Washington is no exception. To a certain extent, trends will continue to go in cycles. There will always be a certain demand for design whch we may not care for. The best preventative measure is to raise awareness of good design overall and the adoption of certain standards. When guidelines and standards become rules which brook no questions or compromise we will then have friction and possibly chaos as a result. If you look at things from the perspective of, say, Jane Jacobs, a little diversity doesn't hurt. This is rather off=topic. I'd love to continue the discussion, but perhaps a new thread ought to be started.

I wouldn't count the Wyndham project out just yet. As for its being placed on the old Broadwater site, that's unlikely because the proposed Wyndham is not a casino hotel. Whatever eventually appears on the Broadwater site will almost certainly hav a casino component. It has been zoned as auch and the land is too valuable to be developed without it. More than likely, the new hotel9s) at the convention center will be major brands- something like Hilton, Hyatt or possibly Marriott. I'd love to see a Westin on the Coast. Keep your fingers crossed....

Hotel Projects Abound While public announcements have yet to be forthcoming, the likelihood of several important projects remains good. The City of Biloxi is said to be in talks with a "major hotel company" to operate the hotel at the convention center (expansion opening next year). This hotel is expected to have at least 500 rooms. Councliman Mike Fitzpatrick mentioned the possibility of a 2500 room hotel at the Broadwater site and the possibility of a 250 room Hyatt (Place?) hotel at the site of McElroy's restaurant which is being rebuilt. Other hotels mentioned include a $500m condo/hotel project with about 200 hotel rooms (these numbers don't add uo- there would have to be more rooms for this kind of money), and finally a Hilton Garden Inn. Many of these projects are in the approval or planning stages, so announcements may not be imminent. The 2500 rooms mentioned for the Broadwater site could possibly bring an element of truh to the rumors of Steve Wynn coming back to Biloxi. it would be unwise to speculate further on that one at this point..... WLOX News - video clip

I've stayed in this hotel a number of times and had never thought to photograph it. Your photo makes it seem much more interesting than it really is. Well done indeed.

Only in South Florida..... Note: This has already been posted in the Miami/So. Florida section, but I thought I'd post it here as well. TB

An Indigo would be a really nice fit- particularly if they could renovate an older building (something like the King). As for Crowne Plaza, this would also make sense, but they are already retrofitting an existing hotel aas a CP, aren't they? As nice as it would be to have an Inter-Continental Hotel per se, I think this might be a stretch for baton Rouge- at least at this point. Indigo would fill a niche in the market for downtown Baton Rouge without adding too much to the existing room inventory. Too many new rooms at once is not always a good thing.

class

I'm at a loss here. While casino expansion is not the only answer to Biloxi's future, it is puzzling to see these actions from a city which has all but pegged its future to the roll of the dice. In the absence of expanded tourist offerings, perhaps it would be nice to see a dose of good planning and real neighborhoods being built around a viable commercial core. Whay can't this happen in Biloxi?