Learning from Other Places

[DJ8hep]

1 hour ago, KJHburg said:

This is interesting the most stagnant skylines in USA (seems to be some British guy's video) many will not surprise you. 

 

It is interesting that some of the cities on the list did have massive skyscraper booms but stopped abruptly.

St. Paul hasn’t changed their skyline much since the 1990s as well…

[smeagolsfree]

I saw this one as well and recently figured up the number of buildings we added in Nashville since 2000 over 200’. The number at this point in time is 46 buildings over 200’ with 11 more under construction. I think we are about tied with Charlotte as far as buildings over 300’ but not the tall boys as the FAA stands in our way. We just have our 750 footer under construction now.

We have also had a number of projects cancelled in the neighborhood of around 20 high-rise projects but some never made it out of the planning stages. Still there are a good 80 more high-rises in the proposed and planning stages and I think we will see another 10 high-rise projects start this year even with the down economy. I do know there is a pending 30 plus announcement coming that will be another major hotel but I can’t divulge the who or what. Right now lots of projects just on hold. But we had a record year with a total 85 tower cranes up throughout the year.

This video did shine a light on the cities that were the have nots or the almost have nots and is what led me to figure out the number of buildings built.

[KJHburg]

a great photo of the entire Austin skyline from west to east posted by TheATX on twitter

 

[smeagolsfree]

I normally do not see the skyline from that angle. Great shot and it really shows the growth there. Thanks for sharing, Kevin! Last time I visited was in 2015. Need to go back down for another look and take in Houston this time. I have not been in Houston since I lived there in the mid to late 80's. Got in too much trouble there and in Galveston. Tequila, beer, and a bad temper did not go well together. I am sure there are still a few people down there with some sore heads. I have mellowed out in my old age and stopped lifting weights.

[rancenc]

Looks like Detroit is even having some new construction going on in it's downtown area!

 

[KJHburg]

^^^ Looks like a great project for downtown Detroit and a first new tower in decades.  will be 2nd tallest in the city.

Hudson's Site (hudsonssitedetroit.com)

[Windsurfer]

25 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

^^^ Looks like a great project for downtown Detroit and a first new tower in decades.  will be 2nd tallest in the city.

Hudson's Site (hudsonssitedetroit.com)

Wow, all this despite being down to less than 700k in population from a high of 1.85 million in 1950.   Wonder if this is indicative of peoples' deliberate choice to move and work in center cities?

[videtur quam contuor]

As hard as it may be for many people here (or anywhere) to imagine my family, and many others, chose to vacation in Detroit, in our case  ~1958. Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, River Rouge plant, Woodward Avenue, Briggs Stadium for Tigers Baseball. The city was a monument to industry, capital application, American Might, and the 20th century full of progress. Learning from other places, indeed.

As the prospectus says "Past performance is no predictor of future results."

https://www.thehenryford.org/visit/greenfield-village/

https://www.thehenryford.org/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-1_(Michigan_highway)

A reminder that Détroit is a French word that means a narrowing or strait. In this case the waterway between Lake St Clair and Lake Erie.

Edited January 7 by videtur quam contuor

[Windsurfer]

17 hours ago, videtur quam contuor said:

As hard as it may be for many people here (or anywhere) to imagine my family, and many others, chose to vacation in Detroit, in our case  ~1958. Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, River Rouge plant, Woodward Avenue, Briggs Stadium for Tigers Baseball. The city was a monument to industry, capital application, American Might, and the 20th century full of progress. Learning from other places, indeed.

As the prospectus says "Past performance is no predictor of future results."

https://www.thehenryford.org/visit/greenfield-village/

https://www.thehenryford.org/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-1_(Michigan_highway)

A reminder that Détroit is a French word that means a narrowing or strait. In this case the waterway between Lake St Clair and Lake Erie.

My dad recommended the Ford museum to me after having made a trip up in the 90s. Did you enjoy it?

[videtur quam contuor]

That was 65 years ago. I went to Yellowstone at nearly the same age and then again ten years ago. Yellowstone experience had changed in the interim and the Park had also had some natural change. If natural wonders change then surely a man made attraction changes. I had changed also, perhaps the most salient point.

Edited January 8 by videtur quam contuor

[KJHburg]

LFOP South Florida edition.   So much urban growth in south Florida in all 3 key cities West Palm, Miami and Fort Lauderdale.  Took self guided tours last week of each downtown and the growth is amazing.  Great designs and new tallest buildings underway for downtown West Palm and in Miami of course.  First West Palm Beach.  This is a city of 120,000 people but in a county of 1.5 Million.  Downtown WPB has 4 new office towers under construction reflecting a strong office market and and equal number of apartment or condo towers. 

1. Love this design. 

2.3. Brightline high speed rail station

4. new office building 

5.6. Clematis Street is narrow has overhead lights and wide sidewalks for dining.  Would be nice somewhere in Charlotte.  Still allows vehicle access.  

7.  the new tallest twin towers of West Palm.   these have been underway since 2018 and still for a year or two but back under construction.  One West Palm Could Finish Completion in 2023 at 550 North Quadrille Boulevard, West Palm Beach, Florida - Florida YIMBY

8. nice signage

9. Brightline station downtown

10.  new Related apartment tower in Rosemary Square.  great design.  

 

[KJHburg]

LFOP Miami Nice edition and few at the end from downtown Fort Lauderdale.  If you love new high rises Miami is the place to see the most underway outside of NYC in USA.  

1. 58 story apartment tower in Brickell

2. Miami metrorail is all above ground in downtown and Brickell.

3, site work has begun on this massive new office tower.   59 story office building.  Demolition Still In Progress At One Brickell City Centre – The Next Miami  Swire of Hong Kong and Related of Miami 

One Brickell City Centre

4.   work has started on the 75 story Baacarat condo tower  Baccarat Residences Brickell - Miami, FL (baccarat-brickell.com)

5.6.7. my personal favorite new condo tower just wrapping up the Aston Martin Residences Aston Martin Residences

8. uptown Charlotte should do this read this sign in downtown Miami

9. My Cuban friend would want me to show you this the Freedom Tower once the tallest in Miami being restored now

10. in this one photo couple of blociks inland from Bayside is shot that shows 6 towers under construction..   

11. Roosters at the Federal Courthouse grounds 

12.  Last photo of Miami

13.  new apartment tower in downtown Fort Lauderdale

14.  15.  as almost all their parking garages are a part of any tower (podium tower) they usually ring a couple of signs with smaller apartments around the parking levels.

16. new apartment tower    FLL 

17. 18.  Love this screening on the parking garage.  and I saw many more examples of large installations on the parking levels all over south Florida. 

Some go to Miami for the beach, some for the nighlife I go to see the high rises and the towers underway.  

 

 

 

[Windsurfer]

8 hours ago, KJHburg said:

LFOP Miami Nice edition and few at the end from downtown Fort Lauderdale.  If you love new high rises Miami is the place to see the most underway outside of NYC in USA.  

1. 58 story apartment tower in Brickell

2. Miami metrorail is all above ground in downtown and Brickell.

3, site work has begun on this massive new office tower.   59 story office building.  Demolition Still In Progress At One Brickell City Centre – The Next Miami  Swire of Hong Kong and Related of Miami 

One Brickell City Centre

4.   work has started on the 75 story Baacarat condo tower  Baccarat Residences Brickell - Miami, FL (baccarat-brickell.com)

5.6.7. my personal favorite new condo tower just wrapping up the Aston Martin Residences Aston Martin Residences

8. uptown Charlotte should do this read this sign in downtown Miami

9. My Cuban friend would want me to show you this the Freedom Tower once the tallest in Miami being restored now

10. in this one photo couple of blociks inland from Bayside is shot that shows 6 towers under construction..   

11. Roosters at the Federal Courthouse grounds 

12.  Last photo of Miami

13.  new apartment tower in downtown Fort Lauderdale

14.  15.  as almost all their parking garages are a part of any tower (podium tower) they usually ring a couple of signs with smaller apartments around the parking levels.

16. new apartment tower    FLL 

17. 18.  Love this screening on the parking garage.  and I saw many more examples of large installations on the parking levels all over south Florida. 

Some go to Miami for the beach, some for the nighlife I go to see the high rises and the towers underway.  

 

 

 

Love that they're building their light rail elevated. I just cannot, for the life of me, grasp why we have to have a disruptive line at ground level. It divides neighborhoods and gets delayed every time a driver decides to go through the barricades. Great pics. 

[Guest]

7 hours ago, Windsurfer said:

Love that they're building their light rail elevated. I just cannot, for the life of me, grasp why we have to have a disruptive line at ground level. It divides neighborhoods and gets delayed every time a driver decides to go through the barricades. Great pics. 

Because the rail was already there and it was cheap

[KJHburg]

LFOP Bay area Edition (not that Bay area the Tampa Bay area) 

1.2.  rolling into downtown St Pete which used to be nicknamed God's Waiting Room due to many seniors has found the fountain of youth now.  Much younger population now downtown.  Counted  7 cranes up downtown. 

3. new apartment tower.

4. 5. 400 Central new condo tower and will be new tallest in St Petersburg 400 Central | Luxury Residences (residences400central.com) 515 feet tall

6.. lots of expanded sidewalks on Central for outside dining and narrow street with parking 

7.8..   41 story condo tower  Kolter Group plans to build 41-story condo tower in downtown St. Pete | Kolter Group

9.10.  another view of expanded sidewalks love this for parts of urban Charlotte.  and huge pedestrian protection points at every intersection (my wording I don't know what these are called) 

11.  BRT stop downtown and this runs from downtown straight over to St Pete beach.  SunRunner Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) | PSTA   No wonder downtown St Pete has become a hot spot for young people as you can live downtown on a rapid bus over the beach on the Gulf 

12. Sunset on the Gulf here in Pinellas County.

13.  Tampa starts here this is the Channelside district of downtown Tampa

14. Tampa skyline and to me this is the strongest Florida competition for economic development projects for Charlotte in my opinion.  Tampa St Pete metro slightly larger than our metro and it has a very diversified economy. 

15-20 is the massive Water Street development .  Water Street Tampa   This is a great mixed use project USF Medical school, offices, apartments, Greenwise by Publix store  @704Dimitri check it out.  Notice that screening on the parking it is fanstastic.  

21.  Celebrate your sports wins!   3x for the Tampa Bay Lightning NHL   (really wish we could have wins like this in something!) 

22. Tampa skyline

23. new apartment tower

24.  view from the BofA parking deck 

25.  construction along the river is the Pendry check out this condo hotel tower.  Pendry Residence Tampa | Pendry Residence Tampa (pendryresidencestampa.com)    38 stories and great design.

26.  skyline from way down Bayshore Blvd.  

27.28. Armature Works very much like Optimist Hall Homepage | Armature Works

Tampa and now St Pete are full of millenials and Tampa to me feels like a Charlotte on the bay.  

 

Edited January 22 by KJHburg

[smeagolsfree]

I just thought I would give you guys an update on our East Bank progress. Below is a grouping of articles done by one of our posters on the Nashville board who now does this for a living. The official groundbreaking for the stadium will be on 2/29. The entire project just around the stadium will take at least 15 years for a buildout. I think it may take closer to 20 years. There are almost 360 acres of land to work with on the EB.

 

Also, the new Tennessee Performing Arts Center will now apparently be built on the East Bank. The State added 200 million last year and 300 million this year for construction. Sorry no renderings yet.

 

 

Updated Master Plan Resembles Original Concept Vs. RFP In East Bank Nashville. – CITY NOW NEXT

 

Developer Moves Forward With Massive East Bank Development In Nashville. – CITY NOW NEXT

 

Q&A: Why This Developer Remains Bullish On East Bank Nashville. – CITY NOW NEXT

 

Series: Regional Transit Infrastructure Planned For The East Bank In Nashville. – CITY NOW NEXT

 

As far as the Downtown area alone which is a small fraction of the urban core, the stats area is as follows:

 

Downtown has had $8.6 billion in public/private investments in last 5 years.

 

Downtown has $16 billion in construction planned in next 5 years.

 

This does not include our East Bank or Midtown areas.

 

Nashville Yards progress

[LKN704]

I was walking down the 14th Street Corridor in DC today to go to Kinkos, and I couldn't help but wonder the whole time that this is what SouthEnd could be in 10-15 years. Both corridors also somewhat remind me of South Congress in Austin. 

On the face of it, all corridors share similar establishments: Madewell, Lululemon, Barcelona Wine Bar, West Elm, Jeni's Icecream, etc. 

The DC corridor has more retail than Charlotte (though less than Austin) but has more "neighborhood necessities" than both Austin and Charlotte like grocery stores and pharmacies. Austin and DC are both four lanes of traffic, but DC has two dedicated bike lanes and floating bus islands that give the bus lines a streetcar-like quality. Austin also has a turn lane in the middle and lots of back-in street parking that make the roadway physically wider.

Although I have been there like a thousand times, I spent the past thirty minutes or so researching SouthEnd and one of the things that stuck out for me (that I hadn't realized before) is just how many establishments aren't directly on South Blvd - they are either situated back closer to the rail trail, are in the Atherton Mill,  or are on Tryon or some other side street. 

For those who don't know, this is what the 14th Street Corridor in DC looks like:

This is what South Congress looks like: 

This is SouthEnd:

Obviously DC is the most dense simply because much of the development isn't new development - it's just repurposed businesses/renovated buildings that have been there for years. Much of Austin's development is quite new, and it's interesting how quickly they have been able to densify it. 

Another thing that surprises me about SouthEnd is how sketchy it feels to walk on South Blvd - the sidewalks are incredibly narrow in some places, and you don't feel well protected from street traffic. The other thing I have noticed about SouthEnd is that is that much of the pedestrian traffic is directed towards the rail trail, rather than South Blvd. 

I know there are countless projects in SouthEnd that will ultimately improve its density over time, but what would it take for the corridor to become more vibrant in terms of pedestrian friendliness and access on South Blvd?

Edited February 6 by LKN704

[TheMightyBK]

Kinkos is still a thing?!? 

[davidclt]

On 2/6/2024 at 10:00 PM, TheMightyBK said:

Kinkos is still a thing?!? 

Kinkos is now FedEx Office: https://www.office.fedex.com/

[KJHburg]

Most of these Austin  towers are mixed used residential, office, hotel or some combination thereof including the new tallest in the state of Texas.  From the ATX on X

Notice the UT tower to right of the 2nd photo and this was once one of the tallest structures in town.  From I-35 south of the Colorado River. 

 

 

Edited February 13 by KJHburg

[KJHburg]

Lessons from Durham would include you need to reinvent yourself sometimes.  From multiple cigarette factories now there is none but the old factories and warehouses are now converted to other uses.  anybody familiar with downtown Durham in the 1980s would be stunned to see the transformation.  Now technology, biotech and medicine dominate the inner city area of Durham.  

New 27 story Novus tower with apartments and for sale condos on top and lots of brick was used to match the many brick warehouses that have renovated.   The fast growth of the entire Triangle area has greatly contributed as well.  This city is growing so fast very shortly it will be the 3rd largest city in the state knocking back Greensboro to 4.  

Historical renovations are standard fare here in Durham.   Photos from Saturday.   Even their downtown Amtrak station is in a renovated brick tobacco warehouse.  Across the tracks from their bus terminal for long distance  and local buses.    The Duke empire started here with the Washington Duke family on their modest farm (first photos) then they started a family business which because the world's largest American Tobacco Company that was so big it was busted up in a huge antitrust suit.  Son James B Duke started a power company that we now know as Duke Energy.  Their massive family fortune enabled Duke University to move to Durham from Trinity NC and become a world class institution.  Plus their Duke Endownment which is based on E Morehead St in Charlotte annually gives large gifts not only to Duke, but Davidson and Johnson C Smith here locally and Furman in SC.   You can read more about their giving and history here The Duke Endowment | The Duke Endowment | A Private Foundation…

So yes Durham and Charlotte are connected and I wish we respected history like they do.  Even the old 1937 art deco old Central Carolina Bank building is reused now as 21 C Museum Hotel Museum, Boutique Hotel & Restaurant | Durham, NC | 21c Museum Hotels  plus they have a renovated motel downtown called the Unscripted a boutique hotel.

Check out the Chesterfield a 1939 cigarette factory now office and lab building.  

Oh yeah their Carolina Theater is open (just like the ones in Greensboro and Winston)

Tour of Durham  and if you have not been in a while take the train up or less than 2 hour drive.   so from the Bull City named for Bull Durham tobacco to the City of Medicine whatever you call it is booming. 

Edited February 20 by KJHburg

[KJHburg]

Learning from other places Savannah edition.  Historical preservation is a winner and even the new construction (for the most part) fits right into the history of the city.  Plenty of high density housing options including older small apartment buildings.  

Photos 1-4 the Indian Street area westside of downtown new apartments with great style and one high rise just a block outside the historical district a 17 story dormitory for SCAD. 

Photos 5-8  Hotels along River Street include the Plant Riverside which mixes the old power plant with the smokestacks with new construction but it is hard to tell what is new or historical.  Alley way is  all historic.  

Photos 9-12  downtown business district.  This high rise 1911 on Johnson Square now office will be renovated into a Ritz Carlton Hotel.   Check out the main Bank of America branch downtown.  

Last 2 photos show some townhomes near Lafayette Square and small apartment building that is historic.   While Savannah has some huge homes they have many more townhomes and rowhouses and duplexes than Charleston for example.  There is no reason smaller apartment buildings could not be built in Charlotte with lower rents as they would not have all the amenities.  New construction really looks good in downtown Savannah and sometimes it is hard to distinguish the old from the newer.  

[smeagolsfree]

Great Shots! I was just down there in the fall and stayed right downtown. I did not stay there but the Marriott at the Electric plant that you have photos of is very big city for a city the size of Savannah. Very cool for sure. Lots of good food there as well, the city is on the pricey side too. I will say the food is no more expensive than Nashville. So, I was used to those prices and the hotels are a bit cheaper or comparable. I think my hotel was around $300 a night downtown and I can't stay for that price downtown Nashville. It may have been a bit cheaper than that. It may have been around $250 as it was the Hilton Garden Inn on Bay St.

Also, the SCAD Savannah College of Art and Design - Wikipedia is also very big city for Savannah. SCAD has more than 70 buildings located around town. Lots of great architecture in the city, but also some glaring mistakes you will see around town that the historic commission has allowed.

I hope you got to see the old fire station and police station. Very old school, mid 19th century looking. Something you would see in NYC. In some ways I enjoyed Savannah more than I did Charleston SC. The parks alone are more than worth the visit.

If you guys have not gone then this city is well worth a visit

[KJHburg]

Meanwhile, down in the ATL, they have a 300-foot-tall sign!  While people complain about branding in Charlotte on our high rises check this out.

Entire Corey Tower offered as 30-story downtown billboard | Urbanize Atlanta

[KJHburg]

well this is interesting.

Oklahoma City proposal for the U.S.'s new tallest building is fully funded, developers say | News | Archinect

Can't remember who is going on my road trip to see this once built and free steaks at the Cattlemen's Steakhouse in OKC but who knows I might have to start planning the trip.  @CLT Development

They start serving steaks at 6 AM here  Cattlemen's Steakhouse - The Best Steak Restaurant in OKC (cattlemensrestaurant.com)

Edited March 15 by KJHburg