Learning from Other Places

[KJHburg]

Speaking of Atlanta here is a collection of aerial photos and drone shots of various projects in various parts of Atlanta.   Notice how dense Midtown ATL is now.

https://atlanta.urbanize.city/post/skyline-favorite-2022-photos-atl-development-construction

[LKN704]

I was supposed to go climbing and hiking out in Utah this weekend, but cancelled at the last minute due to weather. Instead, I decided I would be a tourist in the city this weekend, and figured it would be a good idea to finally pay a visit to Baltimore after living in DC for almost five years. I visited Baltimore a couple of times as a kid in the early 2000s, and I've been wanting to visit the city for a while now. 

It was quite possibly the strangest city I have been to in a really long time, although I don't necessarily mean that in a negative way. After my experience today, I can say it's probably one of the most underrated cities in the US.

Really amazing food/bar/coffee shop scene. Everything was cheaper than comparable food in DC, and I had a really nice lunch in Little Italy, which still has a large Italian population. DC lacks no-nonsense, authentic Italian food. Lots of great thrift stores, vintage clothing shops, used bookstores, and antique shops, all of which DC kind of lacks. Cool different neighborhoods to walk around in...I really liked Mt Vernon, Little Italy, and Hampden. 

Decent public transit system for a city of its size. While the subway sadly seems to be a train to nowhere, the light rail is somewhat decent and had okay frequencies. A one-day pass was only $4.60 which I thought was a good deal. Other than the instance described below, I took transit exclusively and found it to be easy to use. The city also has an excellent, free circulator-style bus system that hits major points of interest that worked great. 

People were extremely friendly....virtually everyone I walked by said hello/good morning/good afternoon to me, or at least nodded + made eye contact.  

I say strange because it was weird how discombobulated each individual neighborhood was...there were hardly any linkages between them...each felt like they were a distinct, separate city. The Downtown/Inner Harbor area gives me Boston vibes, while other parts of the city could have either been Pittsburgh or Buffalo...most of the city has this rust belt/blue collar look. 

Mentally I think most people (myself included) think of the below picture when they think of Baltimore:

When in fact, most of the city looks like this:

FWIW, it's definitely rough around the edges...nothing really phases/scares me in terms of "big city problems" but there was a moment where I was kind of sketched out today. I had planned to walk from the train station about a mile and a half north to the art museum (which was fantastic), when about five minutes into the walk I started getting red flags (I was the only one on the road walking, lots of vacant buildings, signs of car break-ins), and walked back to the station and called an Uber. My Uber driver said under no circumstances would he have walked through that area. The city also feels extremely segregated, and the signs of structural racism/lack of investment in certain neighborhoods was staggering. 

All in all, I definitely recommend a visit if one is in the area or visits DC. 

Unrelated, but I don't know how commuter rail service between DC and Baltimore is sustainable in the current remote-work climate. 

There are 28 MARC Penn Line trains between DC and Baltimore Penn each weekday...some local, some express, and some super-express. There are also 20 or so Amtrak Regional trains that run the same route, and cost the same as MARC and are faster (some trains even accept Marc tickets). This is all in addition to the 10 MARC Camden Lines each day that run into Baltimore Camden. That's nearly 60 trains total, and that doesn't include the Acela or non-Regional Amtrak services that also service the route. 

My train to Baltimore this morning (around 9:15a) was entirely empty, as was my train home this evening. While this was my first time riding the train all the way to Baltimore, I have ridden MARC to BWI before during peak hours, and it was still fairly empty. 

I'm also surprised as to how fast MARC runs the trains. The train I took this morning was a local train and made all stops between DC and Baltimore. It felt as we went dangerously fast. I recognize that the information displayed might not be accurate, but I downloaded two different speedometer apps on my phone mid-journey, and both indicated a top speed of 98 mph. I was surprised to see that upon arriving into Baltimore, the train was pulled by a diesel locomotive. I wasn't aware diesel locomotives were able to achieve such a high speed with short station spacing. The journey home was a super-express train, and only stopped twice between Baltimore and DC. We hit a whopping 120 mph at one point. 

[15895]

17 hours ago, LKN704 said:

I was supposed to go climbing and hiking out in Utah this weekend, but cancelled at the last minute due to weather. Instead, I decided I would be a tourist in the city this weekend, and figured it would be a good idea to finally pay a visit to Baltimore after living in DC for almost five years. I visited Baltimore a couple of times as a kid in the early 2000s, and I've been wanting to visit the city for a while now. 

It was quite possibly the strangest city I have been to in a really long time, although I don't necessarily mean that in a negative way. After my experience today, I can say it's probably one of the most underrated cities in the US.

Really amazing food/bar/coffee shop scene. Everything was cheaper than comparable food in DC, and I had a really nice lunch in Little Italy, which still has a large Italian population. DC lacks no-nonsense, authentic Italian food. Lots of great thrift stores, vintage clothing shops, used bookstores, and antique shops, all of which DC kind of lacks. Cool different neighborhoods to walk around in...I really liked Mt Vernon, Little Italy, and Hampden. 

Decent public transit system for a city of its size. While the subway sadly seems to be a train to nowhere, the light rail is somewhat decent and had okay frequencies. A one-day pass was only $4.60 which I thought was a good deal. Other than the instance described below, I took transit exclusively and found it to be easy to use. The city also has an excellent, free circulator-style bus system that hits major points of interest that worked great. 

People were extremely friendly....virtually everyone I walked by said hello/good morning/good afternoon to me, or at least nodded + made eye contact.  

I say strange because it was weird how discombobulated each individual neighborhood was...there were hardly any linkages between them...each felt like they were a distinct, separate city. The Downtown/Inner Harbor area gives me Boston vibes, while other parts of the city could have either been Pittsburgh or Buffalo...most of the city has this rust belt/blue collar look. 

Mentally I think most people (myself included) think of the below picture when they think of Baltimore:

When in fact, most of the city looks like this:

FWIW, it's definitely rough around the edges...nothing really phases/scares me in terms of "big city problems" but there was a moment where I was kind of sketched out today. I had planned to walk from the train station about a mile and a half north to the art museum (which was fantastic), when about five minutes into the walk I started getting red flags (I was the only one on the road walking, lots of vacant buildings, signs of car break-ins), and walked back to the station and called an Uber. My Uber driver said under no circumstances would he have walked through that area. The city also feels extremely segregated, and the signs of structural racism/lack of investment in certain neighborhoods was staggering. 

All in all, I definitely recommend a visit if one is in the area or visits DC. 

Unrelated, but I don't know how commuter rail service between DC and Baltimore is sustainable in the current remote-work climate. 

There are 28 MARC Penn Line trains between DC and Baltimore Penn each weekday...some local, some express, and some super-express. There are also 20 or so Amtrak Regional trains that run the same route, and cost the same as MARC and are faster (some trains even accept Marc tickets). This is all in addition to the 10 MARC Camden Lines each day that run into Baltimore Camden. That's nearly 60 trains total, and that doesn't include the Acela or non-Regional Amtrak services that also service the route. 

My train to Baltimore this morning (around 9:15a) was entirely empty, as was my train home this evening. While this was my first time riding the train all the way to Baltimore, I have ridden MARC to BWI before during peak hours, and it was still fairly empty. 

I'm also surprised as to how fast MARC runs the trains. The train I took this morning was a local train and made all stops between DC and Baltimore. It felt as we went dangerously fast. I recognize that the information displayed might not be accurate, but I downloaded two different speedometer apps on my phone mid-journey, and both indicated a top speed of 98 mph. I was surprised to see that upon arriving into Baltimore, the train was pulled by a diesel locomotive. I wasn't aware diesel locomotives were able to achieve such a high speed with short station spacing. The journey home was a super-express train, and only stopped twice between Baltimore and DC. We hit a whopping 120 mph at one point. 

Maybe it’s due to the holiday season your trains were empty? 

2Q22 MARC train had ridership of 8,000+/day (40K pre-pandemic) And when I took it in earlyish 2022 it was full towards Baltimore with most people getting off at BWI and it’s been pretty busy-ish the times I’ve been to BWI. 

The other transit agencies have significantly increased since 2Q22 including VRE exceeding 50% pre-pandemic (even after free fares) so I can’t imagine MARC hasn’t maybe surpassed at least 10,000 yet because VRE is a total in to/out of DC commuter rail Vs. All day all week bi directional traffic on the Penn Line. 
 

WMATA is 68%, ART is 70%, Ride On is 77%, Fair Fax Connector is over 100%,  DASH is over 100%,VRE 50%.  Warms my heart to see Transit recovering. 
 

[Durhamite]

On 12/30/2022 at 9:35 PM, LKN704 said:

I was supposed to go climbing and hiking out in Utah this weekend, but cancelled at the last minute due to weather. Instead, I decided I would be a tourist in the city this weekend, and figured it would be a good idea to finally pay a visit to Baltimore after living in DC for almost five years. I visited Baltimore a couple of times as a kid in the early 2000s, and I've been wanting to visit the city for a while now. 

It was quite possibly the strangest city I have been to in a really long time, although I don't necessarily mean that in a negative way. After my experience today, I can say it's probably one of the most underrated cities in the US.

Really amazing food/bar/coffee shop scene. Everything was cheaper than comparable food in DC, and I had a really nice lunch in Little Italy, which still has a large Italian population. DC lacks no-nonsense, authentic Italian food. Lots of great thrift stores, vintage clothing shops, used bookstores, and antique shops, all of which DC kind of lacks. Cool different neighborhoods to walk around in...I really liked Mt Vernon, Little Italy, and Hampden. 

Decent public transit system for a city of its size. While the subway sadly seems to be a train to nowhere, the light rail is somewhat decent and had okay frequencies. A one-day pass was only $4.60 which I thought was a good deal. Other than the instance described below, I took transit exclusively and found it to be easy to use. The city also has an excellent, free circulator-style bus system that hits major points of interest that worked great. 

People were extremely friendly....virtually everyone I walked by said hello/good morning/good afternoon to me, or at least nodded + made eye contact.  

I say strange because it was weird how discombobulated each individual neighborhood was...there were hardly any linkages between them...each felt like they were a distinct, separate city. The Downtown/Inner Harbor area gives me Boston vibes, while other parts of the city could have either been Pittsburgh or Buffalo...most of the city has this rust belt/blue collar look. 

Mentally I think most people (myself included) think of the below picture when they think of Baltimore:

When in fact, most of the city looks like this:

FWIW, it's definitely rough around the edges...nothing really phases/scares me in terms of "big city problems" but there was a moment where I was kind of sketched out today. I had planned to walk from the train station about a mile and a half north to the art museum (which was fantastic), when about five minutes into the walk I started getting red flags (I was the only one on the road walking, lots of vacant buildings, signs of car break-ins), and walked back to the station and called an Uber. My Uber driver said under no circumstances would he have walked through that area. The city also feels extremely segregated, and the signs of structural racism/lack of investment in certain neighborhoods was staggering. 

All in all, I definitely recommend a visit if one is in the area or visits DC. 

Unrelated, but I don't know how commuter rail service between DC and Baltimore is sustainable in the current remote-work climate. 

There are 28 MARC Penn Line trains between DC and Baltimore Penn each weekday...some local, some express, and some super-express. There are also 20 or so Amtrak Regional trains that run the same route, and cost the same as MARC and are faster (some trains even accept Marc tickets). This is all in addition to the 10 MARC Camden Lines each day that run into Baltimore Camden. That's nearly 60 trains total, and that doesn't include the Acela or non-Regional Amtrak services that also service the route. 

My train to Baltimore this morning (around 9:15a) was entirely empty, as was my train home this evening. While this was my first time riding the train all the way to Baltimore, I have ridden MARC to BWI before during peak hours, and it was still fairly empty. 

I'm also surprised as to how fast MARC runs the trains. The train I took this morning was a local train and made all stops between DC and Baltimore. It felt as we went dangerously fast. I recognize that the information displayed might not be accurate, but I downloaded two different speedometer apps on my phone mid-journey, and both indicated a top speed of 98 mph. I was surprised to see that upon arriving into Baltimore, the train was pulled by a diesel locomotive. I wasn't aware diesel locomotives were able to achieve such a high speed with short station spacing. The journey home was a super-express train, and only stopped twice between Baltimore and DC. We hit a whopping 120 mph at one point. 

Baltimore, for the most part,  is a dump. So is DC city. Good urban environments in some areas.  Yes, the MARC train is fast.  The only thing I miss from living in DC/Baltimore area for many years is the decent seafood…

[Matthew.Brendan]

Nina Simone - Baltimore -1978

Beat-up little seagull 
On a marble stair 
Tryna find the ocean 
Lookin' everywhere

Hard times in the city 
In a hard town by the sea 
Ain't nowhere to run to 
There ain't nothin' here for free

Hooker on the corner 
Waiting for a train 
Drunk, lying on the sidewalk 
Sleeping in the rain

And the people hide their faces 
And they hide their eyes 
'Cause the city's dyin' 
And they don't know why

Oh, Baltimore 
Ain't it hard just to live? 
Oh, Baltimore 
Ain't it hard just to live? 
Just to live

Get my sister Sandy 
And my little brother Ray 
Buy a big old wagon 
To haul us all away

Live out in the country 
Where the mountain's high 
Never gonna come back here 
'Til the day I die

Oh, Baltimore 
Ain't it hard just to live? 
Oh, Baltimore 
Ain't it hard just to live? 
Just to live

[elrodvt]

Don't dis snot boogies town. What a great intro to a new show that was.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0749451/quotes/qt2294412

To me the DC area is a lot nicer than any metro to the south of it and east of the Mississippi. As long as you don't have to drive that is.

 

[videtur quam contuor]

Randy Newman writer and singer originally. Nina did an unusually interesting and distinctive version.

 

 

Edited January 1, 2023 by tarhoosier

[15895]

3 hours ago, Durhamite said:

Baltimore, for the most part,  is a dump. So is DC city. Good urban environments in some areas.  Yes, the MARC train is fast.  The only thing I miss from living in DC/Baltimore area for many years is the decent seafood…

No one actually thinks DC is “a dump”, but good for you. I see somebody is still bitter they were basically forced to resign from CATS. 
 

On another note, I saw this picture of Austin Texas on Twitter by @YimbyLand who I highly recommend following 

 

I just can’t believe Austin just blew the F up. I remember in the mid-2000’s scoffing at Austin ever catching up to Charlotte’s skyline & I referred to it as looking like Greensboro and less impressive than Winston-Salem (I’m only 30 so I was immature in being a Charlotte homer/fanboy whereas now, I just appreciate what cities have to offer). One building announced in Austin would get a reply from me like “oh well Charlotte has Trump Tower proposed” lol. & just one by one until Austin has just ballooned. I’m very impressed. Hopefully they get some rail transit. 
 

Cities I don’t appreciate enough I think are Cincinnati & Kansas City. Those 2 are on my radar to pay attention to more but I think right now my interest outside of DC/CLT are:

1.) Seattle 

2.) San Francisco 

3.) Philadelphia 

4.) Denver 

5.) Salt Lake City 

6.) Portland

Those are cities I’ve been following. Some great projects. xD I’m too weirdly obsessed with cities. But they’re so fun. 

Edited January 2, 2023 by AirNostrumMAD

[elrodvt]

18 minutes ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

No one actually thinks DC is “a dump”, but good for you. I see somebody is still bitter they were basically forced to resign from CATS. 
 

On another note, I saw this picture of Austin Texas on Twitter by @YimbyLand who I highly recommend following 

 

I just can’t believe Austin just blew the F up. I remember in the mid-2000’s scoffing at Austin ever catching up to Charlotte’s skyline & I referred to it as looking like Greensboro and less impressive than Winston-Salem (I’m only 30 so I was immature in being a Charlotte homer/fanboy whereas now, I just appreciate what cities have to offer). One building announced in Austin would get a reply from me like “oh well Charlotte has Trump Tower proposed” lol. & just one by one until Austin has just ballooned. I’m very impressed. Hopefully they get some rail transit. 
 

Cities I don’t appreciate enough I think are Cincinnati & Kansas City. Those 2 are on my radar to pay attention to more but I think right now my interest outside of DC/CLT are:

1.) Seattle 

2.) San Francisco 

3.) Philadelphia 

4.) Denver 

5.) Salt Lake City 

6.) Portland

Those are cities I’ve been following. Some great projects. xD I’m too weirdly obsessed with cities. But they’re so fun. 

That's about my list too except I'd replace slc with Chicago. 

Maybe things have changed a lot since I haven't been there since the 90s but I hated it. Super wide Streets with limited cross walks. Joining a "club" to have a drink after work. The craziness of a pretty intolerant religion dominating the state. No thanks! Boy the views though!

Edited January 2, 2023 by elrodvt

[LKN704]

On 12/31/2022 at 3:34 PM, AirNostrumMAD said:

Maybe it’s due to the holiday season your trains were empty? 

Like I said in my post, I have taken MARC during non-holiday periods (pre and post-pandemic) and the trains were mostly empty. Obviously YMMV. 

13 hours ago, elrodvt said:

That's about my list too except I'd replace slc with Chicago. 

Maybe things have changed a lot since I haven't been there since the 90s but I hated it. Super wide Streets with limited cross walks. Joining a "club" to have a drink after work. The craziness of a pretty intolerant religion dominating the state. No thanks! Boy the views though!

I've heard a lot of good things about Salt Lake City...great hiking, great skiing, great downtown. Excellent transit system for a city of its size with over 135 miles of rail transit and a brand new airport terminal.

The city is actually one of the most liberal cities in the US, and one of the most LGBT-friendly as well...an island of blue in a sea of red. 

For the most part, most of Utah's silly alcohol policies have either been abolished or drastically changed within the last few years. The whole "club" membership requirement has been abolished. "Zion curtains" that used to surround bars in restaurants have been taken down. IIRC, you are no longer required to have the "intent to dine" or order food before you order booze in restaurants. 

[Durhamite]

On 1/1/2023 at 7:04 PM, AirNostrumMAD said:

No one actually thinks DC is “a dump”, but good for you. I see somebody is still bitter they were basically forced to resign from CATS. 
 

On another note, I saw this picture of Austin Texas on Twitter by @YimbyLand who I highly recommend following 

 

I just can’t believe Austin just blew the F up. I remember in the mid-2000’s scoffing at Austin ever catching up to Charlotte’s skyline & I referred to it as looking like Greensboro and less impressive than Winston-Salem (I’m only 30 so I was immature in being a Charlotte homer/fanboy whereas now, I just appreciate what cities have to offer). One building announced in Austin would get a reply from me like “oh well Charlotte has Trump Tower proposed” lol. & just one by one until Austin has just ballooned. I’m very impressed. Hopefully they get some rail transit. 
 

Cities I don’t appreciate enough I think are Cincinnati & Kansas City. Those 2 are on my radar to pay attention to more but I think right now my interest outside of DC/CLT are:

1.) Seattle 

2.) San Francisco 

3.) Philadelphia 

4.) Denver 

5.) Salt Lake City 

6.) Portland

Those are cities I’ve been following. Some great projects. xD I’m too weirdly obsessed with cities. But they’re so fun. 

DC city has improved a lot but for the most part, a dump. Wanna take a ride? Not that part, but to real DC city…which is most of DC where you’ve probably never been to unless lost and moving quick to get the hell out of there.  I even lived in Capitol Hill area for a while, years ago as it was transforming, so overall DC grade, 35:65 good:dump ratio…big improvement  versus 20 years ago.

I like DC, its a great city, but don’t get it twisted, keep head on swivel…yea, Bmore is worse. 
 

Not bitter at all, just know national ridership trends aren’t favorable so changing CATs head isn’t going to change a damn thing.  
 

Of that list, Seattle and Denver probably my favorites. NC cities could learn a lot from those two.

Edited January 4, 2023 by Durhamite

[15895]

2 hours ago, Durhamite said:

DC city has improved a lot but for the most part, a dump. Wanna take a ride? Not that part, but to real DC city…which is most of DC where you’ve probably never been to unless lost and moving quick to get the hell out of there.  I even lived in Capitol Hill area for a while, years ago as it was transforming, so overall DC grade, 35:65 good:dump ratio…big improvement  versus 20 years ago.

I like DC, its a great city, but don’t get it twisted, keep head on swivel…yea, Bmore is worse. 
 

Not bitter at all, just know national ridership trends aren’t favorable so changing CATs head isn’t going to change a damn thing.  
 

Off that list, Seattle and Denver probably my favorites. NC cities could learn a lot from those two.

Like I said, nobody thinks DC is a dump. I don’t need to take rides. I’ve lived here for 5 years. I know every part of DC quite well… I don’t agree with the 35:65 at all… I think that’s irrational and could be said literally about any area urban or rural big or small… but I get your intention. It’s just to get in a little swipe. I see you. 

Edited January 4, 2023 by AirNostrumMAD

[KJHburg]

when is a high rise apartment tower too much density?   That's the question in Midtown Atlanta

https://atlanta.urbanize.city/post/petition-against-midtown-tower-toll-brothers-14th-street?

[KJHburg]

how great is this?  can't wait to visit on my next trip to Houston a land bridge and restoration of a Gulf coast prairie 

There are a couple of land bridges in NC mainly in the mountains and one is proposed for the Appalachian Trail near Fontana Dam.  Plus there is a wildlife tunnel along I-40 in the Pigeon River Gorge. 

https://www.memorialparkconservancy.org/2020/10/01/land-bridge-and-prairie-video/

[JHart]

On 1/6/2023 at 8:35 PM, KJHburg said:

how great is this?

Honestly pretty terrible..  You could always just not run a 6 lane highway through the middle of one of your largest parks. I know that was done a long time ago, but the fix is a 2-lane road diet, not clearing most of your park facilities (while of course ensuring full highway access during construction) for 2 small road crossings. I cannot think of anything more Houston than this..

[KJHburg]

Memorial Drive in Houston was built in the mid 1950s so they are trying to correct and reconnect the park.  Not sure how that is bad thing and I don't see many highways in this area being covered like that.

On to other matters In and Out Burgers is coming to Nashville and from this article sounds like they will expand in the surrounding states and that might include NC which is faster growing than even TN.  

From the Nashville Biz Journal

""A California fast-food staple has announced plans today to invest $125.5 million to open offices and locations in Tennessee.

In-N-Out Burger plans to begin construction on a 100,000-square-foot building in Franklin by late 2024 that will serve as its eastern territory office. The project is slated to be completed by 2026 and will create 275 new jobs in Williamson County, according to a state Department of Economic and Community Development news release.

“This expansion is significant for our company. For many years, we’ve heard requests from our customers in Tennessee to consider opening locations near them, further east than we’ve ever been,” Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson, In-N-Out owner and president, said in the release.

In addition to its offices, the company plans to open future restaurants in the region by 2026, beginning with locations in and around Nashville. The company currently has 385 locations throughout California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Texas, Oregon and Colorado.

The Tennessee locations will be the company’s first establishments east of Texas.""
 

Edited January 11, 2023 by KJHburg

[KJHburg]

I am crisscrossing Florida last couple days on the East Coast and now on the West Coast.  I can say the state of Florida downtowns is very strong.  

today from St Petersburg.  This city used to be nicknamed God's Waiting Room due to high population of seniors.  Well now with a revitalized downtown there are plenty of young people mulling around.  I do think it is because their downtown has a mixture of historical buildings, lots of local based shops and restaurants (I don't think I saw so much as one chain and I walked blocks and blocks) and infusion of new high rise residential towers both apartments and condo.    They have wide streets but on some of them they made permanent bike lanes which allow for lots of outside dining and diagonal parking on their main street (Central Ave) makes for safe streetside dining.  It was hopping on 60 degree Sunday afternoon.  

Saw 3 high rises all residential under construction.  Actually there are 6 under construction in downtown according to St Pete Rising https://stpeterising.com/under-construction-projects

https://stpeterising.com/400-central-ave

https://stpeterising.com/kolter-tower-iii

https://stpeterising.com/onyx-apartments

But notice their detail to the street level lots of smaller buildings saved and historical ones too.

[Windsurfer]

2 hours ago, KJHburg said:

I am crisscrossing Florida last couple days on the East Coast and now on the West Coast.  I can say the state of Florida downtowns is very strong.  

today from St Petersburg.  This city used to be nicknamed God's Waiting Room due to high population of seniors.  Well now with a revitalized downtown there are plenty of young people mulling around.  I do think it is because their downtown has a mixture of historical buildings, lots of local based shops and restaurants (I don't think I saw so much as one chain and I walked blocks and blocks) and infusion of new high rise residential towers both apartments and condo.    They have wide streets but on some of them they made permanent bike lanes which allow for lots of outside dining and diagonal parking on their main street (Central Ave) makes for safe streetside dining.  It was hopping on 60 degree Sunday afternoon.  

Saw 3 high rises all residential under construction.  Actually there are 6 under construction in downtown according to St Pete Rising https://stpeterising.com/under-construction-projects

https://stpeterising.com/400-central-ave

https://stpeterising.com/kolter-tower-iii

https://stpeterising.com/onyx-apartments

But notice their detail to the street level lots of smaller buildings saved and historical ones too.

Visit the Salvador Dali museum if you have time!

[KJHburg]

Visiting Tampa last weekend I would say this is the Florida city that is most competitive with Charlotte for a lot of reasons.  Reasonable cost of living compared to south Florida , lots of young people and local talent, general size of the city and metro, NFL and NHL teams.   The metro area is bigger than Charlotte but not by too much.  South Florida is very expensive for office space and housing.  Orlando's economy is much more tourist driven.   

Downtown Tampa is great reminded me of uptown Charlotte with palm trees and water.  It is on a river and a bay.  

Check this huge mixed use multi block project called Water Street Tampa.  (photos before the photo of the Publix Greenwise store shows some of the apartment and office towers)

https://waterstreettampa.com/

Lots of apartment growth near and in downtown and much of it looks like Charlotte's but slightly taller and painted white.  Didn't see any beige.   Downtown Tampa has 4 buildings over 500 feet tall.  They have a street car but more of a novelty.  Airport is convenient to their NFL stadium.  But they have a downtown Arena home of the NHL 's Tampa Bay Lightning which everyone calls the Bolts! 

Centene and several other companies have looked at Charlotte and Tampa so this is the city in Florida to watch from our perspective.  This is probably the only city I would live in Florida.  

Their downtown Publix is on the ground floor of an apartment tower with parking above plus they have the Greenwise by Publix store which is a smaller store like a mini whole foods but still with national brands.  Some of their hotels are are as bland as ours but their JW Marriott is really nice looking.   Check out that Pendry condo hotel tower under construction now.  https://www.pendry.com/tampa/residences/

[Poo Diddy]

11 hours ago, KJHburg said:

 

 

Man oh man that would have been cool for the Legacy Union parking garage to have a unique perf screening like these towers.  Thanks for the pictures KJ!

[smeagolsfree]

Well KJ, we just missed each other in Florida by about a month. I didn't Have time to get up to Charlotte as I was zonked. I stayed away from the west coast as I had been to Tampa a few years back and kept most of my trip centered on Miami and Ft Lauderdale.  To be frank, I am not a fan of Florida and I had to hold my nose to go down there. I am no fan of the fun and the sun nor a fan of the Mouse in Orlando or anything in that city.

Miami was fine but the mass transit was a mess as I used that from Ft L to Miami 3 days and regretted every moment of it. It is actually worse than Atlanta's system if that is possible. The weekend service was spotty at best. Commute time was about 4 hours roundtrip from Ft L to Miami.  I will say the MetroMover was the acceptation to the rule. I thought that was very well thought out and efficient. I would kill to have something like that here in Nashville.

The south Florida area was way too crowded for me, but there was a lot of good food and drink. Miami is not a pedestrian friendly city nor is Ft Lauderdale and for that matter any place in Florida that I could see. Florida is a very car centric state. Even trying to cross the main street to get to the beach was a fiasco as it caters to the cars and not the pedestrians in Ft L or Miami. But I will say neither is Nashville, but not nearly as bad as it is there. The signals took forever to change, and folks were clearly getting upset. It should have been the other way around.

The Brickell District was impressive, but again, if it were not for the MetroMover the city would be unmanageable. However, it has a very impressive skyline, but very linear or rather spread out. The journey to Miami Beach is an adventure unto itself, no matter if it is by bus or car. Miami Beach is a great place to explore as is Little Havana. Fort Lauderdale was interesting especially if viewed from the Water Taxi on the canals.

I was able to hit the Everglades and Key Biscayne National Parks as well as St Augustine while there. I enjoyed St Augustine and wished I had spent more time there. As for the beaches, well 5 minutes is enough for me. Never been a beach person. If there were no beaches it would not affect my life one way or the other. Take me to the mountains! 

I was able to drive through Orlando which was a mess and through Jacksonville. The skylines were underwhelming to me. The traffic in Orlando was hellish, even on the Florida turnpike. Still waiting to get my bill for that toll road!

No offense to Florida, or to Texas, but I just never have seen the appeal of the beaches of for that matter any beach. I had the misfortune of living 200' off of the gulf in Galveston and went to the beach one time and that was at night and stuck my toe in the water once. Same thing when I had to live in South Padre Island. Never went to the beach. I just managed the condos I was working at and that was it. That sort of tells you how much I hate the beach. I even lived there and never went there.  When I was in the Marines in CA, never went to the beach either. Hated it. I must have died in the water in a past life or something. Living there was not my choice. Just throwing this is in for context. LOL

[KJHburg]

actually St Petersburg is probably the most pedestrian friendly downtown in Florida with Tampa and Orlando secondly.  And St Pete is benefitting from that with a revitalized downtown.  I used the Metromover in downtown Miami from Brickell and it is nice I really like it.  I agree downtown Miami is not the most pedestrian friendly but that riverwalk along the bay and river is nice. 

My favorite metro in Florida would be the Tampa Bay metro.  

[smeagolsfree]

21 hours ago, KJHburg said:

actually St Petersburg is probably the most pedestrian friendly downtown in Florida with Tampa and Orlando secondly.  And St Pete is benefitting from that with a revitalized downtown.  I used the Metromover in downtown Miami from Brickell and it is nice I really like it.  I agree downtown Miami is not the most pedestrian friendly but that riverwalk along the bay and river is nice. 

My favorite metro in Florida would be the Tampa Bay metro.  

Yea I will agree with that. It has been a few years since I was in Tampa, but I did like what I saw. The above are more traditional downtowns.

Once you get out of St. Augustine's core, then the pedestrian friendliness goes away. However, it is where it counts. Even being a Spanish layout there is a striking similarity between here and the French Quarter in New Orleans. Of course, it is a much larger version of Santa Fe NM as well. At least St. Augustine is a lot cleaner than NoLa ever thought about being and the shops a lot classier and more upscale like Santa Fe.

That was probably my last trip to Florida unless I go back to St. Augustine. I really enjoyed the city and would like to explore more. I am afraid the ocean will reclaim the state at some point the way things are going.

If you have never been to Santa Fe, it is well worth a visit just to see the architecture and the layout, not to mention the art scene. I am not that big on art, but I do like SW art and there is a lot a lot of unique and very expensive quirky pieces on Canyon Road. 

[15895]

Didn’t know this project was in the works but it just received a couple million from the feds. Newport News, VA multimodal Center.

Will be complete in 2023. Amtrak & intercity buses & Being built to accommodate for future light rail to the airport (I think it’s part of Norfolks light rail system).

Funds will also go towards a new East/West route from Newport News to New River  Valley which I believe is the route in red below. 

Come on, Charlotte. Let’s get Gateway up & running! 

 

 

Intercity bus, easy connection to Norfolk with, it acts as 2 end points for a train to/through Washington on the north east corridor & a route to the mountains, 2 lines through Richmond (good frequency), light rail to an airport and possible a beach 

There is momentum apparently for the Tide expansion and feds are expected to contribute 51% of cost, Local is 10% and the state will cover the remaining. When the Feds contribute so much, I wonder at what point NC GOP decides the economic impact of construction jobs alone when the feds are paying so much would be worth it? Maybe it wouldn’t. I dunno. 

I honestly thought Newport News was in like. Rhode Island until today. xD I mean I knew it was reminded but. I’m not that intimately familiar with VA. 

Edited January 21, 2023 by AirNostrumMAD

[jthomas]

On 1/21/2023 at 4:47 PM, AirNostrumMAD said:

Didn’t know this project was in the works but it just received a couple million from the feds. Newport News, VA multimodal Center.

Will be complete in 2023. Amtrak & intercity buses & Being built to accommodate for future light rail to the airport (I think it’s part of Norfolks light rail system).

Funds will also go towards a new East/West route from Newport News to New River  Valley which I believe is the route in red below. 

Come on, Charlotte. Let’s get Gateway up & running! 

 

 

Intercity bus, easy connection to Norfolk with, it acts as 2 end points for a train to/through Washington on the north east corridor & a route to the mountains, 2 lines through Richmond (good frequency), light rail to an airport and possible a beach 

There is momentum apparently for the Tide expansion and feds are expected to contribute 51% of cost, Local is 10% and the state will cover the remaining. When the Feds contribute so much, I wonder at what point NC GOP decides the economic impact of construction jobs alone when the feds are paying so much would be worth it? Maybe it wouldn’t. I dunno. 

I honestly thought Newport News was in like. Rhode Island until today. xD I mean I knew it was reminded but. I’m not that intimately familiar with VA. 

Good catch - I hadn't seen those station renderings before. This new station is about 8 miles north of the current Newport News station and 10 miles north of what is left of the traditional Newport News downtown (most of which has been demolished to create surface parking lots for the nearby shipyards). While further from downtown Newport News and Hampton, this station location has good highway access, is close to the NN airport, and is in an area seeing growth. The move is as much about rail logistics as location - Amtrak will not have to contend with the busy CSX coal operation in NN, and the shortened rail route means quicker and more reliable trip times to Richmond, DC, and beyond.

If future light rail is a part of the plan, I doubt that it would be an expansion of Norfolk's Tide system, as that would require a new underwater crossing of the Hampton Roads. If a new rail crossing was ever built, it should probably be for regional rail and for HSR to connect Norfolk and NN to Richmond and the Northeast Corridor. As an aside, the entire Hampton Roads region would be a great candidate for a German/Swiss-style regional rail network. The area is constrained geographically by water and has a large amount of legacy rail alignments (some abandoned) that could be used or repurposed. The traffic in the area is horrendous, especially at the water crossings, and rail would provide a useful alternative. Alas, none of this will happen in Today's America (TM), but one can dream.