The future of Greensboro's skyline

[twincity]

they want to build the center in Kernersville. the question is where in Kernersville? if its in Forsyh County then why not ask for Forsyth incentives?

[krazeeboi]

And actually its not being overstated at all. my first sentence stated that highway proximity is a FACTOR in additon to what everyone had mentioned before me.

[krazeeboi]

As a matter of fact, look at any city in NC and the city's which have higher towers are all visible from the interstate. Cities lacking in height.. Fayetteville, Greensboro, High Point, Gastonia, and Wilmington; all have downtowns which are barely visible from major interstate roadways. Winston-Salem's, Charlotte's, Raleigh's, Asheville's, and Durham's all have the benefit of major roadways making their downtowns visible to many people.

[ChiefJoJo]

My advice:

• forget about highways (and the silly green 40/85 "issues"), HOT, and instead plan for mass transit in the city and rail to W-S... long term that will do more to stimulate sustainable, urban economic development than any highway will (look at Charlotte, Denver, etc)

• forget about skyscrapers and skylines and focus instead on improving the economic policies of the city and livability of downtown

• emphasize/utilize your unique strengths: central location, universities, history, etc.

• have city govt relocate appropriate facilities downtown

• design a city plan that limits fringe development and focuses more resources ($, infrastructure) downtown

• pursue a corporate relocation downtown (ie, not Dell or FedEx)

Basically, you've got it backwards. Strong, vital downtowns are a product of a first having a good local economy coupled with policies that help stimulate central city development... local govt support, good public streets/spaces, good public transit, parks, art, other strategic investments, etc. Skyscrapers are sometimes a product of that, but they should not be the focus first. Nobody's going to build a tower unless the local economy/market can support it.

[crowe1856]

My advice:

...emphasize/utilize your unique strengths: central location, universities....