The Piedmont Triad could become an aerotropolis

[sean]

^ in these regards, oil broke through $90 a barrel overnight.... jus sayin!

[cityboi]

^ in these regards, oil broke through $90 a barrel overnight.... jus sayin!

true, but gas prices have always gone up through the decades. I remember in the late 1980s/early 1990s when regular gas first broke the $1.00 mark and eventually $1.50 per gallon. That was high for the times but it had little negative effect on industries related to distribution/logistics or hub cities like Indianapolis and Dallas.

[RALNATIVE]

your optimism is enviable, but note that in both the 80's and 90's global oil extraction increased year after year. what do the global oil extraction records tell us about this decade? oops!

i'm not trying to be a 'wet blanket' here, its just puzzling to see folks ignore a huge liability with regards to what would require gobs of public money to develop the 'aerotropolis' as an economic development endeavor. i've posed these concerns to some of the 'movers and shakers' involved in promoting the concept and the assurances they offer are the kind of ungrounded fantasy that you would expect from small children.

rewind a few years and look back to when airlines were going bankrupt with startling frequency; what was a barrel of oil selling for then?

It's unfortunate that some people tend to latch on to the latest and greatest things without fully understanding the requirements, benefits, or even supply and demand. This is the reason why many projects tend to fail.

[sean]

your optimism is enviable, but note that in both the 80's and 90's global oil extraction increased year after year. what do the global oil extraction records tell us about this decade? oops!

i'm not trying to be a 'wet blanket' here, its just puzzling to see folks ignore a huge liability with regards to what would require gobs of public money to develop the 'aerotropolis' as an economic development endeavor. i've posed these concerns to some of the 'movers and shakers' involved in promoting the concept and the assurances they offer are the kind of ungrounded fantasy that you would expect from small children.

rewind a few years and look back to when airlines were going bankrupt with startling frequency; what was a barrel of oil selling for then?

[cityboi]

Well something went right for aerotropolis hubs like Dallas/Fort Worth and Indianapolis. Its easy to look at the worst case scenario and believe something will fail. Eveything falls into place with Greensboro and the Triad (superb interstate highway connection, midway along the east coast seaboard, midway between Atlanta and Washingtn, DC and midway between Charlotte an Raleigh.) Greensboro will be one of the very few cities in the south that will have major interstates going to every region of the country so Greensboro will become major junction point. FedEx helps tremendously along with aviation companies such as HondaJet and Timco. GTCC will be opening an aviation campus as well to prepare future workers for these kind of jobs.

[Lee street bully]

your optimism is enviable, but note that in both the 80's and 90's global oil extraction increased year after year. what do the global oil extraction records tell us about this decade? oops!

i'm not trying to be a 'wet blanket' here, its just puzzling to see folks ignore a huge liability with regards to what would require gobs of public money to develop the 'aerotropolis' as an economic development endeavor. i've posed these concerns to some of the 'movers and shakers' involved in promoting the concept and the assurances they offer are the kind of ungrounded fantasy that you would expect from small children.

rewind a few years and look back to when airlines were going bankrupt with startling frequency; what was a barrel of oil selling for then?

You have a good point, but if you read the entire thread, that issue has already been acknowledged. The thing is, fuel is not the ONLY factor contributing to the aerotropolis plan(even though it is a important factor). There are many other varibles that are in our favor such as location, talent, freeways, etc. So when you take those things into consideration, its really not all that bizarre to see how such a plan would work. Sure, water and rail transport are much more "cost friendly" than air transport. But the market for air transport is still around. As long as there is some kind of demand for that, there will always be a need for expansion.

[cityboi]

Progress is being made in making the Triad an Aerotropolis. It appears that the Triad is being taken seriously because blog and news articles around the country mentions the Greensboro area along with Dallas/Fort Worth, Atlanta, Denver, Indianapolis, Memphis and Detroit as being the most likely global aerotropolises. This is more than just airplanes and shipping goods. This is about creating a "global economy" in Greensboro where aviation infrastructure attracts future industry and jobs. This ties together everything the city is trying to do whether it be nanotechnolgy, hi-tech manufacturing or downtown projects. This could be the Triad's economic niche the way research and education is in the Triangle and the way the financial sector is in Charlotte.


USA Today - Cities build airport cities 'aerotropolises' for growth (the Triad is mentioned)

http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/2011-04-19-airports-as-commerce-hubs.htm

http://www.piedmonttriadaerotropolis.com/about/

http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/blog/2013/02/triad-making-progress-on.html

rendering of the future GTCC aviation school near PTI. The groundbreaking ceremony was just held for the school.



Honda Aircraft Company world headquarters at Piedmont Triad Intl Airport



FedEx mid-atlantic cargo hub at PTI



These are just concept schematics for an aerotropolis not actual layouts of what and aerotropolis would look like...in many ways this is very similar to the Heart of the Triad proposal. 

 

 

Greensboro's proposed Triad Tower, when finally built, would be a part of this aerotropolis. Although I think it needs to be redesigned and look very sleek. It looks a little boring and when you have an isolated tower this tall, there needs to be more tapering towards the top. The developer wants this to be a mixed-use building with condos, office space, a small aquarium on the first level, IMAX theater, a helipad and a top floor restaurant with an observation deck.  BTW this has been on hold for a very long time due to the bad economy and housing crisis but the website is still up and I'm sure when the economy finally turns around this will move forward

 

 http://www.triadtower.com/