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Posts Tagged ‘mixed-use’...
Saturday, February 20th, 2010
About a year ago I had the awesome pleasure of riding Seattle’s new South Lake Union Streetcar—a 1.3 mile line that opened in December 2007. Peep this video from Streetfilms.org. Seattle’s state-of-the-art streetcar line features real time arrival message boards, solar-powered ticket vending machines, and human-activated doors to save energy while the train is in layover mode. And check this out, you can find out the next arrival time  and actually watch the streetcars moving via GPS trackers all from the Seattle Streetcar web site.
But what has this hi-tech investment done for the South Lake Union neighborhood? For one thing, a Whole Foods Market moved in—downtown Seattle’s first full service supermarket in decades. Plus, new condos, mixed-use development, and Amazon.com’s brand new world headquarters. That’s impressive.
Oh and while I was there I made sure to ride the monorail ! You know I love you Rochester, but I had some serious reservations about returning fromthat trip.
See also Rochester’s Case for a Streetcar Line.
Saturday, February 20th, 2010
Tags: Amazon.com, light-rail, mass transit, mass transportation, mixed-use, Rochester Streetcar, Seattle, Seattle Monorail, South Lake Streetcar, streetcars, transit, urban planning, urban renewal, video, Whole Foods Market
Posted in Transit + Infrastructure, Urban Development, Video | 1 Comment »
Saturday, June 20th, 2009
For a little more than 4 years I’ve worked in the High Falls district of Rochester. Last Thursday afternoon I took my lunch (which I usually eat over my computer keyboard) and I walked down Mill Street to Granite Mills Park. Of course you’ve never heard of it. It’s nothing more than a 50 foot square patch of concrete, a few trees, and 3 or 4 benches—not quite a full fledged “park” in the traditional sense. But on this sunny afternoon Granite Mills Park had transformed into a real urban plaza abuzz with music, laughter, people clapping, and even dancing.
 A series of midday concerts presented by Hochstein Music School and WXXI called Hochstein at High Falls had kicked off with music provided by the Po Boy’s Brass Band. I don’t know if it was the glorious weather, the site of the surprisingly huge lunch-time crowd, or the sound of those trombones, but think I caught a glimpse of what the future might be like for that neighborhood by the falls…
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Saturday, June 20th, 2009
Tags: Bru, business district, Center at High Falls, Creator's Hands, downtown Rochester, Empire Brewing Co., entertainment district, ESL, flour mill, Granite Mills Park, High Falls, Hochstein Music School, Jillians, Jimmy Mac's, Keys Martini & Piano Bar, Kodak, laser light show, McFadden's, mixed-use, New York, nightlife, Nothnagle, NY, Parazin Building, Parry Building, Partners Building, plaza, Redwings, Rochester, Rochester Railway, Rochester Subway Poster, Saddle Ridge, Spin Cafe, streetcar powerhouse, The Mills at High Falls, Tiki Bob's, Tribeca, trolley, Urban League of Rochester Economic Development Corp., urban renewal, urban revitalization, WXXI
Posted in Rochester Destinations, Rochester News, Urban Development | No Comments »
Saturday, May 16th, 2009
On Monday evening, June 8, 2009, the Rochester Regional Community Design Center will go before Rochester’s City Planning Commission and appeal the decision to allow a Fastrac gas station to be built on Main Street next to the Main/University Inner Loop on-ramp. Roger Brown, Creative Consultant at RRCDC explains, “Though we don’t agree with the Zoning Board’s decision to allow a gas station at that site … much of our case will be about the urban design of the building and how it needs to be designed according to the Center City Design Standards for Main Street.”
I’ll talk more about those “urban design standards” and how you can help. But first, there’s a virus spreading across America…
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Saturday, May 16th, 2009
Tags: architecture, Center City, city, city planning, design, design standards, downtown Rochester, Exxon Mobil, eyesore, fast food restaurant, franchise, gas station, infrastructure, Main Street, McDonald's, mixed-use, Monroe Avenue, Monroe County, multi-use construction, ordinance, Pittsford, Rochester Regional Community Design Center, Roger Brown, RRCDC, sidewalks, suburbs, sustainability, urban design, urban planning, urban renewal, Walmart, Webster, zoning
Posted in Rochester News, Urban Development | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009
 Okay, I haven’t put the time or effort into crafting my own “vision” for the old Midtown Tower, so I’m not going to be overly critical here. But I’m going to show you two concepts for Midtown that were sent to the city this week for review (and 1 wildcard concept). The first drawing (shown on the left) is from local developers Patrick Dutton and Shane Bartholf. It includes 158 for-sale condominiums with large window openings, common or public use of the former restaurant space on the 14th floor, and mixed-use office and retail on the first three floors. As you can see they’ve also added some shiny (albeit blurry) people to their drawing, as well as a lovely solar-flare effect to make the building look extra shiny…
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Wednesday, March 4th, 2009
Tags: architecture, city, concept drawings, design, development plans, downtown Rochester, Harmony Group, Midtown Plaza, Midtown Tower, mixed-use, New York, NY, Patrick Dutton, real-estate, Shane Bartholf, sidewalks, skyscraper, urban planning, urban renewal, urban revitalization, vision
Posted in Opinion, Rochester News, Urban Development | No Comments »
Sunday, February 1st, 2009
 Last week, Senator Chuck Schumer and County Exec. Maggie Brooks announced that the Renaissance Square project  will be moving ahead, with or without the performing arts center. $45 million would still need to be raised to build the theater, and at this point it looks like that money would need to be raised entirely with private donations — HIGHLY unlikely. So what exactly are we building? A new bus station (essentially a covered parking lot for buses). New classrooms for Monroe Community College. Oh, and a big grassy area where the performing arts center would have been.
Pricetag? $230 MILLION and 10 years of planning!?
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Sunday, February 1st, 2009
Tags: architecture, bus, bus station, bus terminal, city, Clinton Ave, design, downtown, Greenwich Village, Hell's Kitchen, Maggie Brooks, Main Street, MCC, mixed-use, Monroe County, Neil Bauman, New York, NY, performing arts, real-estate, Renaissance Square, Rochester, Senator Schumer, sidewalks, storefronts, street, urban planning, urban renewal, urban revitalization
Posted in Opinion, Urban Development | 6 Comments »
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