Now that the roads are open in the east riverfront, will developement finally happen?

[Rocko]

Royce original quote:

And finally regarding parking lots, can't the RiverPlace complex and Diamond Jack's boat tours build a parking deck along Atwater, or even partially over it, to free up land for a residential/commercial complex along the RiverWalk?

Diamond Jack's just leases space from the RiverPlace in this lot. It would be up to the RiverPlace to build a parking deck on the property south of Atwater and west of Jos. Campau. If I had my way, residential/retail would line the riverwalk and the Atwater/Campau sides, with a parking lot centrally located in the middle.

I think this thread is very timely and important. In my opinion, what they've done with the new streets down there has really messed up the old industrial feel of the streets in the lower warehouse district. Much of the charm of this area came from the narrow streets with old sidewalks, telephone poles, and brick industrial buildings. The new streets with sidewalks, buried utilities, and new "antique" streetlights give it a kind of Disneyworld feel, taking away much of the authenticity that was there. I know the renewed streets were only undertaken through a small portion of the district, but it was a district that contained many of the older warehouses and brick buildings.

In the last 10 years, virtually all the remnants of the railroad tracks which once crisscrossed the area have been wiped away. Only the Dequindre Cut remains. The old curvature of the tracks toward the RenCen and the line coming down along Bellevue are almost impossible to find now. I hope that the old railbed down Wight Street east of the Coast Guard Station can be preserved, as this is among the very last vestiges of historic railroad industrial street running in the city. Washington DC is currently preserving unused streetcar tracks in one district simply to maintain the character of the neighborhood and help to preserve the story. It could be great if this one-block-long stretch could be preserved and maintained, too.

If I had my way, a moratorium would be placed on demoing anything south of Jefferson between Rivard and Meldrum. Incentives would be given for projects involving the reuse and rehab of buildings within this area to encourage them to be redeveloped.

Obviously, the lands that are parking lots or open space are ripe for new development. But in the places where the old industrial buildings from the prior turn of the century still remain, these should be protected and reused to help maintain the character, charm, draw, and history that this district evokes.



PS - Can't wait to see the Globe Building renovated!