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Earlier this evening I emailed the following to the mayor and my city council reps:
People at Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed and city-data.com are expressing disappointment in the choice of location for the USC Alumni Center. It doesn't feel right to me either. I'm a USC alum, but sometimes I just want to be out in my city without feeling like everything is USC-related. This feels like too much encroachment. Also, based on the rendering I saw, they seem to think the Vista is going to be okay with the blond look that USC has fallen in love with. Finally, we need feet on the street, so they shouldn't get their underground tunnel if the site is approved.
The mayor emailed me back a thanks.
This got unanimous approval from city council. Such a shame to have USC literally take over every corner of the city and the city just lets them. I wouldn't mind if it wouldn't have the tunnel and the elevated walkway.
With the retail momentum happening along Main Street, what do you guys think should happen with Lady Street which was supposed to become the Vista's retail corridor? Can the city afford to make that same sort of investment in both streets at the same time?
With the retail momentum happening along Main Street, what do you guys think should happen with Lady Street which was supposed to become the Vista's retail corridor? Can the city afford to make that same sort of investment in both streets at the same time?
What do you mean by afford? Are you talking about dollar wise or energy wise? If, UA comes to Main, then I think the energy has to be focused on that street to maintain momentum. Since retailers have a pack mentality business model, attracting other retailers would be easier with UA and Mast. If they do sign, then going after other retailers quickly is critical for momentum. But, I don't think Lady or Gervais in the Vista should be ignored. Looking 5-7 years out, I see these two area merging together in a much more cohesive way than they are today. Bringing the Assembly St improvements down to Lady should be the next step in the remake of Assembly, that would tie the areas together.
Would also love to see Aflac build a 15 story building at the corner of Assembly & Gervais to bridge the gap between the two areas. Getting activity on that corner would go a long way towards bringing these two areas together.
The city has invested millions in the beautification of both streets to attract retail. Would-be retailers interested in setting up shop on either street can look into whatever incentives the city offers, but outside of that, in the public-private partnership development scheme, the city basically has done its part.
What do you mean by afford? Are you talking about dollar wise or energy wise? If, UA comes to Main, then I think the energy has to be focused on that street to maintain momentum. Since retailers have a pack mentality business model, attracting other retailers would be easier with UA and Mast. If they do sign, then going after other retailers quickly is critical for momentum. But, I don't think Lady or Gervais in the Vista should be ignored. Looking 5-7 years out, I see these two area merging together in a much more cohesive way than they are today. Bringing the Assembly St improvements down to Lady should be the next step in the remake of Assembly, that would tie the areas together.
Would also love to see Aflac build a 15 story building at the corner of Assembly & Gervais to bridge the gap between the two areas. Getting activity on that corner would go a long way towards bringing these two areas together.
By "afford" I mean primarily in terms of energy. It's already made the necessary infrastructure improvements to the corridor. But I agree with you that the focus needs to stay on Main right now, and that's what I think will continue to happen. The thing with Lady is that it lacks the historic shopfronts that are already "retail-ready" (with just a few improvements) like Main does. In time, perhaps new construction along the corridor will pick up, starting with the retail spaces that are eventually slated to be built in front of the parking garage.
But you won't see a 15-story building at the corner of Assembly and Gervais since that's in the Vista which has height restrictions. I think whatever gets built there eventually, if it is to have some height to it, should be like 5-6 stories max.
By "afford" I mean primarily in terms of energy. It's already made the necessary infrastructure improvements to the corridor. But I agree with you that the focus needs to stay on Main right now, and that's what I think will continue to happen. The thing with Lady is that it lacks the historic shopfronts that are already "retail-ready" (with just a few improvements) like Main does. In time, perhaps new construction along the corridor will pick up, starting with the retail spaces that are eventually slated to be built in front of the parking garage.
But you won't see a 15-story building at the corner of Assembly and Gervais since that's in the Vista which has height restrictions. I think whatever gets built there eventually, if it is to have some height to it, should be like 5-6 stories max.
Height restrictions can be modified, especially at the edge like that. I hope Aflac does stay downtown.
Height restrictions can be modified, especially at the edge like that. I hope Aflac does stay downtown.
I was thinking the same thing. It is so far on the edge of The Vista, it would not hurt to have some height to bridge the look from across Assembly. It would provide a step down to the Vista building heights. The first step is to make sure that Aflac stays downtown and possibly grows. It is nice to see a large employer downtown, would love to see them grow to maybe 2,000 - 3,000 employees. But, even with just 1,000 employees, you could anchor a good sized building.
Maybe at the corner of Assembly and Lady you could do a 5 -6 story hotel/apartment building with retail at the base.
I was thinking the same thing. It is so far on the edge of The Vista, it would not hurt to have some height to bridge the look from across Assembly. It would provide a step down to the Vista building heights. The first step is to make sure that Aflac stays downtown and possibly grows. It is nice to see a large employer downtown, would love to see them grow to maybe 2,000 - 3,000 employees. But, even with just 1,000 employees, you could anchor a good sized building.
Maybe at the corner of Assembly and Lady you could do a 5 -6 story hotel/apartment building with retail at the base.
That's what I was thinking as well and it makes sense to not have a drop off in height from one side of Assembly to the other.
Height restrictions can be modified, especially at the edge like that. I hope Aflac does stay downtown.
Yes, but a 15-story building at that location would look a bit out of place among the lowrise storefronts along the rest of Gervais, I think. And if the restriction were to be modified, chances are they still wouldn't allow a building that tall to go up.
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