For example, North Hills?
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Perhaps, but complex problems getting complex long-term solutions isn’t exactly mankind’s forte.
However it’s very easy to say let’s not put a bunch of homeless drug addicts in a space that just got made into a nice area, because it makes the larger population uncomfortable and isn’t a good ROI. I can see both sides but if RusBus turns into the Moore Square Bus Station, it will be disappointing and definitely drive customers and businesses out. It’s not a mystery to me why the Edison tower is still a gravel lot but the WH district can’t build fast enough
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Yeah, homelessness is a complex problem, and probably needs it’s own thread. Lot’s of things contribute to it. Drug addition (cheap fentanyl and meth flooding our cities), mental health and lack of affordable care, lack of affordable healthcare, lack of (or very little) social safety nets, housing costs, many jobs paying under a livable wage, and others.
It’s a nationwide problem, and I don’t see it being address on a root cause level. We can chastise them and wish them away, and call it some kind of ‘woke’ issue, but that doesn’t do anything for the underlying cause.
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Agreed. We’re not going to solve it here so let’s bring this thread back on topic.
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A post was merged into an existing topic: Affordable Housing
I wouldn’t say that we just have to keep NIMBYs out.
Its basically walkability and density.
There’s actually a sidewalk and stair on the west side of Hotel 83 that leads to a sidewalk along the surface parking lot behind the hotel’s garage. This takes you to Hargett. It’s not perfect, but it’s an option of traversing between the two districts.
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The meeting agenda for next week’s GoTriangle Board of Trustees meeting is out, and we may have been blaming the wrong people for getting rid of the hotel from RUSbus.
Click here to see the relevant text from the capital project updates.
Note that updates since the last BoT meeting (June) in italics and important parts in bold:
The key point here is that the developer (Hoffman & Associates), not GoTriangle, seems to be leading the efforts to change what’s being built in the tower. Otherwise, I think GoTriangle would have dedicated agenda entries to debate the topic of what should get built above their station, and have tried to build consensus about making that change. Now that you think about it, this sort of unilateral decision does make more sense if it came from a private entity rather than a public agency.
Remember that the project is structured so that GoTriangle (and their contractors) is only directly in charge of the bus terminal on the ground floor. This means everything else -the layout of ground-floor retail spaces, the tower above the bus station, etc.- is being designed and managed by Hoffman, who’s leasing air rights from GoTriangle for 99 years (and their contractors).
If I’m reading this right, then blaming GoTriangle and red tape for downgrading a new civic experience is just a red herring.
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To your knowledge, will Hoffman & Associates be at next weeks GoTriangle Board of Trustees meeting? If so, can we the public speak?
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Nope, don’t change a thing, it’s what they curated, just let it do what it do.
Personally, I’m okay with the additional housing but I really hope the nearby developments in the district include hotels. I really want to see some luxury brands here.
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It doesn’t look like Hoffman will present anything (you can just scroll up to the first few pages of the agenda; it lists all the presentations that will be given in that meeting, as well as who it’s by). But the agenda does list someone who could be just as useful to talk to (if not more): GoTriangle’s Chief Development Officer, Katharine Eggleston. I think she’s the project manager for GoTriangle’s parts of RUBbus, which would make her in charge of defending the boundary between what GoTriangle does versus other contractors including H&A (and keeping an eye on what they do).
Like most public agencies’ open meetings, there’s a time slot for the general public to talk about things (though you’re not guaranteed to get a spot, or necessarily start a two-way dialogue with anyone present). The meeting will be accessible from 12pm on Microsoft Teams link via this link; once the meeting starts, you’ll want to wait until this section:
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Yeah it was obviously the developers as that part of the project is private investment. Most stations in Europe are basically mini-malls. Shame this wasn’t a planned into the structure. A City Target and a Trader Joes with some other stores should have worked great on the second floor…maybe Union Station version 3 will have more amenities in the future once transit is more robust ane used more.
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You been to Paris lately? Eh
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Starting to see a few outside changes. I know @PedroPastrana will approve.
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@GucciLittlePig and I went by there on Saturday, and I was surprised (and in awe) of all of the storefront windows that were behind the painted plywood mural. Also, the artwork that was hidden underneath. I wasn’t able to get a picture as we drove by, so thanks for snagging this shot. I can’t believe how many windows were actually hiding back there.
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Will be nice when those windows are actually looking into some shopfronts!!!
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With all the changes to this project, I wouldn’t hold my breath for “shopfronts” 
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