I was the HOA president of mine for about a year and a half. Thankless job but had to be done. Luckily I have an engineering background and some local government budget experience to boot. I am however, back in the yard mowing realm, though I can do it with a manual push reel. Mostly because of social and neighborly negatives that come with being on an HOA board.
I have actually only lived in condos since I was 26 years old. Let me just say that 26 is way in the rear view mirror, so I have a lot of experience living in them. I have zero regrets.
With my condo dues comes a pool that I donât have to skim, a gym that I can walk to inside of my building, a community room that allows me to have parties and not mess up my home, and the ability to walk away for a weekend, a week, or a month without worry. The HOA dues pay for all of this, the landscaping, the exterior building maintenance, and more. #noregrets
13 Likes
Back to the Peace at West (Smokey Hollow)⌠are there any updates to the land across the street from Publix North? Last I read a developer was possibly going to put in a hotel.
1 Like
I know there are early plans for a 12-story building at the northeast corner of peace/west but havenât seen anything else.
3 Likes
Walked by there this morning and saw some ânew lookingâ survey flags.
2 Likes
I started to think about the integration between Peace/West and Phase 2, especially when I noticed the huge parking deck right in the middle. I donât THINK weâve touched on this but hereâs some speculation for your weekend. You can see the parking deck plainly here in @OakCityDylan aerial shot.
From north to south it goes Peace/West â Parking Deck â Johnson Street â Phase 2.
Like others have said, Johnson Street might be a terrible ped street especially with that ramp.
I then noticed that huge hole near the corner of Johnson and Harrington. Could this be some kind of pedestrian tunnel for north/south flow.
It very well might be when I look at the renderings.
Due to its size, it looks like a driveway for front door access. It isnât as âfluidâ connecting the front door of Peace/West over to Phase 2. I figure, depending on sidewalks here, that this would be the ideal walking path rather than going along Harrington.
I wonder too if this driveway will be handicap, delivery pickup for Publix. Hopefully the new Johnson piece here will be narrow and encourage slower movement to less pedestrian conflicts here.
7 Likes
I had previously looked at my future walk to Publix from Johnson St. in Glenwood South. On foot, I will clearly be looking for the most direct route to use this garage entrance on Johnson. Once in the garage, I will walk to the north end and take an elevator up to the grocery store. None of that âindoorâ walk will be on pedestrian paths; it will just be walking through the parking garage. I donât see anything that was initially submitted to the city that would indicate a N/S walking path, unless that was added after the fact, or in response to the cityâs comments. SR-053-16.pdf (3.9 MB)
Editing this post yet again! Now that I compare that site plan with the photos, the ground floor garage layout doesnât align with them. All bets are off! Maybe there is some sort of walking path? It would be nice if that was considered by Kaneâs team at all. It will be frustrating if the design expressly prevents walking via low walls, landscaping, etc. Frankly, I donât mind walking in the garage, but it would be nice if those on foot are considered.
Also, the angle of that âpathâ will better align to the phase 2 courtyard if itâs taken directly across Johnson without bending.
1 Like
I hope Kane can some how incorporate the string lights in the phase II courtyard. I think they always add such a nice ambience. Would have been great in the warehouse district. I wish it would have worked out.
4 Likes
I had a deposit on a studio that would have faced the Hargett St lights you speak of. Apparently the Fire Chief had an issue with them and they were never installed. I suspect it was due to potential complications of passing fire trucks or servicing that street in the case of a fire in one of the buildings. Maybe the courtyard for Smokey Hollow Phase II will be different? I love the idea!
3 Likes
Yeah, I had also heard that the fire department has issue with the lights over a public road for the reason you outlined. That said, many of these foundational departments can be pretty inflexible and thereâs needs to be more creative ways of addressing their concerns so that we donât end up with a sterile city because we are only concerned with creating ideal situations for them and others. Clearly, the fire department needs to highly function, but I doubt that their effectiveness couldnât be balanced with some lightweight street lighting. I mean, other cities have done it; why havenât they had issues?
7 Likes
Could be a Pharmacy pickup window.
I was thinking grocery pickup for elderly folks etc
I canât see how some lights would stop them from operating on these streets. Surely they can find some string lights that will break away when a crane cuts through them; like when you trip over an extension cord and it gets unplugged in the process. The extension cord wouldnât affect you walking through it, if it becomes detached easily.
2 Likes
Magnetic Mac power cords come to mind and might work well like you are describing.
1 Like
Other cities have implemented these lights. Just dismissing their inclusion because one person/agency, etc. has challenged it is plain lazy. There are usually solutions to problems if you look for them.
4 Likes
I agree. Columbus has figured out how to decorate the Short North district with these permanent-looking light fixtures. And itâs not one block but several.
Certainly we can add these things in the future but the lack of the cityâs willingness to be flexible is an obstacle in us building new interesting places in downtown.
9 Likes
I admire several aspects of Columbus that come up in this group. Within walking distance of this picture is their arena district which Iâm also jealous of. Oh, and we may play them soon! Fingers crossed. Would prefer that over Boston. Not to change the topic.
8 Likes
Thatâs literally all I was thinking of when I read Columbus. 
2 Likes
