Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Two C-J article chart a housing "boomlet" in downtown New Albany, coincidentally making the case for complete two-way streets.


Dude: Grace Schneider just lapped the 'Bune, although to be fair, the latter has been quite busy cheerleading in Jeffersonville lately.

First, there's this, in which it is revealed that after two and a half years on the job, the city's economic development officials at long last want to know all about the moribund Reisz building on Main:

Shining new light on an old store in New Albany

Then this, collating numerous recent building and property acquisitions into a coherent whole, including the (gasp) prospect of infill construction:

Boomlet begins in New Albany

Random observations after reading these two pieces ...

1. Nowhere is it mentioned that Chalfant, Carter or other investors require a $12 million parking garage as collateral for money they don't have. How very refreshing. What's DNA have to say?

2. Implicit acknowledgement abounds: Without previous entrepreneurial investments in restaurants, bars and shops (largely unassisted by the city) over a period of eight year, there'd be no demand for living space.

3. Yet again, the city is coming in on the tail end of something already begun. Charitably stated, it is belatedly asking what it can do to help, which brings us to the single most obvious answer ...

4. ... the fact that taken as a whole, Grace's two write-ups constitute some of the best slam dunk evidence yet of the pressing need for two-way street conversions and complete streets in New Albany.

5. In part, this is because the developers see the presence of an untolled bridge as highly beneficial, meaning you should reread #4 as the corrective for the problems we'll experience along with the upside.

6. Noted in passing: The prospect of infill construction nearby on the 300 block Main is the best reason offered to support this blog's position on the farmers market location. Anchoring the farmers market to its current spot means sacrificing infill potential, and there's a municipal lot behind Wick's that is far better suited for the permanent farmers market location.

I might continue; feel free to comment here or at Fb.

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