07-14-2015, 08:28 AM
(07-14-2015, 08:19 AM)MidTowner Wrote:(07-14-2015, 12:42 AM)notmyfriends Wrote: There shouldn't be a single building between Sun Life and Kaufman that is approved without some kind of integration into the street life.
I don't think this can be overstated. I'm not qualified to comment on architecture much beyond "this looks good to me," but when ac3r says that this would be a better fit over on Weber, I agree strongly as that is the type of street that can not (yet) be expected to accommodate mixed-use. For this stretch of King, it is very important to develop the street as a mixed-use corridor, as planned. I would say that focus should be placed on positive interaction with street life everywhere between Victoria and Uptown. Certainly we shouldn't be losing retail even in the short term, as this project evidently would entail.
There is a reality to downtown, that absence of sufficient residents (which seems unbelievable) and without greater transit density and use (also hard to believe), not every storefront we currently have can be filled at this time. Does it make sense, then, and is it possible, to have main levels of buildings designed so as to accommodate conversion at a later date with a more robust commercial environment? I don't know the details of how it would be done, but a stipulation was made for 155 Caroline that the street fronting parking be designed so as to permit conversion to retail at a future date, if desired.