08-03-2023, 12:07 AM
(08-02-2023, 02:32 PM)taylortbb Wrote:(08-02-2023, 02:09 PM)ac3r Wrote: Par for the course here. Why have nice things when you can have awful things instead?
I think in this case UW managed to raise less money for this project than they hoped, so what was there to do? Keep it paused indefinitely, as construction costs increase, hoping that more funding shows up?
Also, what's the expected lifetime of this building? I feel like renovating a warehouse when you have such prime downtown land is a stopgap measure. Make the building usable for 10-20 years, and then let it get re-developed to something denser (and without the huge parking lot). Eventually UW can just have space in the podium of a tower. If that's what's going to happen there's no point in investing in something great.
I can be absolutely certain that every science and hardware technology business moving into this new space will be jumping for joy at the amount of resources they get to build from. More money invested in equipment and the labs and workspaces inside are ultimately the biggest upside unlock vs. the architecture, as much as more of both would be ideal with costs unconstrained.