It's been awhile since I've been to the area of town around the Fox River. There's not much business that takes me across the river to the east side of town. This week I met some friends for dinner and the restaurant is located in the heart of what is being called the First Street Redevelopment. From blocks away I could see this behemoth of a building rising just to the west of the river. Unfortunately the building blocks any possible view of the building from the elevated locations to the west. Perhaps it offers great river views to those purchasing on the east side of the building.
If you look closely you'll see a small beige building to the left. That's Beith House, a historic two-story home built from local limestone. In the long-distant future will preservationists seek to restore and maintain the now-new four story condo building?
6 comments:
Boy, this photo looks like so much of my neighborhood in suburban Kansas City. I suppose there are enuf people and enuf money to fill these luxury condos, but where does it all come from?
Kansas City is notorious for not having a sense of its history. I think that's because we are still a relatively young town, so our historic buildings and events aren't old enuf to seem important yet. A few preservationists cry when a developer proposes pushing down old farm houses or shops for a "luxury development" but generally the voices aren't strong enuf to stop "progress." Sigh. It's bittersweet.
It is bittersweet Pablo and after I posted this picture I wracked my brain to think of ONE town along the stretch of the Fox River that has this kind of large development along the river and I can't thing of one! But the city fathers keep telling everyone how good this redevelopment is for the town. Well, they've pushed out the Manor Restaurant, which was the greatest breakfast spot on the planet. They've relocated out on "big box row" and it just isn't the same. Vi's, a great little bar that served food is gone. All this development just adds to an odd situation. The people that work in the upscale restaurants, boutique shops and even the local newspaper cannot afford to live here!
That sounds so much like Florida ...sadly.
The fishermen on Cedar Key can no longer afford the property taxes on the island and are moving inland as rich carpetbaggers move on to and change the island.
yuck, i hope future generations don't try to preserve something that ugly. that kind of development ruin is happening everywhere. cookie cutter developers are the blight that will one day define this era.
Oh Lord, that is ugly. You are not alone, this is typical of brown site 'regeneration' in many parts of England. The worst part being how they try and make it look 'olde worlde'...ugh! I am reminded of one of your previous posts with the windmill about to be erected to bring a rural flavour to a new development that used to be .... rural!!
Oh yeah Betty - that was hilariously stupid. They bought a fake windmill (after tearing down the real one) to lend "country" flavor to the new subdivision. What also bothers me about all this is that the developers do not live in our community and I object to them telling what we need.
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