Cooper Tower? Downtown? Sprawl? Growth?

[toxicavenger]

I can still see the mountains with the power plant there. So that is all I care about.

[Josseppie]

The problem with downtown Colorado Springs it its location. It was built to close to the mountains and should have been father east, say where academy is. That way it would always be in the geographic center of town then I think you would of seen more Cooper towers by now.

[iknowftbll]

But when the city developed, there was no such thing as "Cooper Tower" anywhere, except maybe New York and Chicago. Nobody was thinking back in 1880, "Oh if we build downtown here eventually it will block the view of the mountains after skyscrapers are invented".

[toxicavenger]

Originally Posted by Josseppie

The problem with downtown Colorado Springs it its location. It was built to close to the mountains and should have been father east, say where academy is. That way it would always be in the geographic center of town then I think you would of seen more Cooper towers by now.

I think what he was saying they would have been better off building it out in no mans land then with a beautiful views of the mountains! When all he complains about is how much the Springs has grown outwards I though he realized that downtown was the center of the city at one time. Which is kind of crazy. But maybe now he wants us to try to move downtown?lol. Just seems pretty funny to me, sorry about that.

[Josseppie]

I understand the history but my point is given the location of Colorado Spring's downtown the city can not grow west but east, thus, it will never be in the geographic center of town.

That is not a bad thing that will just limit as too how big you downtown can become as most people will never want really tall buildings there to block the view of Pikes Peak.

[iknowftbll]

But the downtown not being in the center is not a limitation if the city does not allow it. Coastal cities like San Diego and Seattle do not have a geographically centered downtown. They do just fine. I'm not comparing Colorado Springs to 2 cities that are obviously in a completely different league as Colorado Springs, just suggesting a model.

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by iknowftbll

But the downtown not being in the center is not a limitation if the city does not allow it. Coastal cities like San Diego and Seattle do not have a geographically centered downtown. They do just fine. I'm not comparing Colorado Springs to 2 cities that are obviously in a completely different league as Colorado Springs, just suggesting a model.

That is a good point but in Colorado Springs you have the NYMBYs who do not want the highrise's to block their view of the mountains. You don't have that with the ocean. If the downtown was built a little father east that would not be as much of a issue.

[iknowftbll]

Right now it seems more the economy than the NIMBYs. Cooper Tower passed relatively easily. The city even repealed a height limit for it. I'm sure that there were those who didn't like the idea, but in a city as large as Colorado Springs, not everyone is going to agree.
Either way, the city doesn't need to have a whole bunch of high rises in order to have a successful downtown. It already has an intimate downtown, a couple nice parks nearby, and a river that runs through (a site that can be exploited for a great trail network in the future).
Just some thoughts.

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by iknowftbll

Right now it seems more the economy than the NIMBYs. Cooper Tower passed relatively easily. The city even repealed a height limit for it. I'm sure that there were those who didn't like the idea, but in a city as large as Colorado Springs, not everyone is going to agree.
Either way, the city doesn't need to have a whole bunch of high rises in order to have a successful downtown. It already has an intimate downtown, a couple nice parks nearby, and a river that runs through (a site that can be exploited for a great trail network in the future).
Just some thoughts.

Agreed, not every town needs highrises to be sucessful.