TBTimes says Tampa should look at Raleigh for Downtown success (Orlando: hotel, living)

[VanHalen5150]

Originally Posted by Not_liking_FL

You are aware that Raleigh is larger than Tampa, right?

Only if you count population inside city limits. If you count the population of unincorporated Hillsborough County with Tampa zip codes (like Carrolwood, Westchase, Northdale, North Tampa, Town & Country, Citrus Park, NorthDale, etc), then you will find Tampa to have twice as much population

And if you want to compare to Raleigh, Durham, Cary to Tampa, St. Pete, Clearwater, you are way off

[Not_liking_FL]

Originally Posted by pumbaa

Yeah there arent any Sunbelt cities that will compete with any of the mentioned cities. Atlanta Buckhead maybe, just maybe is similar but not on the same level. I think making a downtown into more than a 9-5 destinantion is a great idea, help kill some sprawl and bring lively hood to cities. Charlotte, Raleigh, Tampa, and other southern cities are all doing it and I applaud them for it. Just for the love of all things dont make it generic like a lot of them are.

I think Buckhead is probably the closest. When I was younger I would have liked living in what downtown Raleigh is today, and I'm all for cities revitalizing their downtowns. Now that I'm older I like having more space. When I build my next house I don't even want to be able to see my neighbors house. I still want to be close enough to visit downtown though

Originally Posted by VanHalen5150

Only if you count population inside city limits. If you count the population of unincorporated Hillsborough County with Tampa zip codes (like Carrolwood, Westchase, Northdale, North Tampa, Town & Country, Citrus Park, NorthDale, etc), then you will find Tampa to have twice as much population

And if you want to compare to Raleigh, Durham, Cary to Tampa, St. Pete, Clearwater, you are way off

I'm talking about the cities themselves. I know the metro areas are a lot different.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by PDF

There are wonderful neighborhoods surrounding Downtown Raleigh. I'm sorry, but even in Downtown itself, Tampa doesn't even come close.

Yes, there are some nice ones and some rough ones. SE, E & NE containing some of the worst. Similar to Durham, Tampa and most cities.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by Not_liking_FL

Oh, you mean that thread with 10 post and the one guy who wasn't impressed with downtown Raleigh? Then the poster who talked about Tampa's strange downtown. Is that the thread you were referring to?

I am talking about the exact same OP and similar results. People there making fun of using Raleigh as a model for Tampa and one or two people carrying on the battle to convince everyone who lives there that while a nice little DT, it is more than it really is.....LOL!

The one thing the Raleigh DT transformation can provide as a learning experience, is how a city can dump the riff raff out of a target zone and replace it with something more consumer friendly. The Tampa mayor has actually been bulldozing riff raff housing and then selling off the land for development. That is the kind of forward thinking I appreciate.

The bottom line is there already has been key improvements to Tampa and a ton more are in the works. Tampa has no urge to limit itself to be a duplicate of Raleigh, as the plans go well beyond that. Learn what you can from what other cities, Raleigh included, have experienced during their transformation.....both good and bad.

But in the end, the plans here are huge and big time players with billions of dollars are investing into Tampa for a reason. While I am not a city person by any means, I am glad to see the excitement and energy pouring into DT Tampa.

[Not_liking_FL]

Originally Posted by North_Pinellas_Guy

Yes, there are some nice ones and some rough ones. SE, E & NE containing some of the worst. Similar to Durham, Tampa and most cities.

Most of those areas are either buffered by nice neighborhoods or rapidly gentrifying. Raleigh's rough areas are fairly tame compared to a lot of other cities.

Originally Posted by North_Pinellas_Guy

I am talking about the exact same OP and similar results. People there making fun of using Raleigh as a model for Tampa and one or two people carrying on the battle to convince everyone who lives there that while a nice little DT, it is more than it really is.....LOL!

The one thing the Raleigh DT transformation can provide as a learning experience, is how a city can dump the riff raff out of a target zone and replace it with something more consumer friendly. The Tampa mayor has actually been bulldozing riff raff housing and then selling off the land for development. That is the kind of forward thinking I appreciate.

The bottom line is there already has been key improvements to Tampa and a ton more are in the works. Tampa has no urge to limit itself to be a duplicate of Raleigh, as the plans go well beyond that. Learn what you can from what other cities, Raleigh included, have experienced during their transformation.....both good and bad.

But in the end, the plans here are huge and big time players with billions of dollars are investing into Tampa for a reason. While I am not a city person by any means, I am glad to see the excitement and energy pouring into DT Tampa.

It's funny how 2 people can read the same thing and come away with completely different impressions.

Tampa Bay article about emulating DT Raleigh

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by Not_liking_FL

Most of those areas are either buffered by nice neighborhoods or rapidly gentrifying. Raleigh's rough areas are fairly tame compared to a lot of other cities.



It's funny how 2 people can read the same thing and come away with completely different impressions.

Yes......very odd. Similar things happen in other threads as well.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by Not_liking_FL

I was born in Raleigh and grew up not too far from downtown. I currently live just outside the city, and had lunch downtown just a few days ago. I do get some info from websites, news, and even here on the CDF's. I never claimed it is a "huge impressive downtown." However, it is impressive what has happened downtown over the past decade.

It turns out that there are even more things to learn from Raleigh's DT situation. Like how retail is becoming a bust downtown and how some people feel this growing problem could cause the DT to be a ghost town in 10-20 years. Hmmmm......

News: While downtown Raleigh's condos boom, its retail busts

[Not_liking_FL]

Originally Posted by North_Pinellas_Guy

It turns out that there are even more things to learn from Raleigh's DT situation. Like how retail is becoming a bust downtown and how some people feel this growing problem could cause the DT to be a ghost town in 10-20 years. Hmmmm......

News: While downtown Raleigh's condos boom, its retail busts

You're trying hard, aren't you?

It was actually one person who threw out the downtown going bust. What do you think will happen if Tampa's downtown ever gets off the ground?

Oh look...Raleigh is the #2 music city. All the venues they mention are guess where? WOOT WOOT

Top 10 Music Cities Other Than Nashville

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by Not_liking_FL

You're trying hard, aren't you?

It was actually one person who threw out the downtown going bust. What do you think will happen if Tampa's downtown ever gets off the ground?

I don't understand the defensiveness over Raleigh's flawed plans and how one article about what some unknown writer thinks Tampa should do is taken more seriously than an article showing the results of Raleigh's planning becoming a big problem for retail. One is a suggestion and the other is the reality.

Like I said.....learning is about finding out what works and what does not work. Apparently, the evidence shows that we should not follow Raleigh's plans exactly or else the current and the planned retail may very well be in trouble, also.

Remember...I did not post the article regarding Raleigh's failing plans and policies. It was in the Raleigh forum, discussed by people who live there. I just linked to the discussion, which applies in this particular thread.

[Not_liking_FL]

Originally Posted by North_Pinellas_Guy

I don't understand the defensiveness over Raleigh's flawed plans and how one article about what some unknown writer thinks Tampa should do is taken more seriously than an article showing the results of Raleigh's planning becoming a big problem for retail. One is a suggestion and the other is the reality.

Like I said.....learning is about finding out what works and what does not work. Apparently, the evidence shows that we should not follow Raleigh's plans exactly or else the current and the planned retail may very well be in trouble, also.

Remember...I did not post the article regarding Raleigh's failing plans and policies. It was in the Raleigh forum, discussed by people who live there. I just linked to the discussion, which applies in this particular thread.

Lol, some things never change.