The Waterfront, Downtown, Midtown, Uptown thread (Vancouver, Mill Plain: hotel, purchase, living)

[cyberous]

Just putting this hear for anything newsworthy in Vancouver's "Downtown"

I'm so happy to see we are getting a much needed grocery store. I don't typically shop at this type of grocery $tore but know many that do. I'm more excited about what other stores will be in the center.

New Seasons to Downtown
https://www.columbian.com/news/2021/...own-vancouver/

[texasdiver]

The upcoming I-5 bridge replacement is going to have profound impacts on the growing downtown/uptown/waterfront scene.

The original bridge replacement project that was torpedoed was actually a massive freeway expansion project with a bridge included. Without looking up the old plans it was some sort of high flyover bridge that would have loomed over downtown and greatly widened I-5 all the way up to Hazel Dell or beyond. Basically a huge new gash right through the area currently being developed. Much of the fuss was over light rail. But the project was really "peak car" in a lot of ways and would have widened the freeway from north Portland up through Hazel Dell.

The project is starting back up again and the direction that they ultimately choose to go will have enormous implications for downtown Vancouver and close-in urban living. What do I mean by that?

Essentially the planners are going to be faced with a choice of (1) sacrificing vitality and development in close-in downtown Vancouver to accommodate easier commuting access from farther flung suburban sprawl areas like Ridgefield and Battleground, or (2) sacrificing increased highway access from the suburbs for a more dense and vital downtown Vancouver area. Probably they will try to strike some muddled middle ground that will satisfy no one entirely.

One thing I think is almost certainly going to happen is an expansion of light rail into downtown Vancouver. The political forces have completely shifted and the rural Clark County political forces that managed to block the last bridge over light rail have since lost virtually all of their political clout at both the state levels and national level. The Portland-centric political forces in Oregon are absolutely not going to go along with any expansion of highway access into Portland that does not also contain a mass transit component. And for better or worse, the mass transit choice that has already been made in the Portland metro is light rail.

Bridge politics aside, in the near term it is going to be very interesting to see how fast the area recovers from the Pandemic. I think if we are able to see a fairly normal summer due to vaccinations and the fading of covid then we could see an explosion of pent-up demand for dining, shopping, and recreation in the downtown and waterfront area. It could be a really great summer with a lot of exciting stuff happening. Not all the existing restaurants and businesses are going to survive. But if the area becomes the destination I expect it to, then I think we'll see a lot of new investment and interesting new businesses. Maybe that's just my optimism talking. But everyone I know is more than ready to spend a lot of pent up time and money going out in the urban landscape again.

[DevanXL]

Originally Posted by cyberous

Just putting this hear for anything newsworthy in Vancouver's "Downtown"

I'm so happy to see we are getting a much needed grocery store. I don't typically shop at this type of grocery $tore but know many that do. I'm more excited about what other stores will be in the center.

New Seasons to Downtown
https://www.columbian.com/news/2021/...own-vancouver/

I lived Downtown Vancouver last year and this was much needed! Even with New Seasons being a little more expensive, it's nice to have all the services of a well planned city popping up downtown. Not verified but I heard rumors of Trader Joes is also scouting out the waterfront for a potential location.

[cyberous]

Coming Soon
The Yard Milkshake Bar
655 W Columbia Way, Vancouver, WA 98660
Region: Waterfront

https://www.visitvancouverusa.com/li...a8R08dwmLet3o0

Went to a similar place in Palm Spring ($10 milkshakes) and it was hugely popular.

[cyberous]

More Waterfront projects approved April 6, 2021

https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/new...at-terminal-1/

[Gaylord_Focker]

Originally Posted by cyberous

More Waterfront projects approved April 6, 2021

https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/new...at-terminal-1/

Curious if they're going to have anything up for purchase and what the price will be.

[texasdiver]

The waterfront is turning into a bigger and bigger destination, not just for Vancouver, but for the entire metro area. My wife and I dropped in to check it out a few weeks ago on a sunny Saturday evening and it was pretty crowded. Every restaurant was completely booked solid for the whole evening. We enjoyed walking around and seeing the sights then drove back up to Mill Plain to find a place to eat. Looking forward to when the new Spanish Tapas place opens called Dos Alas. It is the same owners as Jorge's Tequila Factory up the street in downtown.

I'm hopeful that the planned marketplace on the pier will be something like the Granville Market in the other Vancouver. That would be super cool. And I hope they maintain good pedestrian access under the bridge so that one can walk or bike up and down the waterfront on both sides of the freeway since they are planning more development on the east side of I-5 as well.

Every month there is less and less reason to cross the bridge over to Portland.

[cyberous]

Good Bye Red Lion (More Terminal 1)

https://www.columbian.com/news/2021/...eLljwYNFIRz9PA

[texasdiver]

This is what they are planning to replace it with. A public marketplace that should theoretically be somewhat like the Granville Market in the other Vancouver

[StealthRabbit]

Hopefully they will have very convenient and free parking and public transit access / shuttles to uptown.

Too bad they are not allowing the existing Vancouver Farmers Market the opportunity to relocate to the new space.