North American Cities that transformed the most (2010-2019) (townhouse, neighborhoods)
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I was only 11 years old when Philly's growth rate turned positive for the first time in 2006, the first time in decades. Philly's outlook was bleak in the early-to-mid-2000s: the "Killadelphia" and "Philthadelphia" monikers were very much alive and well, Center City was much less lively, neighborhoods close to Center City were still reeling from decades of disinvestment, there was a higher level of violent crime, and the city was still experiencing an overall brain drain due to the failure to retain former college students who attended one of our multitude of colleges and universities. 2006 marked the beginning of an amazing air of change that would grip the city in the coming years.
2010-2019 has been a truly transformative time for Philly. First of all, our skyline has expanded in all directions: the tallest towers in West (FMC Tower), South (CHOP Tower), and North Philly (1324 N. Broad Street, aka The Nest) were all completed within the decade. Additionally, the Comcast Technology Center is now the tallest building in Philly, PA, and outside of NYC and Chicago. The Comcast Center was completed in 2008, so we've managed to push our skyline to new heights (no pun intended) in a relatively short period of time.
After taking in our beautiful skyline, one could observe the neighborhoods and notice that new homes are popping up in nearly every corner of the city. In the beginning, new homes began rising in neighborhoods close to Center City; however, this has become less true as all of the close-in neighborhoods have come close to being completely filled--save for Callowhill, which will really start to blossom in the 2020s. People are no longer afraid to buy a home west of 52nd Street in West Philly, above Girard Avenue in North Philly, and east of Front Street in the River Wards, and the associated neighborhoods and commercial corridors have been revitalized as a result. I have a feeling that Lower North Philly take off in the 2020s, as will certain north-of-Market neighborhoods in West Philly.
Our schools (public schools and universities other than Penn) have been getting better, our rate of job growth and venture capital investment has come to rival the metrics of other metros typically viewed as being ahead of us, a world-class restaurant scene has planted roots in Center City and beyond, poverty is down and incomes are up, we are on the forefront of becoming a center of gene therapy research, and our profile has risen on a national and international level. Don't believe me? Philadelphia has broken its record for tourism for a seventh straight year!
After small gains made in the mid-to-late-2000s, 2010-2019 turned out to represent a hugely positive paradigm shift for Philly. I can't wait to see what the 2020s will hold for my hometown!
Where could you buy a house for $250k within 3 miles of downtown in 2009? Maybe Chelsea, Everett, Mattapan?
It was (almost) as expensive then, comparatively to the rest of the US, as it is now. Meteoric rises in housing costs aren't particularly unique to Boston/the MSA. Are the % gains higher than many other established cities? Sure, but well behind some others.. I would guess, as a %, it's fairly similar to ATL.
As for the rest of your statement, what has happened in Boston has happened in ATL. It just feels different in Atlanta because we are talking entire city area/neighborhoods East of 85. It is a different planet than it used to be. We're not talking tear downs like the ones we see in Dorchester.. We are talking wild and dramatic shifts that go beyond gentrification.
In his defense, new 1 bed 1 bath condos were selling for 300k in 2009 ... and the same units now 10 years older go for atleast 600k. New units are popping up for no less than 650k Downtown... My family sold their Dorchester condo in 2010 at 149k... now its back on the market with little updates at 400k.
Not sure if they are the very top three, but I think Seattle, Austin, and Nashville have transformed a lot. Other cities may have had more growth, but I think in those cities you really see and feel it. They are much different than they were in 2010.
Not sure if they are the very top three, but I think Seattle, Austin, and Nashville have transformed a lot. Other cities may have had more growth, but I think in those cities you really see and feel it. They are much different than they were in 2010.
It is amazing at how much Austin has changed, even since I moved here in 2015. Traffic is much worse, (lets just get that out of the way), but the dining options are endless, there are events on a daily basis, the airport is much busier now with 4 TATL routes, people are out 24/7 in central areas, SXSW and ACL continue to grow incredibly, we are about to get an MLS team, many more urban developments are popping up, and downtown is growing insanely fast, (currently a 848ft, and four 500ft towers under development, with 19 others at 150-499ft). Here are two photos of Austin, one in 2003. and one in 2019. The growth is unbelievable.
This is because a bunch of cities that really should be considered part of Vancouver (Burnaby, Richmond, New Westminster, Surrey etc), just as all the suburbs of Calgary and Toronto are listed as Calgary and Toronto through amalgamation, are now included in this search.
Those Toronto numbers are just for the city proper (Old Toronto and the boroughs of North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, York and East York) and don't include the large 905 suburbs such as Mississauga, Markham, Richmond Hill and Vaughan which are all constructing many tall buildings.
it still going to be Toronto by far. if anything 2020-2019 should be more impressive as some rules about height have been relaxed recently and many 200m+ Towers are approved and should be starting by 2023. 2020 to 2029 should be the decade Toronto finally tops Chicago skyline.
Here are all the proposed towers in Toronto which I expect all to start by 2023 Diagrams - SkyscraperPage.com
221 above 100m+
25 above 200m+
Lack of land and population growth means Toronto will not be slowing down anytime soon
LA is constrained by mountains and the ocean and so needs to infill (well, and spread massively out into exurban Inland Empire which it does, though that's not LA). LA isn't building as many skyscrapers as Toronto, but the fabric of the city is changing and will continue to change rapidly simply because there were and still are so many surface parking lots and strip malls from past decades that will be quickly filled by mid-rises due to escalating land values and some zoning changes and potentially even greater zoning changes in the near future.
The other substantial change to go with that is what would be a fairly large expansion of its mass transit system. There's one major heavy rail rapid transit line expansion underway and multiple light rail expansion lines underway and slated including one project that connects light rail services through a grade-separated tunnel in downtown Los Angeles. Like GO Transit, LA is also looking to significantly beef up its commuter rail service to something a bit more usable though not with quite the high targets GO has set.
Parts of these changes are being pushed at a rapid rate by the external factor of needing to accommodate the 2028 Olympics.
Those Toronto numbers are just for the city proper (Old Toronto and the boroughs of North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, York and East York) and don't include the large 905 suburbs such as Mississauga, Markham, Richmond Hill and Vaughan which are all constructing many tall buildings.
Still, Vancouver (city) is only about 25% of the metro area while Toronto (city) is around 40%. Adding Burnaby and New Westminster to Vancouver would make it more comparable. Surrey and Richmond would be like Vaughan/Markham/Richmond Hill/Mississauga.
Vancouver is less centralized too though. Like there's a higher percentage of its highrises in outlying suburbs.
For 2010-2019 and highrises built in various municipalities
Vancouver: 141
Richmond: 50
Burnaby: 43
Coquitlam: 24
North Vancouver: 17
New Westminster: 16
Surrey: 14
White Rock: 3
West Vancouver: 1
Port Coquitlam: 1
Delta: 1
Port Moody: 1
Total: 312 (45% in main city)
That's because Shangri-La was built in 2008 and they were doing searches for builds and U/C from 2010-2019.
If you increase the search range to completion of U/C from 2010 to past 2020 on Skyscraperpage (one of the best resources on the web for this sort of information... with excellent illustrations too) the numbers are:
Toronto - 639
Vancouver - 159 (but really ~355, see below)
Montreal - 147
Calgary - 94
Ottawa - 45
Edmonton - 32
Halifax - 29
London - 25
Victoria - 19
Winnipeg - 13
Quebec - 10
Vancouver is actually unfairly underestimated because if you do a full search for all of BC you'd get 382 built or U/C from 2010 onwards:
This is because a bunch of cities that really should be considered part of Vancouver (Burnaby, Richmond, New Westminster, Surrey etc), just as all the suburbs of Calgary and Toronto are listed as Calgary and Toronto through amalgamation, are now included in this search. Subtract out the only other BC cities outside of Metro Van that have built or are building new skyscrapers (Victoria's 19 and Kelowna's 8) and you end up with approximately 355 for the GVRD.
Don't underestimate the insane building boom that went on in Vancouver over the past decade. Calgary can't even touch that, even when accounting for relative population sizes (Calgary being a little over 1/2 of Metro Vancouver).
That said, whatever happened in Toronto is truly transformational and gives Canada a tier 1 international skyline.
Ah, I missed that.
Thanks for the explanation. I've always stated in other threads, whether it's the cost of housing, or any other comparison, that excluding the burbs in Vancouver's case can be very misleading, because of the small amount of sq k's that Vancouver encompasses compared to other cities it gets compared to.
In terms of name recognition, I would easily say Austin.
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