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An interesting thing about the development going on around Morgantown is the fact that it is not all concentrated in one place. Much of it is spread out around the town, while outlying areas include Suncrest, University Town Center, and Pierpont. All three are experiencing great growth and development.
An interesting thing about the development going on around Morgantown is the fact that it is not all concentrated in one place. Much of it is spread out around the town, while outlying areas include Suncrest, University Town Center, and Pierpont. All three are experiencing great growth and development.
Touching on our conversation in another thread, isn't this the type of thing that will also hurt Morgantown's tax base long term with all of this development outside of city limits?
STC is inside city limits, but yes, the retail is drawn out of town. I'm not sure what the real effect is though since of these corporate businesses would not locate anywhere if in-town was the only option...
STC is inside city limits, but yes, the retail is drawn out of town. I'm not sure what the real effect is though since of these corporate businesses would not locate anywhere if in-town was the only option...
FYI, per this map it appears that STC is just out of city limits. They also used to advertise that as an advantage of locating there, not having to pay city b&o taxes.
Most retail development these days takes place out of urban limits, and yes, Suncrest is outside of them. The Barboursville Mall is outside of Huntington's city limits too, as are the Ohio Valley Mall and Highlands outside of Wheeling's limits.
We're pretty jammed up inside the limits in Morgantown. There is not enough room for that sort of development, so they focus on service businesses. New businesses rarely choose to put themselves in a position to pay higher taxes just for the heck of it, or subject themselves to more regulation either. Also, outlaying areas rarely choose to join in with the core these days. It means contributing to the support of an older and more expansive central portion.
Most retail development these days takes place out of urban limits, and yes, Suncrest is outside of them. The Barboursville Mall is outside of Huntington's city limits too, as are the Ohio Valley Mall and Highlands outside of Wheeling's limits.
We're pretty jammed up inside the limits in Morgantown. There is not enough room for that sort of development, so they focus on service businesses. New businesses rarely choose to put themselves in a position to pay higher taxes just for the heck of it, or subject themselves to more regulation either. Also, outlaying areas rarely choose to join in with the core these days. It means contributing to the support of an older and more expansive central portion.
The problem here is that large cities have been reversing this trend for a decade. While being in an urban environment used to be viewed as a roadblock, being in a walkable community is now a major asset. While major american cities have been reversing the trend of suburban development for the last 20 years, smaller towns have not yet got the message. High Street and the entire downtown area are incredible assets. Currently, their convenience is only utilized by sleazy bars, but if MoTown planners focused their efforts on it, they could make the Downtown area of MoTown the most vibrant area of the state and a shining beacon. In reality, it already is the most vibrant area of the state, but think of the potential considering that it already has mass transit and entire nice portions of the city that you can walk to it from.
If I lived in Morgantown, I'd live in South Park and stroll downtown on a daily basis. What a great layout... Instead of encouraging dispersed horribly strip mall models that were obsolete before they were built, Morgantown should be encouraging density. Given the geographical constraints of the terrain, it would make sense to maximize the land utilization in areas that are already population-dense.
The problem here is that large cities have been reversing this trend for a decade. While being in an urban environment used to be viewed as a roadblock, being in a walkable community is now a major asset. While major american cities have been reversing the trend of suburban development for the last 20 years, smaller towns have not yet got the message. High Street and the entire downtown area are incredible assets. Currently, their convenience is only utilized by sleazy bars, but if MoTown planners focused their efforts on it, they could make the Downtown area of MoTown the most vibrant area of the state and a shining beacon. In reality, it already is the most vibrant area of the state, but think of the potential considering that it already has mass transit and entire nice portions of the city that you can walk to it from.
If I lived in Morgantown, I'd live in South Park and stroll downtown on a daily basis. What a great layout... Instead of encouraging dispersed horribly strip mall models that were obsolete before they were built, Morgantown should be encouraging density. Given the geographical constraints of the terrain, it would make sense to maximize the land utilization in areas that are already population-dense.
There is merit to what you're saying, but High Street is not just sleezy bars. There are some very nice restaurants there and some nice bars too. They are even developing a new upscale hotel in that area.
There is no question that some of the development could be upgraded though. But personally, I would not be in favor of pushing density in that particular location. I would not want Morgantown to be a large city in that regard, with tall steel and glass structures in the traditionally college town portion. I would not oppose them near the Wharf District, or the north end of Beechurst, but I would want to basically leave High Street alone.
There is amazing momentum to the development here, and that would invariably push it to the outer fringes due to space considerations. Much of it is health services related, so parking is an issue, and The University has grown while at the same time preserving most of its traditional downtown core, but to do that the growth had to be in the outer area as well. The fact that retail development is not focused in one outlying area, like you find in Barboursville for example, lends itself to new housing stock being built in various parts of the area as well, rather than just in one portion. There could be improvements and greater coordination, no doubt about that. And, I would like to see a proactive approach taken in making sure you don't have to "pay for the same land twice", as Gen. George Patton said. That's why I hope when they build the bridge over I-79 they include a walking/biking component as well as the potential for PRT involvement. It's also the kind of planning that should have utility wires placed underground when they expand Mileground.
In short, I'm hoping for a proactive planning process rather than a reactive one.
The problem here is that large cities have been reversing this trend for a decade. While being in an urban environment used to be viewed as a roadblock, being in a walkable community is now a major asset. While major american cities have been reversing the trend of suburban development for the last 20 years, smaller towns have not yet got the message. High Street and the entire downtown area are incredible assets. Currently, their convenience is only utilized by sleazy bars, but if MoTown planners focused their efforts on it, they could make the Downtown area of MoTown the most vibrant area of the state and a shining beacon. In reality, it already is the most vibrant area of the state, but think of the potential considering that it already has mass transit and entire nice portions of the city that you can walk to it from.
If I lived in Morgantown, I'd live in South Park and stroll downtown on a daily basis. What a great layout... Instead of encouraging dispersed horribly strip mall models that were obsolete before they were built, Morgantown should be encouraging density. Given the geographical constraints of the terrain, it would make sense to maximize the land utilization in areas that are already population-dense.
Downtown Morgantown is already the most vibrant area in the state.
Morgantown is already the most walkable city in WV. In fact Morgantown is the 34th best walkable city in the country.
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