It looks like the city council is putting their foot down on the proposed Metropolitan residential tower at 10th and J Street. They have asked the developer to go back to the drawing board because it’s too big at 400 feet tall and too sleek according to the Mayor. The biggest reason it’s going back to be redesigned is because it will block the council member’s views of the Capitol and the Cathedral from their chambers of City Hall. The Mayor is now requesting that the Metropolitan also be designed to look like the Citizen or Elks Lodge buildings that are near by.
It seems crazy to me that at this final approval stage the city council has brought up all these objections and ask for a complete redesign. It almost appears like their tiring to kill the proposal. For the last year this proposal gained approval from needed committees and gaining all the needed entitlements to build, but then the city council at this late stage has now asked the developer to go back to square one and start over. If I were a developer and thinking about building something, I would have second thoughts after seeing how the city council waited till this final stage of approval to bring up their objections.
I wonder if John Saca will just withdraw his proposal altogether? Saca will have to pay all his people who worked on the original proposal again in order to redesign the tower and then shuffle it back through the committees.
It seems crazy to me that at this final approval stage the city council has brought up all these objections and ask for a complete redesign. It almost appears like their tiring to kill the proposal. For the last year this proposal gained approval from needed committees and gaining all the needed entitlements to build, but then the city council at this late stage has now asked the developer to go back to square one and start over. If I were a developer and thinking about building something, I would have second thoughts after seeing how the city council waited till this final stage of approval to bring up their objections.
I wonder if John Saca will just withdraw his proposal altogether? Saca will have to pay all his people who worked on the original proposal again in order to redesign the tower and then shuffle it back through the committees.
Tragic. This is the kind of stuff that just kills people's desire to try new things in an urban community. It's as if the city is trying to stifle our growth and keep this this town from growing up. Like a stubborn parent, hugging their child so tightly, they begin to strangle them. To slick? to tall? or just to good, to soon?
ReplyDeleteSo sad , do I even have to say it LIUS ?
ReplyDeleteit's sad that the selfsih intestest of a few city council members have triumphed over abadly needed project. I have no problems with some design tweaking; but the council seems to ignore the fact that we have a Capitol View Corridor in place and the location of this tower is perfect for a "sleek tower". I'm affraid we will be stuck with the empty shell of the Biltomore and the former Broiler for many years to come.
ReplyDeleteIf i were advising John Saca, my advice would be for him to walk away from this project and find a city that is serious about luring high density projects into their central city.