Rising up

The West Temple Gateway (north end of the People's Freeway) neighborhood is on the rise, quite literally. The following are housing complexes that are under construction or recently completed:

This housing complex is on 300 West, right across from the Dough Girl. Considering that it's located on 300 West, it's about as inviting as you could expect. It just seems like they only want residents to drive in and drive out, but but very little thought into making it inviting and pleasant for residents to walk in and walk out.

This new condo complex is on 200 West, just south of 700 South. Based on the banner on the side of the building, their target market seems to be young couples looking for an affordable starter home. I appreciate that they are willing to build higher density a block away from a transit station, but I wish that they would have spent at least a little bit of effort on integrating into the streetscape. This area has the potential to be an attractive, walkable community. Put simply, this building is not inviting. It doesn't tell a story. If I was walking on this street, I'd quickly walk right past. It doesn't say "people live here who want to be a part of this community" it says "I am an un-inviting fortress here to protect my residents from this dangerous neighborhood". 

This is right next to the previous condo complex- on the corner of 700 South and 200 West. Kind of funky, but now we're getting somewhere. It's facing the street. The people who built this are showing some confidence in the future of the neighborhood. They are showing that they believe that more and more people will be milling around on these sidewalks.

I have similar issues with this building as the others. What's wrong with putting at least a little effort into making a building look attractive and interesting for a pedestrian to walk past?

Despite my criticisms about the design of the buildings going in in this area, I find it encouraging that they are being built.The recently constructed TRAX station has no doubt helped to fuel some of this redevelopment. This is a model for others to follow, and shows that transit can and does promote development, just as hoped. This may be part of the reason why the RDA is sponsoring a study to look at streetcar in downtown- with a focus on redevelopment. This is a good start, hopefully with more (and better) things to come.