Thursday, January 09, 2003
Downtown Development
A local area developer unvelied a plan yesterday to build three twenty story buildings near downtown Gainesville. Mayor Tom Bussing opposes the plan, stating that the high rises could ruin the district's walkable, approachable atmosphere. "Is Gainesville going to stay Gainesville?", he whined.
Is Gainesville's skyline that important to preserve. The area that the buildings are to be built are made up of antiquated warehouses, and was an area known for drug dealing and prostitution. It less than a block from a fifteen story hospital building. Will these buildings really change the face of the area for the worse?
The only people that these buildings might negatively affect are those people living in the habitat-for-humanity-type house two blocks over. They are the nicest houses in the area, and they'll be shadowed by the complex. Still, I think the positives in this deal outweigh the negatives.
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