Cities on the rebound

[Darrell]

Hartford, Connecticut (my former hometown) has many plans on the books to revitalize it's downtown area. Completed projects include a new riverfront landing complete with a riverboat cruises. This is the first time Downtown Hartford has had access to the Connecticut River since the completion of Interstate 91 and Constitution Plaza in 1964.

Projects that have broken ground include Adriaen's Landing which will be the site of a new covention center, retail shops, restaurants, and several apartment and condo highrises as well as a Marriott Hotel.. Another project underway is the new 40,000 seat University of Connecticut football stadium built just accross the Connecticut River in East Hartford on the site of Pratt & Whitney's former airport, Rentschler Field.

Projects proposed and approved that have yet to break ground are two other residential highrises, not associated with the Adriaen's Landing project. One is Town Square which will be a 420' tower built at Civic Center Plaza and, the other, Trumbull Centre, on what is called the Cutter site, which was a late 80's project that proposed a 878' tower to be built in Downtown Hartford that went bust during the late 80s/early 90s recession.

The final proect calls for a new Westin Hotel at the corner of Main and Asylum Streets.

All of this is very good for Hartford. Does anyone know of other cities that are on the rebound as Hartford currently is?

 

[Cardinal]

I've been to Hartford. It needs to rebound. To be fair, though, parts of all larger cities need help.

It seems like the last decade has been better to cities than the 70's and 80's. Most cities are seeing some positive changes. A few that come to mind (pardon the Midwest bias - they are the ones I am familiar with) are:

Milwaukee
Chicago
Pittsburgh
Seattle
Boston

I could also point to a large number of small cities - under 25,000 residents - that are managing to turn around declining downtowns and central neighborhoods.

 

[Downtown]

Hmm... excellent topic! I've heard a lot about Portland, ME - I had my first visit last fall and it had quite the little bustling downtown, and Old Port was wonderful. I heard they're renovating the docks so that the HUGE cruise ships can dock for a day trip.

 

[Darrell]

I've been to Portland, Maine and I must agree a very picturesque, historic, and vibrant downtown for a small city.

 

[poncho]

smaller towns

Micheal,

Could you point me to some information on the smaller towns that are turning around thier downtowns and central neighborhoods.

Thanks

 

[Cardinal]

I can try, but in reality, most of it is not available in print or on the web. What size community and what features/aspects in particular are you interested in?

 

[poncho]

I am on a Visionaries in Preservation board in my hometown. It is about 25000 in population and growing. The northern part is americana chains, home depot, wally world, etc. and the southern part is the historic area. I believe the purpose is to not let the town totally migrate to the northern section. The first meeting is tommorow I will know more after that.

Thanks

 

[Cardinal]

Too bad you are not in Wisconsin. We will be hosting an Idea Exchange on the topic of downtown vitality/fringe development on May 3rd. I'll try to add some comments afterwards.

 

[JivecitySTL]

I don't see how anyone can dispute the fact that St. Louis is most definitely on the rebound. If you disagree, please voice why.