Latest news with #urbanrenewal
CBC
2 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
Sandwich Town residents hopeful as boarded up buildings come down
Some residents of Sandwich Town say they're happy to finally see the end of around a dozen boarded up houses in their neighbourhood that are owned by the same company that owns the Ambassador Bridge. The bridge corporation is tearing the buildings down after years of vacancy, during which neighbours have complained of unsightly caved-in roofs, pest infestations and repeated arsons. "We've been waiting a long time for this to happen and I'm just kind of shocked that it happened this quick," said Kevin Benoit, who lives on St. Antoine Street. "We're talking about how long? A very, very long time." The Canadian Transit Company bought the homes to make way for a possible second international crossing next to the Ambassador Bridge. However, the company said there is no plan to move forward with the project after the federal permit for it expired in 2022. The company's vice president told CBC in an email that the company is now working collaboratively with city officials to bring secondary truck inspections to the bridge plaza. "We are optimistic that we will be able to make an announcement of additional large investments soon," Ken Dobson said. Resident would love to see new homes built Asked why the company chose now as the time to tear down the buildings, Dobson said it could not do so until the city issued permits. Benoit said he would've appreciated some warning about the demolitions so he could prepare for the noise. He's also concerned it will be a slow process, and he's worried about what will become of the land when it's done. But after living in the neighbourhood for around 20 years and watching the houses go from family homes to eyesores, he says he'd love to see new homes back on the properties. "That would be great," he said. "That would really make this neighborhood. This is a nice little quiet section of the west end, right?" Edison Street resident Preston Gao said even vacant properties would be better than boarded up buildings. Gao, who has lived in the area since 2017, said the neighbourhood is affordable, the neighbours are very kind, and he's not sure he'd want to live anywhere else. But he said the empty homes attracted unhoused people who camped on porches and tried to break in. It also attracted numerous animals. "The roofs are all in disrepair and falling in," he said. "So raccoons will make nests up there – squirrels, plenty of skunks in the area." There's also a feral cat colony in the neighbourhood, Gao said. "I'm happy," he said of the demolition now underway.
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Abandoned railyard reborn as the South's hottest neighborhood
A once-forgotten corner of Nashville, TN, is in the middle of an unlikely transformation — and locals can't get enough of it. What was until recently a neglected industrial stretch on the edge of downtown has morphed into, a trendy enclave now considered one of Music City's most desirable neighborhoods. It had last been of significance as a Civil War–era railyard. Now, The Gulch — as it is known — has become a luxury hub filled with sleek high-rises, rooftop bars, boutique hotels, and eco-conscious design. 'For a long time The Gulch was like a downtown for locals,' Nashville realtor Tim Bartlett (pictured) tells 'It wasn't anything like now until about 2012 and that first little boom there where they built a handful of the condos. 'And then it started to fill out more and more and then it was just this really cool vibrant area with lots of local people that live there now that didn't originally want to live downtown because downtown could be kind of a nightmare. 'Now there's a Ritz-Carlton coming to The Gulch.' It took two decades for the 110-acre urban oasis, tucked just southwest of Nashville's bustling Broadway strip, to turn from derelict to a modern oasis — even earning the coveted title of the South's first LEED-certified neighborhood and setting the standard for sustainable city living. LEED is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development. The area's comeback story is legendary. Once a near-abandoned stretch of rusting train tracks, the Gulch sat dormant for nearly half a century after WWII, ard earned its name due to the gulch that runs through it. Then along came MarketStreet Enterprises, the developer behind its fabulous rebirth. Led by Steve Turner, Jay Turner and Joe Barker, they had a vision for the area and began reviving it in the early 2000s. Today, it's a buzzing live-work-play neighborhood, minutes from cultural institutions like the Ryman Auditorium and the Country Music Hall of Fame. It also has a completely different vibe from the neon-lit chaos of honky-tonk Broadway and it's endless tourists. A median condo price in The Gulch is around $400,000, Bartlett said. 'Part of the reason they're so affordable is because there's so many single-family homes in Nashville and a lot a lot of people are likely to go townhome or single-family home,' he said. Investors are also looking to get into The Gulch. Luxury condo living is what Gulchers want and developers are listening. The iconic 22-story 'Icon in the Gulch,' which broke ground in 2006, led the condo boom. It's since been joined by slick developments like Terrazzo, Twelve Twelve, The James, and the newest luxury building, Pullman Gulch Union. The condos are holding their value well, with average list prices hovering at $945,000. Condos that were purchased in 2019 for around $500,000 are now easily worth a cool $850,000. At Twelve Twelve, a one-bed is currently listed for $539,000, complete with saltwater pool, dog park, and chic lounge areas. A lavish three-bedroom condo at Pullman is asking $2.665 million. The area is only continuing to grow. The Paramount, slated for 2027, is expected to outprice the ultra-modern digs already built. There are boutique hotels, instagrammable murals, shops, live music venues, breweries, and restaurants with locally sourced menus offering biscuits and Nashville Hot Chicken. The Gulch has just 1,850 residents and a median age of 30. Locals describe is as youthful, educated, and undeniably upscale. 'So many people are starting to migrate that direction and now you've got some really high end hotels that a lot of musicians stay at,' Bartlett says. 'From a residential point of view you'll get a nice 800 square-foot one bedroom for like $400,000,' The Gulch is also good for every day living. It's walkable, eco-forward, and dripping in amenities. With over 80 eateries, bars and boutiques, plus resort-style pools, co-working spaces, and 24-hour security, the neighborhood leaves little reason to leave. Yet, you're still in the city, with skyline views from rooftop lounges, boutique fitness studios, high-end spas, and designer hotel chains like W Hotels and Thompson Hotels nearby. 'You can walk downtown easily if you wanted to,' Bartlett says. 'You can get to Union Station and museums but within The Gulch is also really nice restaurants and great nightlife. There's three different rooftop bars with views there.' Green space isn't forgotten either. Noble Park, a 10,000-square-foot public retreat, boasts a stage, water features and café seating. It's family friendly too. Locals are zoned for Hume-Fogg High School, ranked number 1 in Tennessee and 166th in the country according to US school rankings. Getting around is easy too. There are over 2,000 parking spaces, bike-sharing via B-cycle, dedicated bike lanes, and a free Green Line bus, you can leave your car behind. As Nashville powers through a building boom with mega-projects like Nashville Yards and the East Bank waterfront, the Gulch is the perfect place to escape. Meanwhile, all of Nashville has seen a boom in population. Americans have recently been abandoning Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City for the city, know for its affordability and music scene. The city's good enough for Taylor Swift, who kicked off her career in town. Nashville is also drawing people for its open job market, and no state income tax.
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Abandoned railyard quietly reborn as the South's hottest neighborhood
A once-forgotten corner of Nashville, TN, is in the middle of an unlikely transformation — and locals can't get enough of it. What was until recently a neglected industrial stretch on the edge of downtown has morphed into, a trendy enclave now considered one of Music City's most desirable neighborhoods. It had last been of significance as a Civil War–era railyard. Now, The Gulch — as it is known — has become a luxury hub filled with sleek high-rises, rooftop bars, boutique hotels, and eco-conscious design. 'For a long time The Gulch was like a downtown for locals,' Nashville realtor Tim Bartlett tells 'It wasn't anything like now until about 2012 and that first little boom there where they built a handful of the condos. 'And then it started to fill out more and more and then it was just this really cool vibrant area with lots of local people that live there now that didn't originally want to live downtown because downtown could be kind of a nightmare. 'Now there's a Ritz-Carlton coming to The Gulch.' It took two decades for the 110-acre urban oasis, tucked just southwest of Nashville's bustling Broadway strip, to turn from derelict to a modern oasis — even earning the coveted title of the South's first LEED-certified neighborhood and setting the standard for sustainable city living. LEED is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development. The area's comeback story is legendary. Once a near-abandoned stretch of rusting train tracks, the Gulch sat dormant for nearly half a century after WWII, ard earned its name due to the gulch that runs through it. Then along came MarketStreet Enterprises, the developer behind its fabulous rebirth. Led by Steve Turner, Jay Turner and Joe Barker, they had a vision for the area and began reviving it in the early 2000s. Today, it's a buzzing live-work-play neighborhood, minutes from cultural institutions like the Ryman Auditorium and the Country Music Hall of Fame. It also has a completely different vibe from the neon-lit chaos of honky-tonk Broadway and it's endless tourists. A median condo price in The Gulch is around $400,000, Bartlett said. 'Part of the reason they're so affordable is because there's so many single-family homes in Nashville and a lot a lot of people are likely to go townhome or single-family home,' he said. Investors are also looking to get into The Gulch. Luxury condo living is what Gulchers want and developers are listening. The iconic 22-story 'Icon in the Gulch,' which broke ground in 2006, led the condo boom. It's since been joined by slick developments like Terrazzo, Twelve Twelve, The James, and the newest luxury building, Pullman Gulch Union. The condos are holding their value well, with average list prices hovering at $945,000. Condos that were purchased in 2019 for around $500,000 are now easily worth a cool $850,000. At Twelve Twelve, a one-bed is currently listed for $539,000, complete with saltwater pool, dog park, and chic lounge areas. A lavish three-bedroom condo at Pullman is asking $2.665 million. The area is only continuing to grow. The Paramount, slated for 2027, is expected to outprice the ultra-modern digs already built. There are boutique hotels, instagrammable murals, shops, live music venues, breweries, and restaurants with locally sourced menus offering biscuits and Nashville Hot Chicken. The Gulch has just 1,850 residents and a median age of 30. Locals describe is as youthful, educated, and undeniably upscale. 'So many people are starting to migrate that direction and now you've got some really high end hotels that a lot of musicians stay at,' Bartlett says. 'From a residential point of view you'll get a nice 800 square-foot one bedroom for like $400,000,' The Gulch is also good for every day living. It's walkable, eco-forward, and dripping in amenities. With over 80 eateries, bars and boutiques, plus resort-style pools, co-working spaces, and 24-hour security, the neighborhood leaves little reason to leave. Yet, you're still in the city, with skyline views from rooftop lounges, boutique fitness studios, high-end spas, and designer hotel chains like W Hotels and Thompson Hotels nearby. 'You can walk downtown easily if you wanted to,' Bartlett says. 'You can get to Union Station and museums but within The Gulch is also really nice restaurants and great nightlife. There's three different rooftop bars with views there.' Green space isn't forgotten either. Noble Park, a 10,000-square-foot public retreat, boasts a stage, water features and café seating. It's family friendly too. Locals are zoned for Hume-Fogg High School, ranked number 1 in Tennessee and 166th in the country according to US school rankings. Getting around is easy too. There are over 2,000 parking spaces, bike-sharing via B-cycle, dedicated bike lanes, and a free Green Line bus, you can leave your car behind. As Nashville powers through a building boom with mega-projects like Nashville Yards and the East Bank waterfront, the Gulch is the perfect place to escape. Meanwhile, all of Nashville has seen a boom in population. Americans have recently been abandoning Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City for the city, know for its affordability and music scene. The city's good enough for Taylor Swift, who kicked off her career in town. Nashville is also drawing people for its open job market, and no state income tax.
Malay Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
Greener streets, cooler city: How Penang plans to refresh Unesco-listed George Town
GEORGE TOWN, July 20 — In George Town's historic core, one of Penang's oldest roads is about to get a major facelift, not just for heritage, but for the climate. Beach Street, once a waterfront artery for commerce and now a bustling financial centre, has been selected as the starting point for Penang's ambitious plan to cool down its inner city and return its streets to people, not just cars. The Penang Island City Council (MBPP) is launching a RM24.7 million pilot project that will transform a 1.76km loop around Beach Street into a climate-responsive, pedestrian-friendly zone. MBPP Mayor Datuk A. Rajendran said the aim is to reclaim public space and combat the heat island effect caused by concrete, tarmac, and the dense rows of old shophouses. 'We want to bring down urban temperatures by planting more trees and at the same time, increase the walkway width while reducing the carriageway,' he told Malay Mail in a recent interview. A map of the area identified for the PNBCAP @ Beach Street initiative, courtesy of MBPP The project is partly funded by a World Bank Adaptation Fund grant under the Nature-Based Climate Adaptation Programme for Urban Areas of Penang Island (PNBCAP), with MBPP covering the other half. 'This can be replicated in other streets in the city and it can be a model for other cities to replicate to bring down urban heat and improve walkability,' Rajendran said. He said stakeholder engagement sessions have so far been positive and the council has already awarded the contract, with work slated to begin on September 1 and complete by February 2027. The planned works will go beyond cosmetic upgrades. What to expect Footpaths will be widened, more trees planted, and new pocket parks added to encourage walking while reducing temperatures. The Queen Victoria Memorial Clock Tower, now surrounded by a traffic roundabout, will be transformed into a focal point for a pedestrian pocket park with safe street crossings. To make space for the changes, Beach Street and Church Street Ghaut will be converted into one-way streets, while the number of roadside parking spaces in the loop will be reduced from 293 to just 100. An artist's impression of the PNBCAP @ Beach Street initiative that will introduce wider walkways and more trees into George Town, Penang. — Picture courtesy of MBPP The project will also introduce clean energy solutions. These include solar panels to power street lights and phone charging stations, and a kinetic walkway that captures energy from footsteps to power low-energy infrastructure. Soil cell systems – underground structures that help trees grow healthy roots without damaging pavements – will be used to support the new trees. But for all its future-looking ambitions, this project is deeply rooted in George Town's past. An artist's impression of the PNBCAP @ Beach Street initiative that will introduce wider walkways and more trees into George Town, Penang. — Picture courtesy of MBPP Here is a closer look at the streets involved. Roads affected Beach Street, laid out in 1786 along with Light Street and Chulia Street, was among the first roads drawn up after Francis Light arrived in Penang. Originally hugging the eastern shoreline, it lost its coastal view after major land reclamations in the late 19th century pushed the sea further east. Today, it remains one of the busiest streets in George Town, lined with banks, offices, and heritage shophouses. But the upgrade will reach beyond Beach Street to the adjacent roads – each with their own layered stories. Weld Quay, for instance, was born of the same 19th-century land reclamation that distanced Beach Street from the sea. Named after Sir Frederick Weld, a former Governor of the Straits Settlements, the road once connected George Town to its thriving port and continues to serve as a vital link to Swettenham Pier, the Raja Tun Uda Ferry Terminal and RapidPenang's bus terminal. Chulia Street Ghaut, once a simple sandy track to the shoreline, emerged from that same wave of reclamation as an extension of Chulia Street, directly linking to Weld Quay. It now traces the old footprint of Yeoh Kongsi, a clan house once open to the waterfront. An artist's impression of the PNBCAP @ Beach Street initiative that will introduce wider walkways and more trees into George Town, Penang. — Picture courtesy of MBPP Pesara King Edward (also known as King Edward's Place), a short but significant stretch, connects Light Street to Weld Quay and was created during land reclamation between 1880 and 1904. It is home to early 20th-century godowns and post-war office buildings, and leads directly to Swettenham Pier and Penang Port Sdn Bhd's headquarters. Downing Street, inspired by its London namesake, was once the seat of British administration in Penang after land reclamation in the early 1880s. Though many of its colonial buildings were lost during World War II, the road remains a key part of the city's administrative memory, now occupied by a large parking lot. Church Street Ghaut was added as a reclamation-era extension of Church Street, historically lined with warehouses that supported George Town's maritime trade. Today, those old godowns are being revitalised as trendy cafés, art galleries and boutique lodgings. China Street Ghaut, once a boundary road for the Chinese tradesmen community, shares a similar story – created during the late 19th-century reclamation and now part of the city's heritage grid. Victoria Street, once mudflats along the coast, was built between 1880 and 1904 and earned the local Hokkien name hai kee sin lor, meaning 'new road by the sea.' Only a short 200-metre section of this nearly 1km-long road will be included in the redevelopment, but its transformation is no less symbolic. An artist's impression of the PNBCAP @ Beach Street initiative that will introduce wider walkways and more trees into George Town, Penang. — Picture courtesy of MBPP Across the entire loop, the MBPP aims to not only reduce surface temperatures but also bring back vibrancy through greener, safer streets. With climate change looming and urban temperatures rising, Penang hopes the new Beach Street can be both a nod to the past – and a blueprint for the future.
CBS News
7 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Colorado city of Englewood reimagining what parts South Broadway will look like
The City of Englewood recently launched an effort to re-imagine what parts of South Broadway will look like. It's part of the South Broadway Revitalization Project which focuses on just over two miles from Jefferson Avenue to Belleview Avenue. South Broadway runs through the heart of the city that lies just south of Denver, and that stretch of the road already features small local businesses, an arts district and community events. But those who work, live and play in the area want it to be more pedestrian-friendly and welcoming for people and businesses alike. "It's not walkable for a number of reasons," said Ryan Kelly, the owner of Hum Furniture. "It feels like a lot like, almost like a highway. People are zooming past. It seems more geared towards cars getting to their next destination than serving the community around us." Many added it often feels like a commuter stretch, especially in the area about a mile away from downtown Englewood. "It can make walking here a little bit dicey. I've also noticed that this area of Englewood is not an area that people look at as a destination or a place to spend a lot of time," said Whitney Bradford, who opened Western Sky Bar & Taproom nearly four years ago. Surrounding Bradford's business are some vacant buildings, some other small businesses and another bar across the street. "This is a really good example of where there could be some more pedestrian-friendly infrastructure," said Bradford. "I don't know how many times I've seen people dart across Broadway to go from Western Sky to the Englewood Tavern, and it's pretty scary." With the South Broadway Revitalization Project, the city hopes to make improvements by focusing on nine strategy areas, including safety, economic development and redevelopment. The city has also created strategy groups, in which Bradford is part of several. "I would also like to see some food options, a coffee shop, something like that, to where we can really try to become like a cohesive business community and support each other through this corridor," said Bradford. "So, to get it done, we probably need a couple of destinations where communities that are surrounding it can come and enjoy," said Kelly. "If the city could do something like that, I think it would be amazing." The project also includes adding more amenities and public art and hosting more signature events, with the overall goal of bringing more vibrancy to the area that some say is overlooked. "That's something that I'm really excited about, and getting more people to be able to come together on this side of town and meet their neighbors and have a good time," said Bradford. "I'm excited to hopefully see some new businesses being enticed to the area, some more pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, more greenery, a facelift and more color. I'm just really looking forward to this, this area kind of getting into their untapped potential." The revitalization project is still in the early stages. The City of Englewood is now asking the community to weigh in and share their thoughts on the future of the corridor through community surveys and public meetings. For more information about the project or to share your thoughts, visit
