Downtown Revitalization
Local governments are rolling out new and updated programs—including tax incentives and zoning amendments—to encourage developers to convert vacant office buildings to some other use.
Located on the site of the former Ritz Theater, the South Grand Community Improvement District in St. Louis spearheaded the transformation of Ritz Park in 2014 from vacant lot to popular gathering spot for movies, concerts, plays, markets, and festivals. Unfortunately, the new space was devoid of shade, making it too uncomfortable for daytime use during the summer.
More than a century ago, the Baltimore waterfront was a working harbor. After a massive 1970s redevelopment that turned the area into the centerpiece of Baltimore’s tourism industry, the American Institute of Architects called it “one of the supreme achievements of large-scale urban design and development in U.S. history.” Yet it became insolvent in 2019. Key lessons learned here can prevent this cycle from repeating as we envision what the next 100 years might hold for the center of Charm City.
A major investment in the long-term future of professional soccer is set to dramatically transform the last major land parcel in downtown Oklahoma City. Thanks to a successful public/private partnership, America’s 20th-largest city is seeing a continued resurgence in its downtown.
Nestled in the shadow of SSM Health’s new $550 million hospital and Saint Louis University’s medical and undergraduate campuses, the former Steelcote Manufacturing Company Paint Factory and its neighboring parcels constituted a forgotten remnant of St. Louis’ proud industrial past. Few observers, if any, envisioned the area’s potential for housing not only students and hospital employees but also national entertainment options such as Topgolf and a major retailer, Target.
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Yesterday, more than 400 commercial real estate professionals and elected officials gathered at the National Building Museum for the third annual Future Forum, a regional conference for public and private-sector leaders.
Recently, three new senior housing apartment towers opened in the metropolitan area of Portland, Oregon.
Four experts discuss how to rebuild urban cores by bringing the public and private sectors together to create thriving downtowns that entice remote workers to return to the office and broaden the mix of uses.
Eight months after the devastating 1995 bombing, a 13-member panel delivered a report detailing downtown redevelopment strategies.
The transformation of Indianapolis’s historic Coca-Cola bottling plant into the Bottleworks District represents one of Indiana’s most ambitious adaptive use projects.
