Quote:
Originally Posted by RonnieFoos
After all, I've read of highrise developments being fought because "it blocks the views of mountains".
|
On the issue of the Stewart Motor Company / Circles building, I have mixed feelings and not enough inside information to have a strong opinion in favor of one side over the other. I have been disappointed, though, to see the large number of knee-jerk anti-development, anti-density comments on Facebook in response to posts by Mayor Stanton and other community leaders about the partial demolition. As with last year's Save Roosevelt Row movement, a legitimate desire to preserve historical structures can be undermined when supporters engage in simplistic good vs. evil thinking that demonizes all developers, counterfactual claims that new apartment buildings are unoccupied, exaggerated notions of the city's ability to regulate private property, and a fantasy that real estate should be a charitable enterprise. Many community advocates, including those active on this board, display a sense of the necessary balance between transit-oriented development and historic preservation and look for ways to make both work together. Some of those jumping on the outrage bandwagon, however, seem to truly want Downtown Phoenix to remain exactly as it is today -- vacant lots, empty buildings, and all.