Quote:
Originally Posted by Keith P.
As for the rules being slanted towards tearing down and rebuilding, explain to me why nothing new was built DT in about 20 years. The late '80s to the late '00s were an era where DT development was in stasis.
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Honestly, it was probably economics. Historically, commercial property development tends to happen on ~20-year cycles. Purdy's Wharf capped off the boom cycle of the late-80s and then downtown entered the bust cycle in the 90s and very early 2000s. We're probably at or past the peak of this commercial boom cycle, but downtown is still seeing lots of development because it's now socially desirable to have housing in these areas and residential development plays by different economics rules than the Class A commercial spaces that have traditionally been the focus of downtown.
There's no doubt that planning regimes dampen or amplify economic factors, but I think we planners are kidding ourselves if we think we have the power on any significant scale to make development happen or not happen.