Quote:
Originally Posted by the urban politician
That neighborhood is the product of some intense NIMBYism, it was probably an accomplishment alone that some highrises even got built east of Michigan Avenue. Everybody there wants townhouses and small condo buildings, etc.
Ultimately, over the course of decades, waves of construction will continue to canyonize Michigan Ave through E. State St, but the neighborhoods east of that will forever remain quiet and residential
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Not really, Central Station is a deliberate product of a 1990s urban planning strategy to mix towers with townhomes. Developers liked it because they could diversify their product offerings and keep building different phases even as the demand for rentals, condos, and townhouses fluctuated at different times. The NIMBYism only came after the homes were built, since homeowners always and everywhere are NIMBYs.
The market's a little different now, a lot of near-downtown land is too expensive to build townhomes (except in small quantities as liner units on parking garages) and there's not much demand from Millennials for townhouses or other for-sale products compared to Gen X before them, for various complicated reasons. So the megadevelopments we're seeing now are more highrise and midrise focused, since that's more efficient for the rentals and office space that's in demand.