Top 10 (US) Cities Where Downtown Is Making a Comeback

[DCReid]

Pittsburgh, Indy, Oakland, Detroit, Columbus, Austin, LA, Dallas, Chicago, Providence.

http://www.realtor.com/news/trends/t...res_article_tw

[Pedestrian]

The back slaps may be premature as far as Oakland is concerned. Yes, it does seem that a number of building projects that have been stalled for years may finally get going (see http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...136313&page=43 ) but it's two steps forward, one step back for Oakland as usual. This week we found out the Raiders probably really are moving to Las Vegas and we've known for a while now that the Golden State Warriors NBA team were heading BACK across the Bay to their original home in SF ( http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...199507&page=14 ). And the article touts the Uber move but . . . .

Uber slows move into Oakland headquarters
By Kimberly Veklerov
Updated 5:09 pm, Monday, March 20, 2017

Uber will dramatically curtail the number of employees it will move into its Oakland headquarters next year and instead expand in San Francisco, company officials said Monday.

A few hundred workers will be stationed at the 380,000-square-foot Uptown Oakland office, rather than the nearly 3,000-person staff Uber initially forecast. In San Francisco, the ride-hailing company said it has purchased a stake in the new Mission Bay Warriors arena project . . . .

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/articl...s-11015410.php

[coyotetrickster]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

The back slaps may be premature as far as Oakland is concerned. Yes, it does seem that a number of building projects that have been stalled for years may finally get going (see http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...136313&page=43 ) but it's two steps forward, one step back for Oakland as usual. This week we found out the Raiders probably really are moving to Las Vegas and we've known for a while now that the Golden State Warriors NBA team were heading BACK across the Bay to their original home in SF ( http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...199507&page=14 ). And the article touts the Uber move but . . . .


http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/articl...s-11015410.php

Well, not sure what sports team relocations have to do with downtown revival. Fact is, Oakland's downtown has great bones. Oakland can actually boom on the merits of its own infrastructure, and proximity to SF employment base.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by DCReid

Pittsburgh, Indy, Oakland, Detroit, Columbus, Austin, LA, Dallas, Chicago, Providence.

http://www.realtor.com/news/trends/t...res_article_tw

Another dumb ass list as Chicago clearly doesn't belong on it

[The North One]

Downtown Chicago is making a comeback???

When did it leave? Did I miss something? hahhaha

I'm guessing the writer is a detached coastal dweller, this is why Trump won.

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by DCReid

Pittsburgh, Indy, Oakland, Detroit, Columbus, Austin, LA, Dallas, Chicago, Providence.

http://www.realtor.com/news/trends/t...res_article_tw

Austin's downtown never really needed a comeback. Unlike some other cities, when the office workers went home, downtown was still alive at night with bars and clubs. What the building boom has done is to add much more residential and encourage more office space downtown. And hotels. Along with that, there's been new retail added, which I'll admit is a comeback of sorts. We even have two decent sized grocery stores downtown, plus several smaller markets. All of the residential, though, isn't really a comeback since we never really had much to begin with.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by coyotetrickster

Well, not sure what sports team relocations have to do with downtown revival. Fact is, Oakland's downtown has great bones. Oakland can actually boom on the merits of its own infrastructure, and proximity to SF employment base.

According to city fathers all over America who are too willing to pour public money into sports facilities for pro teams, they have a lot to do with downtown growth and vitality. The Raiders are a prime example:

Vegas offered a new stadium financed with a gargantuan wad of public money ($750 million) and Oakland did not, and so the black and silver, who once did a 13-season sabbatical in Los Angeles, are on the prowl again. The cash ruled, which is how it goes in the NFL.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/three-b...gas-1490735259

Maybe Oakland CAN boom. But I've been casually observing for 35 years and the hope keeps getting put off until next year or the one after that. Personally I think the regularity of downtown "protests" with associated property damage and the city's overall crime rate have a lot to do with it. Uber may be the classic case: So much celebrating over their decision to move to Oakland but as soon as an oppourtunity to stay in SF opened up they seem to have grabbed it.

[dimondpark]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

According to city fathers all over America who are too willing to pour public money into sports facilities for pro teams, they have a lot to do with downtown growth and vitality. The Raiders are a prime example:

The Raiders had nothing to do with downtown.

Maybe Oakland CAN boom. But I've been casually observing for 35 years and the hope keeps getting put off until next year or the one after that. Personally I think the regularity of downtown "protests" with associated property damage and the city's overall crime rate have a lot to do with it. Uber may be the classic case: So much celebrating over their decision to move to Oakland but as soon as an oppourtunity to stay in SF opened up they seem to have grabbed it.

As an Oaklander, I personally dont want Oakland to boom like SF. In fact Id rather Oakland remain ghetto if it means preserving housing affordability for the poor and lower income but that's not happening either-the city's seedier districts are remaining seedy but rents are now sky-high!?!?

[Quixote]

DTLA is certainly making a comeback, and has been for the last 10 years, but it still feels like it's another 10 years away from shedding its "up-and-coming" status and achieving the critical mass necessary in order to shift the city's center of gravity eastward.

Nevertheless, DTLA hasn't been this relevant since the 60s, and all signs point to an even brighter future.

Originally Posted by Doctorboffin

DTLA if every project goes through (I may have forgot a few, and left out shit boxes, so not every project, but you get my point). While obviously not all of these projects will get built, about half of them are already under construction, so it wouldn't be crazy to assume that around 2/3rds of these will be.




...

[JManc]

Providence has a great downtown and areas just outside of it; Hope St. and Federal Hill areas. I loved that town.

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Austin's downtown never really needed a comeback. Unlike some other cities, when the office workers went home, downtown was still alive at night with bars and clubs. What the building boom has done is to add much more residential and encourage more office space downtown. And hotels. Along with that, there's been new retail added, which I'll admit is a comeback of sorts. We even have two decent sized grocery stores downtown, plus several smaller markets. All of the residential, though, isn't really a comeback since we never really had much to begin with.

Yes and no. Up until the last 10 or so years, Austin's downtown activity was isolated in certain areas. Now it's hopping everywhere.

[DCReid]

Originally Posted by The North One

Downtown Chicago is making a comeback???

When did it leave? Did I miss something? hahhaha

I'm guessing the writer is a detached coastal dweller, this is why Trump won.

I am not sure I complete agree with the list either. The write may be talking about the Loop area of Chicago, not the near North Michigan avenue, which has been well populated for ages, or the near west and south sides, which became populated in the 90s and continue to pick up steam. The Loop (State Street and Willis Tower) area traditionally has not had much residential. Still it seems odd that Chicago would be even on the list as downtown has been considered more than the Loop for decades.

[photoLith]

Hey, a list where Pittsburgh is number one.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by photoLith

Hey, a list where Pittsburgh is number one.

Pittsburgh may be America's most under-rated city.

Pittsburgh’s Revival Lesson for Baltimore
By WILLIAM A. GALSTON
May 5, 2015 7:16 p.m. ET



. . . It took a coordinated effort by the city’s political, economic and nonprofit leaders to link education and innovation, nurture new businesses and turn Pittsburgh into one of America’s most livable cities. The city now hosts two of the 15 largest law firms and more than 100 firms valued at more than $1 billion. By 2009 Pittsburgh was selected to host the annual G-20 summit, hailed by the group as “a model for economic, environmental, and quality-of-life transformation.”

Much work remains. Pittsburgh’s median household income is still 25% below Pennsylvania’s, and poverty exceeds 20%. Still, the unemployment rate is only 5.4%, slightly below the national average, and opportunity is on the rise.

There is of course a difference between Pittsburgh and Baltimore: African-Americans form 63% of Baltimore’s population, compared with 26% of Pittsburgh’s. Between 1970 and 2010, employment rates of prime working-age black males in large metropolitan areas declined by an average of more than 18 percentage points. The question is whether this difference is decisive. We won’t know the answer until Baltimore works as hard to leverage its educational and health-care assets into economic vitality as Pittsburgh has . . . .

https://www.wsj.com/articles/pittsbu...ore-1430867776

[chris08876]

I agree with LA making a comeback. A big one too. Quite a boom going on not just in DTLA, but all around it and in various neighborhoods.

I think Newark NJ is making a comeback as well.

Might I add most Texan major cities. Dallas is kicking ass and taking names. So much going on there.

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

Pittsburgh may be America's most under-rated city.

IMO, Honolulu is.

[Shawn]

Originally Posted by JManc

Providence has a great downtown and areas just outside of it; Hope St. and Federal Hill areas. I loved that town.

A big x2. Downcity, College Hill, and Federal Hill are great. Being in the poorest of the urban New England states actually helped Providence; the state never had the money to pull off any crazy urban renewal stunts in the 60s ala Boston's West End.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by Shawn

A big x2. Downcity, College Hill, and Federal Hill are great. Being in the poorest of the urban New England states actually helped Providence; the state never had the money to pull off any crazy urban renewal stunts in the 60s ala Boston's West End.

Plus good ole Buddy Cianci.

[Leo the Dog]

Originally Posted by Shawn

A big x2. Downcity, College Hill, and Federal Hill are great. Being in the poorest of the urban New England states actually helped Providence; the state never had the money to pull off any crazy urban renewal stunts in the 60s ala Boston's West End.

I enjoyed RI for it's natural beauty around the bays and beaches, Providence is nice, just didn't really have the desire to spend much time there unless I was going to TF Green airport to avoid pricy Logan.

Narragansett is a great NE beach town with surf and at times warm water from Gulf Stream eddies. Newport is an interesting place to explore with their old money mansions.

[montréaliste]

I was in Boston a coupla weeks ago and spent 5 hours in pretty Providence. The downtown is very nice and eclectic. The streets around RISD are a short hop from the core and the views are sweet in a lot of places. There is an impression of industrial fortunes dwindling like many older cities but the colleges bring an energy and flair that props it up. I loved the historic architecture and did not regret the decline of whaling in the least. In fact, if ever there was an example of positive outcome of industrial misfortune, that would be it...

[JManc]

Originally Posted by Leo the Dog

I enjoyed RI for it's natural beauty around the bays and beaches, Providence is nice, just didn't really have the desire to spend much time there unless I was going to TF Green airport to avoid pricy Logan.

Narragansett is a great NE beach town with surf and at times warm water from Gulf Stream eddies. Newport is an interesting place to explore with their old money mansions.

PVD is definitely worth an extended visit. Has quite a bit going on for a smallish city. If you liked Newport, you'd like Bristol too.

[mrsmartman]

The Central Business District of New York City should remain around the Financial District. I wished the developers stopped converting offices into apartments. I wished the Grand Central Depot never moved to anywhere north of 14th Street.