A lot of negative things are being said and written about the light rail in general and all the urban development that has been planned or built over the last four years but I gotta say that I really like the direction that this city is going. Have mistakes been made? Absolutely. Are we still a long way off from achieving pedestrian friendly dense neighborhoods? Yep. But, take a drive along the rail route (do it on the weekend or else you’ll lose your mind waiting in traffic) and check out great developments like Century Plaza and Portland Place. Slow down and admire the architecture of Chateaux on Central. Swing by Summit at Copper Square. These are all fantastic projects and really add to the city.
I’m not saying that we don’t have a lot of problems on the horizon. After all, it’s clear that there are not enough buyers for the units being built. We have excess inventory that will most likely take five or more years to absorb. But, if it hadn’t been for the crazy market of 2003-2005 we may never have seen buildings like those mentioned above. The positive fundamentals of our city will eventually solve all the current problems and we will have a better city for it.
