Taking in the view from the terrace of my condo on Glenwood South, I can see many acres of underutilized land. Though my street has been transformed into a bustling entertainment district, the tract of land on the northeast corner of Glenwood South has not yet been touched by our Downtown’s development. But from my viewpoint, I see a frontier of possibility.
Arial map shows blocks bounded by Capital Boulevard to the east, the rail spine to the south, West Street to the west, and Peace Street to the north.
Buildings today mainly used to house various city/county services, along with some remaining warehouses.
(The West condos were under construction when this photo was taken, as shown on the right side of the map.)
This tract of land is clearly underutilized when considering its location, adjacent to Downtown’s northern gateway, and flanked by the heavily developed Glenwood South and the Blount Street Commons development underway further to the east.
I’m reminded of the vision of Dan Douglas for the Downtown’s northern gateway, where the “grungy highway” of Capital Boulevard would be replaced with “a tree-lined boulevard, with stoplights, sidewalks and cross streets that connect to a pair of new frontage streets parallel to the train tracks, perhaps including a street car line up the middle”.
If this could happen to Capital Boulevard, then what could happen with this tract of land, here on the northeast corner of Glenwood South? I envision a mixed use area, with lots of retail including a full service grocery store, an area with easy walking access from the Capital district and the rest of Glenwood South, served by underground parking and a pedestrian bridge that would link to the nearby Seaboard Station.
Now that would be nice!
Looking down from my terrace, I also see a small creek that emerges from under my building, then disappears under West Street. I’ve recently learned that this is Pigeon Creek Branch, a heavily polluted creek that today is mostly buried in giant pipes. And I’m now hearing more about the possibilities for cleaning and opening up this creek into a featured waterway, maybe even a river-walk. Now that would REALLY be nice! More about this in another post, coming soon!