Thank you guys for the feedback, Codster121 I might take you up on that offer. My focus is currently on getting Downtown completely modeled so I can wrap it with infrastructure.
MERCHANT'S HILL
What was once a densely packed district thriving with business, Merchant's Hill fell largely unpopular and abandoned by the late 1960's. In an effort to bring back interest to the city center, Staunton city planners proposed leveling out the hill and demolishing blocks of old buildings to be replaced with new office development. Merchant's Hill's large new parcels of land ready for development attracted many corporations to build their Staunton headquarters in a recovering Downtown.
The large scale destruction of an entire neighborhood led to a massive preservation movement that led to the landmarking of many historic building across the city. With the loss of the urban fabric that once made up Merchant's Hill came Downtown's first wave of postmodern architecture. Gone were the alleyways and lowrise buildings, replaced with towering class A office space surrounded by landscaped plazas.
In this shot below, Merchant’s Hill is considered to be everything left of One Galcorp Plaza.
I have redone the
STA Center and
Union Station and switched their positions. Union Station was completed in 1926 and is considered one of Staunton’s most cherished landmarks. The decaying structure was saved by a swift preservation movement following the large scale demolition of the surrounding neighborhood in the 1970’s. The Staunton Transit Authority proposed expanding the station across the street and constructing a new building to serve as their headquarters. In 1985 the STA Center opened for business with a newly restored Union Station. The STA Center also houses the first shopping mall to be built on Merchant’s Hill. The success of the STA Center Mall helped revitalize the district and inspired developers to build the Staunton Place Mall just a few blocks over.
Terminal Tower has been expanded to fill the whole block, which will now go by
Station Place. In response to the success of the STA Center, the mixed-use Station Place was finished in 1989, complete with an office tower, hotel wing, and shopping atrium.
The rush to preserve the remaining pre-war buildings on Merchant’s Hill led to the landmarking of
Block 40. City planners and developers often spoke of tearing down the block and either uniting Galcorp Plaza with Terminal Square or constructing new development. Today, the block is dwarfed by surrounding buildings and is now a part of one of Staunton’s most iconic and photographed views. Everyday thousands of commuters are greeted by this magnificent view of Downtown's skyscrapers towering over Terminal Square as they exit Union Station.
With the success of the neighboring STA Center and Station Place, developers started to see Merchant’s Hill as Staunton’s next great shopping district. Developers proposed The
Staunton Place, a five story, three building shopping center. The first building opened in 1991, the other two were both open by 1993. While the mall has had it’s ups and downs economically, it remains largely successful thanks to it’s prime location near the waterfront.
The
Liberty Building was once Staunton’s tallest building, completed in 1913 it has long been surpassed by neighboring skyscrapers. The building stood vacant for a decade until it was restored and converted into lofts in 2000, reopening as Liberty Lofts.
Two Galcorp Plaza is considered to be the final piece of the Merchant’s Hill Redevelopment Plan. The long-delayed controversial tower was finally finished in 2006, marking an end to over three decades of construction on Merchant’s Hill.
Well that's all for now, my next update will focus on the Financial District which I have also been working on.