Quote:
Originally Posted by untitledreality
The buildings being shit buildings is the point. There is a level of grit on Clark street that heightens the sense of place, the smaller storefronts, the layers of alterations and the unevenness of it all is what makes it appealing. Toss in rents that vary every 30 feet from dog piss cheap to new construction and the variety of options provides something for everyone.
By scraping that and replacing it with a homogeneous retail strip (aesthetically, age, square footage, street frontage and most importantly RENT) will squeeze out the quirks. The developer will seek chains for acquiring financing and new construction rent rates will prevent smaller establishments from ever getting their foot in the door. Maybe it would push further North and South along Clark, but who knows.
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^ Exactly why this strip needs this development. There will still be plenty of grit, but now this strip will get a new breath of life, instead of being a block of endless watering holes. Some diversity of retail instead of sports bar after sports bar may actually make this place more interesting and, frankly, useful, for more types of people.
Don't get me wrong--I love bars. Hell, whenever I visit any city the first place I go is to the bar for 2 pints and a shot of Jameson. But that doesn't mean everybody else sees things that way.