Entertainment district developers agree that ample parking and mass transit give entertainment districts an edge that can make or break a venue.
The newly opened Irving Music Factory in Texas struck an agreement with a nearby shopping plaza that gives the district access to 2,500 of the plaza’s 2,700 parking spaces after 5 p.m. There are also plans to extend the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Orange Line—which goes out to DFW airport—to include a station near the entertainment district.
“We believe this is going to emerge as a multi-region destination,” predicts Barry Hand, Principal and Studio Leader with Gensler, which designed the entertainment district.
Kansas City’s recent downtown economic boom can be attributed in part to KC Streetcar, a 2.2-mile light-rail system that opened in May 2016, and connects downtown’s north and south quadrants.
This map pinpoints more than $2 billion in real estate development. Courtesy CBRE.
In Los Angeles, the entertainment district L.A. Live, whose parking is woefully inadequate, is expected to benefit from the proposed expansion of the city’s mass transit system. The Blue Line, which connects downtown L.A. to Long Beach, would be linked with the Gold Line, which runs out to Pasadena. The city also passed a sales tax to extend the system’s Red Line to Beverly Hills.
The proposed University City district in Charlotte, N.C., would be about a quarter-mile from one of the new station stops of the city’s light-rail system that’s being expanded.
“University City is exciting because of the impact of light rail and its development opportunities,” says Ashley Clark, Associate AIA, LEED AP, Director of Strategic Development and Communications with Land Design, an AE firm working on the project.
The district would be close to UNC Charlotte and the city’s Research Park. “The vision is for the entertainment district to provide a sense of place, with the transit as its gateway,” says Clark.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Arup, SOM top BD+C's ranking of the country's largest mixed-use design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 Mixed-Use Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
10% of world's skyscraper construction on hold
Emporis, the largest provider of global building data worldwide, reported that 8.7% of all skyscrapers listed as "under construction" in its database had been put on hold. Most of these projects have been halted in the second half of 2008. According to Emporis statistics, the United States had been hit the worst: at the beginning of 2008, "Met 3" in Miami was the only U.S. skyscraper listed as being "on hold". In the second half of the year, 19 projects followed suit.
| Aug 11, 2010
Structure Tone, Turner among the nation's busiest reconstruction contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 75 Reconstruction Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Portland Cement Association offers blast resistant design guide for reinforced concrete structures
Developed for designers and engineers, "Blast Resistant Design Guide for Reinforced Concrete Structures" provides a practical treatment of the design of cast-in-place reinforced concrete structures to resist the effects of blast loads. It explains the principles of blast-resistant design, and how to determine the kind and degree of resistance a structure needs as well as how to specify the required materials and details.
| Aug 11, 2010
New website highlights government tax incentives for large commercial buildings
Energy Retrofit Group (ERG), the subsidiary of 40-year-old, award-winning Adache Group Architects, Inc., has announced the creation of their new energy conservation web site: www.energy-rg.com.
| Aug 11, 2010
Gensler, HOK, HDR among the nation's leading reconstruction design firms, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 100 Reconstruction Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
The Joule Hotel
Dallas, Texas
The Joule Hotel in Dallas, designed by local firm Coburn & Smith, was constructed in 1927 as the Dallas National Bank Building. Originally one of the finest examples of gothic revival architecture in Texas, it had had most of its gothic elements removed over the years after being converted into an office building and later abandoned. What was left had fallen into disrepair.
| Aug 11, 2010
AECOM, WATG top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 75 largest hotel design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 Hotel Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
