Comments on: Public Gets View of 618 S. Main Proposal

By: Ryan Munson

Ryan Munson — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 20:03:20 +0000

I would love to live downtown, but to be honest I’d rather own a condo or house and pay a mortgage as high as these rental rates. I am 29 and work for a rapidly growing successful company near downtown. There are many young professionals though that do rent apartments and I can see this being quite marketable to those that do rent. At this time, the economy will dictate the capacity for such a project. I hope this is successful though, because a development that brings more people near downtown is a major benefit to sustaining the livability of our area when done right.

By: Rod Johnson

Rod Johnson — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 03:55:33 +0000

(I deliberately refrained from posting another, less flattering version of H&B’s name.)

By: Jim Rees

Jim Rees — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 22:48:11 +0000

I always heard it “Heaps of Brick.”

By: cosmonıcan

cosmonıcan — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 22:09:42 +0000

Now I’m beginning to wonder which recent buildings are real brick, as opposed to colored concrete poured in into a mold to imitate brick, aka ”brick-faced wall.”

By: abc

abc — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 21:26:57 +0000

The moniker you are searching for is “Gob’s of Brick”.

By: Rod Johnson

Rod Johnson — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 20:00:22 +0000

Sorry, I didn’t mean that it was a Hobbs and Black building, but rather that there was a distinctive aesthetic that is often associate with H&B (thus their nickname “Hobbs and Brick”).

Marvin, my answer would be… variety. Every building is a distinct design challenge, and should be a response to its specific needs. And personally, I’m sick of brown brick. That’s just me, though.

By: Jim Rees

Jim Rees — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 13:38:22 +0000

I like how the architectural rendering shows the building in late afternoon, rather than early morning when the shadow would fall on the houses and Dairy on Ashley.

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 12:22:02 +0000

The development I was thinking of is near 7th on Huron. Maybe called the Ravines or something. Sorry for the confusion but glad to have that cleared up.

By: Marvin Face

Marvin Face — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 03:41:40 +0000

Vivienne, you are correct. It was not Hobbs & Black but rather Quinn Evans. They’re all the same, no? My mistake. Still stand by my assessment and endorsement of the project that happens to be in my neighborhood.

Ridgewood condos is actually a very nice development that has been there for many years. South side of Liberty, couple hundred yards east of Maple. I dont think it is what you were thinking of.

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 02:39:52 +0000

It is a bit of a shock to the system for me to be agreeing with Marvin Face, but I confess I find the design rather pleasing, given the nature of the building. I just hope that the scale works. Please! No more monstrosities like the justice center or whatever. (Are you sure that Hobbs and Black are culpable? I thought it was a different architect.)

I’m also glad to see an apartment building rather than condos and one geared to young professionals. That makes sense and sounds sustainable over the long term. I’m worried about what is going to happen to all those buildings designed for luxury student accommodation once they age out a bit.

Has Ridgewood condos ever actually been occupied? I thought it was an empty hulk for a long time.