Comments on: The Fraga Towers http://scrutinyhooligans.us/2008/09/23/the-fraga-towers/ If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen. — Samuel Adams Tue, 22 May 2012 23:13:15 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Gordon Smith http://scrutinyhooligans.us/2008/09/23/the-fraga-towers/comment-page-1/#comment-24256 Gordon Smith Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:05:19 +0000 http://www.scrutinyhooligans.us/?p=6073#comment-24256 I think that's a false dichotomy, Bob. We can, will, and ought to have more living space downtown. However, if all of that living space is for the ultra-wealthy, then it's middle class sprawl we'll see instead. Mixed-use developments with affordable units that are in scale - that's an entirely rational way forward. Combine that with a sensible steep-slope restriction and encouraging growth along existing infrastructure corridors, and we've got a problem we can manage that will result in positive growth for newcomers and oldtimers. I think that’s a false dichotomy, Bob. We can, will, and ought to have more living space downtown. However, if all of that living space is for the ultra-wealthy, then it’s middle class sprawl we’ll see instead. Mixed-use developments with affordable units that are in scale – that’s an entirely rational way forward. Combine that with a sensible steep-slope restriction and encouraging growth along existing infrastructure corridors, and we’ve got a problem we can manage that will result in positive growth for newcomers and oldtimers.

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]]> By: bobaloo http://scrutinyhooligans.us/2008/09/23/the-fraga-towers/comment-page-1/#comment-24250 bobaloo Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:32:38 +0000 http://www.scrutinyhooligans.us/?p=6073#comment-24250 <blockquote>I’d rather have them, to loosely quote ‘Fight Club’, stacked in a human filing cabinet than sprawled out over what’s left of our surrounding rural areas.</blockquote> Exactly. You can't stop them from coming, so why not save the rural areas? The only way to stop it is for county wide moratorium on all new construction, and that ain't happening. What's less appealing: The Fraga towers or the mcmansions on the mountain tops?

I’d rather have them, to loosely quote ‘Fight Club’, stacked in a human filing cabinet than sprawled out over what’s left of our surrounding rural areas.

Exactly. You can’t stop them from coming, so why not save the rural areas?
The only way to stop it is for county wide moratorium on all new construction, and that ain’t happening.
What’s less appealing: The Fraga towers or the mcmansions on the mountain tops?

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]]> By: Tom Scheve http://scrutinyhooligans.us/2008/09/23/the-fraga-towers/comment-page-1/#comment-24229 Tom Scheve Wed, 24 Sep 2008 06:47:43 +0000 http://www.scrutinyhooligans.us/?p=6073#comment-24229 Asheville Disclaimer commentary on Fraga project, circa April 16: http://www.mountainx.com/disclaimer/comments/041608disclaimer ... The project's detractors are finding difficulty arguing with the seeming resurrection of a dead man's long-dormant plan. “Well, the whole thing sounds disproportionate, in both overall scale and hip-to-waist ratio,” said downtown community organizer David Timbley. “But, in the end, anything that was dreamed up by a developer 90 years ago is OK by me.” Asheville Disclaimer commentary on Fraga project, circa April 16:

http://www.mountainx.com/disclaimer/comments/041608disclaimer

… The project’s detractors are finding difficulty arguing with the seeming resurrection of a dead man’s long-dormant plan.

“Well, the whole thing sounds disproportionate, in both overall scale and hip-to-waist ratio,” said downtown community organizer David Timbley.

“But, in the end, anything that was dreamed up by a developer 90 years ago is OK by me.”

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]]> By: Daisy Roland http://scrutinyhooligans.us/2008/09/23/the-fraga-towers/comment-page-1/#comment-24228 Daisy Roland Wed, 24 Sep 2008 05:14:34 +0000 http://www.scrutinyhooligans.us/?p=6073#comment-24228 The sad fact, and I say this as a second generation Asheville native, and Cherokee grandmother WNC native, that 2880" " Asheville is inevitably destined to become increasingly gentrified as long as world and American population increases. As the less of evils, I'd rather see consolidated growth near and above the city than more on our slopes. Sustainable infrastructure would be fabulous, but I fear we're still about a generation of voter majority and more importantly capital away from that. Downtown has already lost much of it's heady charm from the initial reawakening of 15 or so years ago. My approach to manipulation of growth here is drop-in-bucket through my purchasing power. When it comes to people wanting to come here to visit or to live, I find those at all levels of the economic spectrum equally annoying and occasionally pleasant. Every additional body is just that. I'd rather have them, to loosely quote 'Fight Club', stacked in a human filing cabinet than sprawled out over what's left of our surrounding rural areas. The sad fact, and I say this as a second generation Asheville native, and Cherokee grandmother WNC native, that 2880″ ” Asheville is inevitably destined to become increasingly gentrified as long as world and American population increases. As the less of evils, I’d rather see consolidated growth near and above the city than more on our slopes. Sustainable infrastructure would be fabulous, but I fear we’re still about a generation of voter majority and more importantly capital away from that.

Downtown has already lost much of it’s heady charm from the initial reawakening of 15 or so years ago. My approach to manipulation of growth here is drop-in-bucket through my purchasing power. When it comes to people wanting to come here to visit or to live, I find those at all levels of the economic spectrum equally annoying and occasionally pleasant. Every additional body is just that. I’d rather have them, to loosely quote ‘Fight Club’, stacked in a human filing cabinet than sprawled out over what’s left of our surrounding rural areas.

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]]> By: Gordon Smith http://scrutinyhooligans.us/2008/09/23/the-fraga-towers/comment-page-1/#comment-24221 Gordon Smith Wed, 24 Sep 2008 02:45:30 +0000 http://www.scrutinyhooligans.us/?p=6073#comment-24221 From <a href="http://ashvegas.squarespace.com/journal/2008/9/24/asheville-city-council-brings-tony-fraga-project-to-screechi.html" rel="nofollow">Ashvegas:</a> <blockquote>"I didn't watch all of the proceedings on the city channel tonight (Tuesday), but I watched enough to get the drift -- Asheville City Council was not happy with the scale of the proposed Haywood Park redevelopment project, which includes two giant towers to be built on little ol' Haywood Street."</blockquote> <a href="http://ashvegas.squarespace.com/journal/2008/9/24/asheville-city-council-brings-tony-fraga-project-to-screechi.html" rel="nofollow">Read the rest.</a> From Ashvegas:

“I didn’t watch all of the proceedings on the city channel tonight (Tuesday), but I watched enough to get the drift — Asheville City Council was not happy with the scale of the proposed Haywood Park redevelopment project, which includes two giant towers to be built on little ol’ Haywood Street.”

Read the rest.

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]]> By: Peter Loewer http://scrutinyhooligans.us/2008/09/23/the-fraga-towers/comment-page-1/#comment-24184 Peter Loewer Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:53:23 +0000 http://www.scrutinyhooligans.us/?p=6073#comment-24184 Who is Tony Fraga? He's first and foremost a developer. He makes money on building dreams (and nightmares) then leaves the area of destruction to find new places for conquering. The buildings that he wants to erect are obscene threats to the culture of this city. His towers will bring cars and the cars will drive on already limited roads with no chance of building more roads and no chance of widening existing roads. The city doesn't have the infrastructure to support these high-rises and apparently few if any of the city politicians realize his threat to existing lives and businesses when the digging begins and the roads begin to snarl. Goodbye Asheville, hello Miami, Atlanta, and all points west! The Wild Gardener Who is Tony Fraga? He’s first and foremost a developer. He makes money on building dreams (and nightmares) then leaves the area of destruction to find new places for conquering. The buildings that he wants to erect are obscene threats to the culture of this city. His towers will bring cars and the cars will drive on already limited roads with no chance of building more roads and no chance of widening existing roads. The city doesn’t have the infrastructure to support these high-rises and apparently few if any of the city politicians realize his threat to existing lives and businesses when the digging begins and the roads begin to snarl.
Goodbye Asheville, hello Miami, Atlanta, and all points west!
The Wild Gardener

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