At least somebody likes it
By Silver Springer • Apr 24th, 2008 • Category: Real Estate
The Tennessean.com (now in archive) has a write up with unusual positive praise for the Downtown Silver Spring project.
David Dederer, Vice President of LandDesign Inc, “a design, land planning, landscape architecture, civil engineering, surveying and branding services firm†calls Downtown Silver Spring a “Model for Urban Mixed-Useâ€.
And can you believe he’s actually calling for the planned redevelopment of Nashville’s convention center to emulate Downtown Silver Spring? Who would have thought?
Model of urban mixed use
In the late 1990s, Silver Spring leaders recognized their downtown was suffering and needed revitalization to encourage pedestrian traffic. The Silver Spring plaza features an interactive fountain and dramatic staircases that engage the senses and attract visitors to the dynamic and inspiring area. Maximizing space, the site includes office, retail and plaza space that mirrors the façade of the existing surrounding development. Downtown Silver Spring has become one of the most successful mixed-use urban districts in the Washington, D.C., area.
Similarly, the architecture of Nashville’s redevelopment should be compatible with the surrounding cityscape. Formality and character will help define the plaza area. For example, an open vista leading to the original Ryman Auditorium front will recapture the historic feel of the city and deepen the landmark’s presence when viewed from the Broadway corridor. The plaza should be a place where visitors can find quiet seating, paths and lawn areas for leisurely pursuits. Incorporating a fountain will provide a visual anchor and focal point, and the sound of running water will act as a buffer from the surrounding city noise. In addition, a plaza will provide an oasis for tourists and downtown residents and workers who will frequent the plaza as a break from their daily activity.
Silver Springer is
Email this author | All posts by Silver Springer
” needed revitalization to encourage pedestrian traffic”
Hmmm…I wonder if they could do anything else to encourage pedestrian traffic. If only something could be put there so that you’d see huge crowds of people out relaxing, playing, walking, and shopping, on a warm spring night.
/sarchasm
I’ll be sad to see the astroturf go.
It’s nice to see someone complimenting Downtown Silver Spring. The D.C. area is so lucky to have so many supposedly more upscale/better-designed developments like it (Bethesda Row, Rockville Town Square, so on and so forth) that DTSS could be maligned the way it is - clearly, Nashville would kill to have something like it there.
The truth is the Downtown Silver Spring architecture et al isn’t bad. I find it beautiful actually, more exciting looking than Bethesda Row. “Upscale” and well designed are not synonymous.
The proof is on the block, I’ve never seen Bethesda Row, Pentagon Row or whatever as packed with people as Downtown Silver Spring.
It’s worse than sad to see the astroturf go. Large groups of people make the area safer, especially at night.
A man was assaulted Wed. night, 4/23, at 8:30 by a large group of kids at the intersection of Pershing and Springvale, which is about two blocks away from the astroturf. We need more people out at night, not fewer.
The development in Silver Spring is exactly what we needed! It took a while to get to this point, though…remember when Silver Spring was looking into building that “America’s Mall” and we would have had the largest indoor mall in the States, complete with roller coaster and ice rink. As some would like to criticize what we have, we are lucky that it didn’t go in the ‘mall’ direction.
[quote comment="4270"]The development in Silver Spring is exactly what we needed! It took a while to get to this point, though…remember when Silver Spring was looking into building that “America’s Mall” and we would have had the largest indoor mall in the States, complete with roller coaster and ice rink. As some would like to criticize what we have, we are lucky that it didn’t go in the ‘mall’ direction.[/quote]
I know…be thankful people; it really isn’t bad at all.
Remember, it was called the American Dream Mall. And it would have had a wave pool, which led me and my teenage friends to dub it the “American Wet Dream Mall.” Ah, nostalgia. I’m glad Ellsworth isn’t just a bunch of beeper stores anymore…