Midland

[elecpharm]

This is great for Midland and sounds a lot like what's occuring here in Houston, only on a much smaller scale. I hope they can make it work.

Knowing the road will be a long one, those wanting to return life to downtown are ready to take a first step.

Officials announced their intention to change the appearance of Wall Street, east of Big Spring to Front Street. Their goal is to create a more pedestrian-friendly environment.

"It's all about the people, not about the cars," At-large City Councilman Wes Perry said. "It is a huge departure from the 1980s."

Drawn up by the Vandergriff Group, the city is prepared to partner with the Texas Department of Transportation to turn a basic paving project into what could be Midland's new look.

The basic premise will narrow Wall Street to one lane going in each direction and a shared turned lane. In the process, wider sidewalks and streetscaping will be added. The cost of the project is expected to reach $1.5 million, split by the city and TxDot.

While nicer walkways and greenery may not appear to provide much, Perry calls the changes "enhancers." He and architect Gary Vandergriff also said such changes bring more attention and potentially business to ground-level stores.

"It gives a lot to an urban center," Vandergriff said.

Wall Street, like many streets downtown, hardly ever reaches its carrying capacity, Vandergriff said.

"You can streetscape it differently and still allow traffic to function and have it meet the needs of a more interactive downtown," he said.

Wall Street, between Big Spring and Front Streets, is also already home to a retail business and restaurant, coffee shop, post office and hotel venues.

Speculation calls for Wall Street, just east of Midland Center, to be a candidate to host a new civic center/performing arts center, if such facilities ever come to fruition in Midland. This area is also a top prospect for reidential development, Perry said.

Downtown supporters believe this location is a logical first step.

"Texas will be next," Perry said. "Funding will be the problem."

Perry, though, believes success with the Wall Street project will generate interest to do more streetscaping elsewhere downtown. Perry also identified the Tax Increment Redevelopment Zone (TIRZ) as a potential funding source for future projects.

Until recently, downtown revitalization has been talked about often with little being done. Vandegriff's "Pedestrian Perspective of Downtown Midland" has given optimists hope the blueprint is finally here.

"(The Wall Street makeover) will be a good model for us to work off of," Midland Mayor Mike Canon said.

Some sketches released address not only boulevard streetscaping but help in the identification of parking. They also offer a wish list for possible uses of property, citing potential locations for specialty shops, residential living, public spaces, even a farmer's market.

Building modifications and removal are high-dollar items likely to be put on the backburner until funding sources are realized. More immediate and less expensive objectives include replacement of signage to have a uniform appearance.

There will be critics of the proposed face-lift. They will cite costs and question how downtown can thrive with the ever-changing face on the loop and no significant rise in the county's population.

Proponents, like Perry and Downtown Midland Inc. President Shawn Ellison, said Midland is putting the pieces together. Buildings for residential use have been identified. Ellison talked about the creation of an entertainment district downtown, which would tie in with the idea of a pedestrian-friendly downtown.

"We need to look at reuse of office space to create links, which are closer together," Ellison said.

Downtown Question and Answer

What is the Wall Street project?

Wall Street from Big Spring Avenue east to Front Street will be redeveloped (road repaving, creation of wider sidewalks, addition of landscaping).

Cost?

$1.5 million, to be split by TxDot and the city of Midland.

When is it scheduled to begin?

August 2005.

Does this affect the flow of traffic?

Probably not. Officials believe the flow of traffic on many downtown streets have underutilized carrying capacities. Texas, for instance, has a carrying capacity of 11,000-12,000. They believe most days capacity falls short of 4,000.

What will we do with the need for more parking?

Officials said there are enough parking spaces downtown. The goal is identifying those places in seldom used lots and parking garages next to the Bank of America and Wilco buildings and possibly subsidizing those owners for use to the general public.

"It would be cheaper to subsidize than to build a parking garage," Perry said.

People have talked about residential living downtown. Are there any buildings that may be good for such projects?

While no buildings are being transformed, officials have said the Wall Street Towers West, Centennial Tower and the Permian Building and Building of the Southwest could be possibilities down the road. Officials estimate nearly 800 units are possible.

What is the significance of a pedestrian-friendly downtown?

Walking downtown can help those first-floor retail venues which choose to relocate downtown or are already in place.

Current image of Wall Street

[H-Town Man]

Can you post any more pictures of downtown Midland?

[uncertaintraveler]

Not to be cynical, but when it is 105 degrees outside, and the wind is blowing huge dust storms through downtown, who is going to want to walk, instead of drive, through downtown?

That being said, Midland can use all the greenery it can plant...

[elecpharm]

midland downtown photos.

[SpaceCity]

That's a great looking downtown for such a small city. Wait, how many residents does Midland have?

[elecpharm]

how many residents does Midland have?

[LTAWACS]

not bad

[brijonmang]

daaymmnn that skyline blows Lubbock's away and its only half the size of Lubbock too.

[supkof]

Same for Shreveport... Shreveport's skyline, it appears, is about the same height, and the city has twice the population, but Midland's skyline is pretty danged impressive!

[Talbot]

Yeah, it's a lot bigger than what I would have expected.

[supkof]

For good reference, here's a picture of the Tyler, TX skyline. Tyler's population is almost identical to that of the city of Midland, but Midland has a MUCH more impressive skyline. Another thing to consider with Midland, however, is that there's a whole other sister city (Odessa) right down the road, adding to the "metro" population.

[ChannelTwoNews]

To revive an ancient thread...

I stumbled across this website on a pair of buildings in the downtown area which area being demolished at the moment. Another building, Midland Savings Bank sounds to be set for implosion. The implosion seems to be planned for June, and I might be out that way by then. Nobody else seems to be updating it for emporis, and I have job interview out that way scheduled for then... Fate, mayhaps? moo.

Perhaps least surprising is that surface lots seem to be the future of the cleared buildings.

Article from the Midland Reporter-Telegram: http://www.mywesttexas.com/site/news.cfm?n...75626&rfi=6

Video of Permian Building Demolition: http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=...annel=494910445

Thread on the MRT forums: http://www.myopenforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14902

[ChannelTwoNews]

I was in Midland last week and took some pix around the downtown area...

Easily the tallest building in the area, The Bank of America Tower

Even though there's a glut of office space in the area, this building is being rehabbed into a residential building with shops in the first floor

[ChannelTwoNews]

This building is the one slated for an implosion, though there still aren't any visible preps for such an event, other than the demolition company's sign outside.

This building, the Gihls Tower, is currently being demolished and was once 14 stories. There's actually only 2ft of seperation between it and One Wall Plaza (the white building located next to the building above in several of the pictures)

And a few other scenes from downtown...

This shot is about a block east from where the very first one in the thread was taken... I'm impressed with the progress occuring so far. I wouldn't have realized it's previous state if I hadn't seen that earlier shot.

The Scharbauer Sports Complex on the west side of town contains two large stadiums.

Citibank Ballpark for the minor league Midland Rockhounds...

...and Grande Communications Stadium, which hosts HS football games among other events.

[elecpharm]

Thanks for posting the updated photos. It's nice to see the progress along Wall Street.

[ssullivan]

I stayed in downtown Midland this past Thursday night at the Hilton. Wall Street looks very nice, and the improvements are almost complete. However, the buildings downtown look just about as empty and deserted as they did when I was last there in July 2001. With one building currently being demolished, and another one planned in the coming months, Midland's skyline will be shrinking some. I wouldn't be surprised if that trend doesn't continue, as Midland just can't support the amount of office space there is downtown. I wish them the best, but it clearly is a city that went from boom to big-time bust, and has never really recovered.

[Mark F. Barnes]

[Mark F. Barnes]

[Mark F. Barnes]

[Guest Marty]

That's some nice detail on that building.

[Mark F. Barnes]

[UNLV]

Lake Charles has a very impressive skyline and Lake Charles is smaller than Midland. Lake Charles has a little more than 70,000.

I think one or 2 high rises is not shown in this picture.

[ChannelTwoNews]

Lake Charles has a very impressive skyline and Lake Charles is smaller than Midland. Lake Charles has a little more than 70,000.

I think one or 2 high rises is not shown in this picture.

I was in Lake Charles about two weeks ago, and I don't think I would say it's skyline is nearly as dense as Midland's. All that's missing for the LC pic is a public housing or elderly housing building and KPLC's Transmitter, all just north of the Capital One Tower (The big glass building). The Isle of Capri towers are actually in Westlake, just across the I-10 Bridge from Downtown.

The L'Auberge Du Lac Casino does have a fair bit of presence from some points in town as it's 26 stories tall and they're already expanding one of the wings. If you ride to the top of the I-210 bridge, it sticks out the most since it is away from DT and the Lakefront.

[elecpharm]

An impressive statistic for this West Texas city.

That cash flowing from Permian Basin oil wells provided a significant boost to the incomes of Midland residents. So significant that the Bureau of Economic Analysis, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, ranked the Tall City 15th among its 363 metropolitan statistical areas nationwide while measuring per capita personal income for 2006.

In comparison to area towns of a similar size, Odessa came in at 276, San Angelo 234, Abilene 245 and Lubbock at 253

Cash flow from 'black gold' boosts Tall City figures

Houston ranked 30th.

[Jeebus]

Lake Charles has a very impressive skyline and Lake Charles is smaller than Midland. Lake Charles has a little more than 70,000.

Family in Lake Charles say that they're currently annexing all the burbs on the south side of the city which will bring Lake Charles up to 100k in population. Also, they (the city) passed a 50 million dollar bond to redevelop downtown into a pedestrian friendly mixed use district.

Unlike Midland though, its skyline can be counted on two hands.