bobbyhawks wrote:Forgive me for being naive, but what is a swell exactly?
I'm a bad neighbor because I have skipped all of the meetings about the redevelopment plan. Obviously, nobody in the area wants to put something in that will diminish property value, but the vacant, apocalyptic, wasteland eye-sore that it currently represents will be pretty easy to beat.
There are some fantastic streetscape plans for W. Pennway that have been floated out there, including a tiered, almost hanging garden just North of where the current vegetable garden pit and chicken coop reside. My hope is that whatever goes into the school property does not include too much in the way of an expanse of surface parking. I'm not sure that I have a specific preference for the development. Selfishly, I'd like for it to be anything that increases the surrounding properties' value or adds to my walkable amenities, but realistically, I know that there are a lot of great things that could be built to do neither for me. I'd rather it be something than nothing, though, and I'm haven't seen any reason to sign a petition to stop the current plan from coming to fruition. As I mentioned, I have not gone to any meetings and have only seen the flier, so not much detail yet on how definite everything is.
$#&^* I don't know what it is, but occasionally a reply post that I am writing will simply disappear, as I hit the backspace key to make a change, or correction.
Ok, that aside Bobbyhawks, I went to definition search "swell" and I'll be damned, but my use was not there to be found. Not in Webster, Slang, Urban, etc...
Chaglang, it was your usage and you can give your reference, but for me a swell is a person of means, standing, regard and social/business prominence, who hold themselves in especially high regard. The local publication "The Independent" would be nothing if it were not for "Swells".
With regard to the development along West Pennway. It is currently a placeholder design, as I understand. Something (residential) is to be built along there, but for now it's simply a block shaped blob to reflect intent to build and a study in density relevant to the land available as well as other uses necessary for the development (including parking and green space).
Be optimistic, though. This group is not new to the Westside and the project is a consortium of Westside interests, so the outcome is very likely to reflect the best that the general community can imagine. The details are going to change and evolve, and the community will be informed and given the opportunity to provide comment. You know, however, it will never get developed if this becomes a project directed by a few hundred of the strongly opinionated folks (damn are they ever opinionated! Almost as bad as Columbus Park!) who make up the Westside. I think we can anticipate that this will happen under the guidence of business and community leaders who have been pushing this possibility for the decades that the school district has been sitting on the decaying eyesore.
