Well designed “Town Center” ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is what makes metro Boston cool — all these towns have town halls, pretty churches, cafes, corner hardware stores, etc.

It’s obvious how small Boston proper is, vs. other major cities. This is key.

I miss towns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is what makes metro Boston cool — all these towns have town halls, pretty churches, cafes, corner hardware stores, etc.

It’s obvious how small Boston proper is, vs. other major cities. This is key.

I miss towns.

Parts of Suburban Philly are like that. The main line towns along Lancaster Avenue & Doylestown, off the top of my head.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parts of Kensington feel like a real town.

Frederick has a nice town center, not new build fake town center, but it’s not commuting distance to DC.

Of the new build fake tiwn centers I’ve been to l like Mosiac the best. London is just too far from DC for me.

Oops, l meant Loudon not London.

I also dislike Reston Town Center, there is a huge wind tunnel effect. It’s a bit ridiculous for the Reston location - it’s no Manhattan

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parts of Kensington feel like a real town.

Frederick has a nice town center, not new build fake town center, but it’s not commuting distance to DC.

Of the new build fake tiwn centers I’ve been to l like Mosiac the best. London is just too far from DC for me.

Oops, l meant Loudon not London.

I also dislike Reston Town Center, there is a huge wind tunnel effect. It’s a bit ridiculous for the Reston location - it’s no Manhattan

The problem with the fake towns is that they don't have practical places to fulfill everyday needs, such as drugstores, hardware stores, she repair shops, libraries, community centers for classes, etc. They are for recreational 🛍️ shopping and 🍽️ eating..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the "town centers" get old fast. It's fun for a month, maybe 3. Then you're over it. No matter what, it's not a small city or town. It's just more crowded burbs.

Sure because town centers like Reston town center and one Loudoun are completely dead, since they got old after 3 months.

Once you live there, you get tired of it. The novelty wears off very quickly.

Yup Reston Town Center is just like Tribeca lolololololololol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parts of Kensington feel like a real town.

Frederick has a nice town center, not new build fake town center, but it’s not commuting distance to DC.

Of the new build fake tiwn centers I’ve been to l like Mosiac the best. London is just too far from DC for me.

Oops, l meant Loudon not London.

I also dislike Reston Town Center, there is a huge wind tunnel effect. It’s a bit ridiculous for the Reston location - it’s no Manhattan

Reston town center is trash. I’ve been there twice. Between the fake ice skating and the crappy shops, there is zero appeal to someone with any class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parts of Kensington feel like a real town.

Frederick has a nice town center, not new build fake town center, but it’s not commuting distance to DC.

Of the new build fake tiwn centers I’ve been to l like Mosiac the best. London is just too far from DC for me.

Oops, l meant Loudon not London.

I also dislike Reston Town Center, there is a huge wind tunnel effect. It’s a bit ridiculous for the Reston location - it’s no Manhattan

The problem with the fake towns is that they don't have practical places to fulfill everyday needs, such as drugstores, hardware stores, she repair shops, libraries, community centers for classes, etc. They are for recreational 🛍️ shopping and 🍽️ eating..

Rockville Town Square has all those things except for a hardware or shoe repair store; and it has a splash area for kids and concerts in the summer. In the winter, there's an ice skating rink. Rio in my mind is also a nice Town Center. There's no library but it definitely has spaces for people to gather without having to pay for anything (tons of green space, playground, the concert area, outdoor lounge areas). Friday night outdoor concerts there are a hit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think downtown silver spring is a good town center. There’s the main strip plus many side side streets full of restaurants and retails. Plus an ice rink in the winter, a civic building, farmers market, and pretty soon a new public pool.

plus good transit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parts of Kensington feel like a real town.

Frederick has a nice town center, not new build fake town center, but it’s not commuting distance to DC.

Of the new build fake tiwn centers I’ve been to l like Mosiac the best. London is just too far from DC for me.

Oops, l meant Loudon not London.

I also dislike Reston Town Center, there is a huge wind tunnel effect. It’s a bit ridiculous for the Reston location - it’s no Manhattan

The problem with the fake towns is that they don't have practical places to fulfill everyday needs, such as drugstores, hardware stores, she repair shops, libraries, community centers for classes, etc. They are for recreational 🛍️ shopping and 🍽️ eating..

Rockville Town Square has all those things except for a hardware or shoe repair store; and it has a splash area for kids and concerts in the summer. In the winter, there's an ice skating rink. Rio in my mind is also a nice Town Center. There's no library but it definitely has spaces for people to gather without having to pay for anything (tons of green space, playground, the concert area, outdoor lounge areas). Friday night outdoor concerts there are a hit.

Both Rockville and DTSS have a lot of that but they have a lot of turnover of tenants and DTSS is a pain unless you live in walking distance. The traffic around it is bad and so is parking. Rockville town center just isn’t vibrant. I can’t stand DTSS on a weekend night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe Columbia MD? It was designed to have town centers that encourage neighborly-ness etc

Town centers in Columbia? You mean strip malls? Strip malls don't make town centers.

Huh? The main “town center” and small “village” centers in Columbia MD do NOT look like strip malls!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In addition to the (now old) renovation of downtown Silver Spring, they've done a nice job with downtown Rockville, which offers a good combination of housing and offices (including the county offices) and restaurants and public space and amenities (the library) and a little retail and Metro access, and isn't just a new-format shopping mall with a faux town built around it.

Pike and Rose falls into the latter category. Lots of chain shopping and restaurants (not that i'm turning up my nose at that....), but limited public space and (unlike Rockville) poor access to public transportation. It's incredible that Montgomery County would allow the developers to increase the density of that land so dramatically without improving the (life-threatening) access across Rockville Pike to the "North Bethesda" Metro stop. Auto-only access also limits the appeal of otherwise decent Crown/Rio and Kentlands "town centers" in Gaithersburg.

Does Montgomery County have any plans to revamp downtown Wheaton more comprehensively? There's lots of commercial activity there, but man it looks shabby ....

How does Pike and Rose, which is across from a metro and on a number of bus lines, have poor public transportation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parts of Kensington feel like a real town.

Frederick has a nice town center, not new build fake town center, but it’s not commuting distance to DC.

Of the new build fake tiwn centers I’ve been to l like Mosiac the best. London is just too far from DC for me.

Oops, l meant Loudon not London.

I also dislike Reston Town Center, there is a huge wind tunnel effect. It’s a bit ridiculous for the Reston location - it’s no Manhattan

Reston town center is trash. I’ve been there twice. Between the fake ice skating and the crappy shops, there is zero appeal to someone with any class.

I have actually ice skated there and it is most definitely not “fake” ice skating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parts of Kensington feel like a real town.

Frederick has a nice town center, not new build fake town center, but it’s not commuting distance to DC.

Of the new build fake tiwn centers I’ve been to l like Mosiac the best. London is just too far from DC for me.

Oops, l meant Loudon not London.

I also dislike Reston Town Center, there is a huge wind tunnel effect. It’s a bit ridiculous for the Reston location - it’s no Manhattan

Reston town center is trash. I’ve been there twice. Between the fake ice skating and the crappy shops, there is zero appeal to someone with any class.

You're a bitter, bitter person. And I don't go to RTC especially with the parking situation. I've been there maybe three or four times in 20 years.

How does one fake ice skate anyway?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The faux "town centers" pale in comparison to any average new england village with a town green built on a solid grid network of streets.

It is so sad what we have come to "appreciate" with public gathering spaces in our society.

+1

Don’t worry! In just 30 years they will seem authentic and in 100 years they will be the New England town…

The New England “villages”, for the most part, are simply giant intersections for very busy and overcrowded highways. There is usually no walking around a village green unless you want to cross a 4 lane route 20 or something to get there.

Uh huh. That is exactly how I would describe e.g., Chatham, Concord, Lexington, Harvard, and Arlington, Massachusetts. And Yarmouth, Brunswick, and Camden, Maine. Hanover, NH.

Just big highways.

Yes, PP, what are you talking about? Have you ever been to New England? It's hard to think of a town that doesn't have a town center, complete with a town hall, library, local restaurants, stores, etc. As for our "busy and overcrowded highways," I assume you mean 93 and 95, which definitely don't run through any town centers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parts of Kensington feel like a real town.

Frederick has a nice town center, not new build fake town center, but it’s not commuting distance to DC.

Of the new build fake tiwn centers I’ve been to l like Mosiac the best. London is just too far from DC for me.

Oops, l meant Loudon not London.

I also dislike Reston Town Center, there is a huge wind tunnel effect. It’s a bit ridiculous for the Reston location - it’s no Manhattan

Reston town center is trash. I’ve been there twice. Between the fake ice skating and the crappy shops, there is zero appeal to someone with any class.

I like RTC. It’s no Tribeca or London (I’ve lived in both)(and I do mean London, not Loudon). But nowhere around here is. Sure there are trashy places, but there are trashy places wherever you go. Just don’t go to them. In terms of “crappy shops” it’s got an Athleta, Lululemon and J McLaughlin. Aka: gym clothes. Fancy gym clothes. Swim and tennis club clothes. What else do you need?? And as for the fake ice skating…it’s Virginia. Not Canada. Have some expectations.