Nyhaven: Views From Within (Nuclear City - 5/8)

[Glowbal]

I'm back again 
I like the BMX-Park
Only some of those trees are like twice as high as a building with 5 floors. 

The water in the park fits in nice. aint plopable water, right?

[darraghf]

Wow Great work.  I really like the large cities in Nyhaven. I wouldn't mind seeing more fo them.

-Darra

[Battlecat]

Very cool BMX park!  That looks like it would be a lot of fun to ride in!

[woodb3kmaster]

Speedbump Joey: Thank you! Some folks have said that Nyhaven could use more green space, so I'm glad you like this park.

Glowball: Welcome back, and thanks! There certainly are some tall trees in there, but that's just a sampling of the variety of trees you can find in Nyhaven's region. As for the water, those were made with Pegasus's original Stream Kit, available at the PLEX.

Darra (darraghf): Thank you for stopping by! You'll get to see some more of Nyhaven's inner city in today's update; I hope you like it!

Battlecat: Thanks! I'm glad you think i did a good job on that park. I've never actually been to one, but I tried to make as good a mountain biking course as I could. Come back soon, my friend!







It wasn't long after moving into the new city hall that we had our first city council meeting in the building's spacious council chambers. I was there because I was going to present a new project idea that I had worked on while in my temporary office. Eventually, my turn to speak came around. Stepping up to the lectern off to the side, I began:

"Ladies and gentlemen of the council, as you are no doubt aware, the Hill Industrial District has been in decline for decades now. Companies just keep on moving to new factories in the suburbs, leaving empty buildings behind in the inner city. In addition, Nyhaven currently has no major performing arts center, forcing the city's culture aficionados to drive all the way to Kendall to see a concert or opera. I propose that we fix both of these problems at once by redeveloping a large area of the industrial district as Nyhaven's new cultural hotspot.



"This project would take sixteen city blocks near the intersections of University and Hill Avenues and March Boulevard and give them new life as a mixed-use development. This would expand the existing commercial district at March and University and open up new possibilities for residential development in the area. On the screen in a map of the proposed project.



"The centerpiece of this project would be a large new performing arts center, which would occupy two existing city blocks. Many of the buildings on these blocks are abandoned; those that are still in use could be bought out, with the city compensating the affected businesses by providing funds to build new facilities in the suburbs.



"To the north of the new performing arts center, a new high-rise residential community would be built. The large city blocks in this area could be altered by realigning local streets, making them even more suitable for the construction of large towers. A new school and parks would be built immediately to the east to provide appropriate amenities to all the new residents.

"The plan as I have presented is ready to be carried out. All that needs to happen is for you, the council, to approve this project. Thank you."

After a brief Q&A session, the council voted to approve the project. With that, redevelopment went into full gear.



Before any construction could begin, of course, the old factories had to go. By September, all the properties had been bought up and the buildings leveled. The local streets were realigned soon afterwards.



With all the site preparation finished, work began on the performing arts center and its nearby parking garage in November.



All through the rains of the winter of 2394, construction kept moving forward on these first two structures. By May, the buildings were ready to open their doors.



At the same time, Phase 1 of the residential estate went into construction. Nearby, the school and parks took only a few months to build and were finished before the first high-rises were anywhere close to being done. Unfortunately, the private contractor who was building those first towers cut a few too many corners, and the city safety inspector had to condemn the partially-built towers. You win some, you lose some...



After firing the bad contractor, we sent a modified Phase 1 out to bid again. At the same time, Phases 2 and 3 got underway. It took so little time to finish Phase 2, I thought there had to be more corners cut. However, the inspector didn't find anything wrong with these new towers, and they were opened in August.



At last, we found a reputable new contractor to rebuild Phase 1, and construction resumed quickly after that. Work started on the first tower in October...



...and by February 2395, only the last two towers were left to build.





In April, the last towers finally opened to receive their first tenants. What a project it had been! Given the difficulties that arose during construction, I was relieved to finally put this project behind me.

[Battlecat]

Wow, now that's a dramatic change to a neighbourhood.  Looks great!

[Speedbump Joey]

Absolutely loved this update!

[Glowbal]

Once again, a amazing update. Great story 

My guess is that the cultural hotspot will be part of the next update?

Cheers!
~ Glow

[Nexis4Jersey]

i like all the grow in your city

[memph]

I might have overlooked this site if it wasn't for your MD. Very nice.

[woodb3kmaster]

Battlecat: It certainly is drastic, isn't it? At least it's all for the better. Thanks for your compliments!

Speedbump Joey: Thank you very much!

Glowbal: Thanks! It was my mistake to leave out a proper picture of the new performing arts center (the cultural hotspot mentioned in the update); I'll have to add one in between updates. Nevertheless, I'm sure you'll see a little more of the area in the next update.

Corey (Nexis4Jersey): Thank you! If there's one constant in Nyhaven, it's definitely growth.

memph: Welcome to Devotion, and welcome to Nyhaven! Thanks for your kind words!



Well, this week has been pretty busy. If you've been following me on Twitter, you already know that I've started BATting (the results of which will eventually be shown here) and I just bought a new computer. Aside from that, the Simlympics are underway, and Lower Columbia's athletes have been winning medals left and right. If you haven't already done so, I encourage you to check out all the action over at the SimSports Forums. Meanwhile, though, I'm still plugging away in Nyhaven and the LE. Here are a couple more of my custom re-lots:



My AIN allies have already seen this image, but I thought I'd let everyone else check it out. This is the Royal Library and the Mausoleum of the Kings in Kendall. I like how these two buildings look together, and I wanted to give them a proper setting. So, I relotted the mausoleum (really the Christiansborg Castle Church) to make a lot the same width as the library, and I also made a plaza for the front of the library.

Don't forget to check back next week for the extra-special 25th update! Until then...

[M4346]

Whoa! Impressive! Not only your relotting efforts, but the attention to detail and the immense effort put into every update! I like!

*clicks "NOTIFY"*

[Speedbump Joey]

Very very nice setup you have there. Have you thought about putting a wrought-iron fence around the mausoleum to create a sense of security? I also love the buildings surrounding the area, many of them seem to fit well with the two main structures.

[Tomas Neto]

Really it stayed a well harmonious assembly!!! 

[woodb3kmaster]

M4346: Welcome to Nyhaven, and thank you for your kind words! Details are important to me, and I'm glad to hear that I'm putting a good amount of them in my updates. Hopefully today's update is just as well-detailed!

Speedbump Joey: Thanks! I hadn't considered a fence, but it might be worth trying out. I know I have at least a couple of suitable props in my plugins, so I'll see ow it looks and maybe even post a shot here from the LE. Thank you for your suggestion, my friend!

Tomas Neto: Thank you, Tomas!



Not only is today's update special because it's the 25th one. In addition, Nyhaven's nation of Lower Columbia just recently co-founded a new union called the League of Nations, along with Kumba's Isporos, dizflip's Jiesan and Alex's (Driftmaster07's) Atrubia. Here's some more information on the League:



If you have an MD and want to be part of a truly democratic union, I encourage you to join us at our forums and submit an application there. See you there!



One summer morning in 2395, there came a knock on my office door. "Paul?" my secretary asked.
"Yes, Charlene?" I replied.
"Mayor Lundgren just told me that he wants you to update the city council on the city's growth since you arrived 25 years ago at their next meeting."
"Thank you, Charlene," I said. "I'll get started on my presentation immediately."
With that, I pulled all the records I could find about new building permits since 2370. The council was most insterested in the growth of the Nyhaven MetroRail system, so I focused on its extensions first. A week later, everything was ready for the meeting.

When it came time for me to speak, I started my slideshow and stepped up to me microphone.



"As you know, Nyhaven has been growing non-stop since I was hired by the city 25 years ago. As part of my job, I have made sure that the city's light rail system keeps up with growth in the suburbs, reserving new right-of-way wherever possible. It hasn't always been possible, though. In North Melrose, for example, the presence of Sunset Mountain forced my department to extend the tunnel for the Central Line past Borghlum Parkway, where construction of a new subdivision recently got started.



"In other areas, the NMR system shares tracks with conventional rail mainlines. This is especially the case with one branch of the Green Line, which follows the Columbia River Railroad westward along the riverbank. Residents in this neighborhood are fortunate enough to be able to choose between the Green Line's more frequent stops and the mainline's express service to Central Station.



"The Gold Line, which was built under my direction just before the Simlympics came to Nyhaven, has also been extended to the northeast, spurring on development around this new elevated station near March Boulevard and Borghlum Parkway.






"One area where we were able to secure right-of-way for a ground-level rail extension was due east of downtown, where my department recently extended the main branch of the Eastern Line into a new subdivision in the Wilshire Valley.



"Waterfront development has been accelerating lately, and it has been hard to keep up with the new subdivisions to the southeast of downtown. In places like this, I have directed my fellow engineers to expand alternative mass transit options, such as the ferry system.



"In contrast to the development in the north, the southwestern side of Puget Island is another area where we have built new trackage in advance of development, including the construction of the Overland Crossing Mall.



"Not far away, on the west bank of the river, the complexities of existing transportation networks required us to build an extension of another of my projects, the Puget Line, on elevated tracks. This has the advantage, however, of making local roads and rails safer, since there are no at-grade crossings with the Puget Line.



"Of course, there are plenty of new neighborhoods that are not served by any nearby NMR line, such as this one in an area on the west bank of the river known as the Ramparts.



"Other new developments have focused on providing sevices in the outer suburbs. This section of big-box stores is just off Route 148, between the Wilshire Valley suburb I showed earlier and the freeway. Unfortunately, these stores were built before the Eastern Line's right-of-way could be extended through the area, so that line will have to be diverted around them when it is extended this far.



"In some cases, neighborhoods have been built between line extensions, giving residents of such subdivisions as this one in West Cahuenga Hill extra transit options.



"Other new commercial districts have been aimed at fostering a more urban character in the suburbs. Lankershim Village is one such district.



"In other cases, new towns have been incorporated at the edge of the metropolitan area - towns like Sleepy Hollow, which is poised to take advantagfe of future development opportunities.



"Some new neighborhoods have had other public buildings as their focal point, such as the new Mormon temple on Welsh Island, just off Route 250.



"Finally, the outer suburbs aren't the only places where development has occurred recently. The inner subrubs have been getting denser, as more and more people want to live closer to downtown. These new apartment buildinds across the river from downtown are typical of such redevelopments."

At this point, I began taking questions from both the council and the audience. One average citizen asked, "How has downtown changed to accommodate all these new residents?"




"Well, of course downtown has had to grow to provide new jobs to all these citizens," I replied. "Many new skyscrapers have been built since the Simlympics, and a land reclamation project downtown has opened up valuable new real estate for both commercial and residential development.



"This growth is even visible at a distance. The downtown skyline has changed dramatically, as anyone can see at night.



"Other urban neighborhoods have also seen construction of new office buildings. Midtown has grown considerably in the past few years, both with new skyscrapers and new nightclubs."

This last comment inspired Councilwoman JoAnn Park to ask, "What can you tell us about other new attractions in the metro area, Mr. Franconi?"



I answered, "Well, I can tell you about four major new attractions in the city. First is a new golf course serving the growing community of Sawtelle Wood, southeast of Cathlamet.



"Not far away, a new zoo has opened its doors. The new Nyhaven Safari Adventure Park is much larger than the old zoo near Central Station and is already a huge hit with local families.



"The military has also been expanding their presence in Nyhaven. Fort Sepulveda was recently opened a couple of miles off Route 148, to the north of the city.



"Finally, Nyhaven's lack of general aviation facilities has been remedied by the construction of a new airport in Sleepy Hollow. Local private pilots no longer have to drive to Knappa just to go for a pleasant flight above town.




"As a closing thought, all the new suburbs and other developments built since 2370 are highlighted on this satellite photo. It should be no surprise that the metro area's population has grown to almost two million - specifically, to 1,958,575.



"The latest map of the NMR system serves as a nice summary of the system's expansion. Free copies are available in the foyer. Thank you."

Readers: Here's a complete region view, for your viewing pleasure:



You may be wondering, "Hey! What happened to the island with downtown on it? It's a lot edgier than before!" Well, you'll just have to wait until next update to find out ;-) Finally, here's a little thank-you to all of you who have followed Nyhaven:

[KoV Liberty]

Great Update man!

[just_a_guy]

Wow, I really like your region shot. It's very realistic! Congradulations on the 25 update mark too. You've done very well

[Sciurus]

Well, De rien to watch all your updates Woodb3kmaster
The devloppment of your city is impressive, very impressive

Guillaume

[Nexis4Jersey]

I love those Downtown shots and the overall region 

[M4346]

Okay, stop! WHOA! This is, well, immense! The effort! The time?! Wow! I am truly in awe of what you've been doing here! I love your region shot and the way everything looks so "natural" - like it's a replica of a real place somewhere yet undiscovered!

This is really amazing! I realise that I wouldn't be able to capture in words what I want to convey, but really, you are a master of the art!



Now, I hate to be a PITA, but where in the world did you get that amazing mall and those towers that look a lot like alterations of Marina City in Chicago? 

[threestooges]

Congrats on the 25th update (with 25 pics). Your infrastructural design continues to impress, and that map showing the area's growth is a very ncie touch. The NMR Map is elegantly done, very clean lines, very professional looking. I also like the 25th pic. it was a nice touch to use one image from each of the updates for it. Really shows off the variety of the area and what you have done. Also, in regard to your starting to BAT, my congratulations and condolences. It's a great program and it's always good to see another BATter out there, but I'm sorry for all the time it'll suck away, heh heh. Looking forward to what's next.
-Matt