Covington - Update 61 "Chestnut Hills and South River Bend"

[rooker1]

Hey Jon,
I hope to see one day how you convert that area with the Maxis highway to RHW.  It'll definately make for a few great updates I'm sure.
I really like the little animation you did.  That view of your region will never seize to amaze me.  I'm not entirely sure what it is, but the fact that your city is growing from the center out and lined with farming, or maybe it's your patience to grow the city nice and slow.  At any rate, I never get bored of seeing that region view!

Robin 

[art128]

hey Jon, First of all, congrats for your OSITM ! Quite well deserved one, me thinks. 

It's funny to see how a region can grow really well, with a pleasant way, in an almost exactly year. Good work with that animation, it was a pleasure to watch it. Everything seems to get grown very well, the development at the south also as the one at the East. I really like the way you layout before developing the parts of the region, nice work, I may try my luck with that too. Also, I agree with Robin, I hope to see when you'll convert that Maxis high way (that a find a bit ugly.. ) to the RHW, I think it will be an awesome thing to see that. But, I also think it'll be a bit hard, because to make good smooth curves it needs a lot of space, and if you want to let the shapes of the highway like we see in the region shot.. But I think you'll managed to make that easily and nicely, as I can see you have done that with the FAR, FARR and others things in the region that i really enjoyed.

The last update is very nice too, the commercial strip are always very nicely done, also as your road and street layout. By talking of street, I really like the cul-de-sac streets you made in the suburbs, with all those roundabout, it looks awesome. Especially the first suburbs picture you shown, that is, in my opinion, the best of that update, that FAR/FARR road look very nice behind these houses, looks like a snake sometime !  Industrial area is good too.

I hope it will be a good OSITM, as your last one, I have no doubt on it ! 

Regards,
-Arthur.

[Fabian93]

Congratulations on your OSITM award .
I've got to apologize for not writing here so far, too (so many great MDs here that I've never commented on )

The recent update looks really good and I love that region view. It's probably one of the best and  region views I have ever seen .

Keep up the great work,
Fabian

[ecoba]

Well, Jon, you certainly are living up to your OSITM! 

Wow, I hadn't noticed how much Covington has grown in the year. I remember the way I discovered Covington. It was during that December. I was new to SC4D, and I saw the OSITM section and found it rather interesting, since there was nothing of the sort over at Simtropolis. I clicked on the section and saw Commonwealth of Marathon, along with Covington, and Rainbow Falls. I clicked on each, in turn, and became very interested with each, especially Covington, considering that I live in the south, and have been to North Carolina a few times. It was extremely captivating and I've been watching ever since.

Covington really has become quite a large city, and I can kindof see where each neighbourhood has sprung up, I can also see the growth along the river and Bryan Parkway.

Really a great update, Jon, and sorry for kindof doing a really long update, with most of it a little bit irrelevant.  Hehe, I do that a lot. But you have a great MD here, and I'm now itching for another update.

Ethan

[Jmouse]

It's always an unexpected pleasure to slow down for a moment and look back. There have been many changes in the past year - FAR made a monumental difference and there have been several new BATs added.

Fortunately, growth and change hasn't spoiled Covington's charm, though. The neighborhoods are still inviting and the small towns are still small enough to be attractive. If anything, the natural progression of development has reinforced the unique character of this beautiful place I love to visit!

Later...
Joan

[Bobbi]

Nice update

[JBSimio]

Matt:  Thank you!  The explosive growth near the end there was a bit of a mistake on my part.  There really should have been a couple extra frames dealing with the Hudson Landing area followed by Fox Point and then Celestial Bluffs.  Unfortunately, I skipped the region shots for a couple updates... so it wound up looking as if all those areas happened at the same time.  Oh well.

Tomas Neto:  Thanks!  Glad you liked it.

Robin:  Thank you!  I have to admit that I've sat and stared at the animation myself any number of times now.  It's fun to remember how randomly I've grown the city over time.  I had a look at the RHW threads, and seeing that there is some work going towards FARHW, I'm sure there will be some future updates for the highways someday. 

Arthur:  Thank you!  It's nice to see you again, my friend.  I agree that the RHW would probably look better in most places now although I'm very concerned (as you mention) with the space I may need, especially near the center of the city.  I'm sure I'll be toying around with the idea and we'll all find out eventually.  I've always used the roundabout option for my subdivisions... I'm glad you like it.  Thanks again for all your great comments!

Fabian:  Thank you so much!  Welcome to Covington.

Ethan:  Thanks!  It was an interesting look back for me as well.  I hadn't realized how much things have spread out either until I put that animation together.  The growth along the river was fun to do and I'm still sorting out how I want to do the southern areas.  The areas along the Joseph Bryan Parkway are only beginning... I think that will be a very interesting section when the time comes. 

Joan:  Thanks!  Mattb325's newest homes have been a most welcome addition to my plugins and the timing was perfect for all the suburban growth I have going on at the moment.  I wish I would have taken more "before" pictures of the rural FAR upgrades as it would have been fun to do a similar animation with some of those.  But this being a special month... who knows what else I might have up my sleeve? 

Bobbi:  Thank you!

Update Time!!!

More growth?  Maybe another look at suburbia in Covington?  Well... OK then...

51.01


We're start today back near the intersection of Cone Boulevard and Riverside Drive.  Like most of the major intersections in northern Covington, this busy corner supports a fairly major shopping area.  Subdivisions extend away towards the river and push against the nearby farms here at the very edge of the city.  Let's have a closer look.

51.02


You may remember an earlier look at the "gentlemen's clubs" here on the corner.  They appear to stay just as busy during the daylight hours.  Oddly enough, a Hooter's restaraunt went up right across Cone Boulevard which caters mainly to those that are too shy (or intimidated or conservative) for the entire show.  Car dealerships, restaraunts, and a few apartment buildings also fill in the north side of this busy intersection.

51.03


It's just not suburbia without a McDonald's somewhere nearby.  One of these days, I need to count up just how many billions of Covington's population have been served here.  Chuck-E-Cheese is a popular destination for the kids and Border's is an equally popular spot for the adults.  (At least the adults who aren't busy at Hooter's or those "other" places across the street.)

51.04


Just behind these fine establishments is the local grocery store.  And behind that is... a local elementary school?  What kind of idiot puts a school in the middle of a major shopping district (or even a church for that matter)?  Well, actually there's a funny story behind that... OK, maybe not that funny, but still a story none the less.  The school (and church) were both built before this intersection became the thriving shopping area that it now is.  At the time, Cone Boulevard had a small commercial strip along here, but nothing like what we see today.  As the area grew and the zoning changed, the school suddenly found itself surrounded by huge stores.  The city is currently reviewing options to move the school and sell the current property, which has actually become quite valuable now.

51.05


North of all this shopping along Riverside Drive (which, incidently changes names right about here since it is no longer anywhere near the river) the subdivisions quickly take over.  It's pretty plain to see that Covington is beginning to spread to its limits here.  Farms and their older farmhouses compete with newer suburban development.  The deer and other wildlife are also starting to feel the pinch as the larger wooded areas slowly disappear.

51.06


Just to the west of Riverside Drive is one of the few large apartment complexes to be found in this area.  Long before Covington even thought about growing so large, much of what we've seen so far today was a huge and very prosperous plantation.  As time marched on, the property was sold little by little until the last thing left was the large house and the property immediately around it.  This in turn became the Cotton Valley Apartment complex and the house was converted into the rental offices and a central clubhouse.  There are some very interesting historical photos of the property inside if you ever have a chance to stop by.

51.07


Still moving west, Cone Boulevard widens as it passes through one of the only non-commercial areas along its entire length.  Somewhat like Benjamin Parkway, the median is well maintained and provides a rather inviting view.  We could almost call it a park-like setting if it weren't for all the traffic (which, of course, you can't really see here... I might as well also take this opportunity to apologize for the city edge which I couldn't avoid in this picture.)  North of the parkway near the bottom of the picture, you can also see the elementary school which may be expanded to absorb students from the one we looked at earlier.

51.08


A closer look shows some of the similarities to Benjamin Parkway.  The houses here are definitely newer and maybe not as stately as those found in the historic district, but they're still very nice places to live just the same.  Also notice the strangely translucent traffic along this busy corridor.  Perhaps these are the ghosts of traffic past, present, and future?  (Jim Carrey promised me a nice check if I made some sort of reference to Disney's 5th or 6th remake of A Christmas Carol... I hope he's reading!)

51.09


For no particular reason, I decided to include a closer look at some of the neighborhoods that can be found here along Cone Boulevard.  Since I have completely failed to come up with anything clever or funny to say about this picture, we'll just move on...

51.10


Much of the area north of Cone Boulevard between Riverside Drive and Interstate 85 is now known as Marshall Hills, named after local Civil War hero James E. Marshall.  Much of the land here was once used for military training and also served as a northern defense for the city of Covington.  Near the top of Dixie Hill sits an old dormitory building which has recently been remodeled and updated as a retierment home.  Dixie Hill commands a pretty nice overview of the entire Marshall Hills area... which we will be visiting more of in the very near future.

51.11


But until then...

Thanks for reading!!!
JB

[TheTeaCat]

Its just wonderful to pop in and visit Covington.

As always you amaze me with you skills and suburbia looks great.
I'm just wondering how much they would get if they sold the land the school
is on, and how much tea they could buy with it 

Great Animation too, glad I gave you the idea to do one.
It really shows just how much development has gone on.
Especially since your last time in OSITM, and as that kicked off a great year,
what better way to finish it but by being OSITM again.

Looking forward to the rest of the month

Kettle's just boiled, I'll be right back with a cuppa for you

regards
Derry

[ecoba]

Ah, another update, Jon.

You're updating every time I turn around. I wish I could come up with a snide remark, maybe having something to do with Albus Dumbledore. I don't know, I'm tired....

Ah, how suburbia grows like a pestilent weed. I like Matt (Mattb325)'s new homes very much, but have not been able to get them to grow in my cites. I noticed that they will grow in the Euro tileset while Brian (c.p.)'s will not. So, I set my game to the Euro tileset, and Mickebear's Mediterrenean homes grow. I was not dissapointed, as I had tried to grow these a long time ago, but was dissapointed as I was trying to grow a neighbourhood quite like those of North Covington.

Ugh, that big-box strip is one I would not want my children in. (Considering I don't like Fast Food, those stores aren't exactly Child-friendly, and I have a strange, yet respectable, fear of strange mouses who own ridiculous shops.)I can see why the city would want to move that school, and why a congregation might want to move their church.

Oh, we're seeing some farms again, those bring back memories of earlier Covington updates..

It's sad to see them go, especially to suburbia...

Ethan

[Earth quake]

Impressive update matt.
Your suburbs are really splendid (The new beat of mattb325 are really superb to create an American or an Europpean suburbs.
The commercial aera is nice and the picture 50.05 is really beautiful.
Finally, this update is fantastic and the overview of the region , as usual, is:

[Jmouse]

Excellent commercial area (51.02), Jon. If all or most of the businesses grew where they stand, you're either very lucky or very patient! Your tale-spinning talents are showing in 51.06. The mansion among the apartments is a clever idea - in part because such a thing could actually happen in RL. Love it!

The curvy road in 51.07 and 51.08 looks great, and the neighborhoods are always charming. The dormitory-turned-nursing-home in 51.10 is another one of your good ideas that's come to life. Refurbishing an existing building is a popular and often cost-effective alternative to constructing a new one.

Another look at the overview has left me wondering if the northeastern area is going to stop growing or jump the river and dive into the farmland. I wonder...

Later...
Joan

[kwakelaar]

Lovely update and I very much enjoyed reading your comments to the different images.

[Tomas Neto]

Wowww my friend, awesome update again!!! 

[Bobbi]

Great update again!

[Battlecat]

This is continuing to come along beautifully!  Those apartment complexes look great and your suburbs are excellent as well.  This update certainly indicates the need for fractional angle avenues and one was streets!  Though I'm not sure how much of an impact that would have on your development style!  Still, everything looks great as always!

[JBSimio]

Derry:  Thank you, my friend!  I'm normally not a big fan of suburbia, but if I'm going to make this look even remotely authentic, I guess I have to let the sprawl blanket everything in its path.  I'm sure a lot of tea could be had for the price of that school, yes!    Thank you for allowing me to "steal" your idea... much appreciated! 

Ethan:  Thanks!  I haven't had any problem getting Matt's houses to grow in abundance here.  I don't actually have Mickebear's installed though which may be helping for me anyway.  The commercial area is indeed no place for an elementary school and I'm hoping the city does something about it soon.  Don't worry... at this point, no farms have been hurt during the suburban development! 

Earthquake:  Thank you!  I was a big fan of 50.05 myself so I'm glad you liked it too!  (I'm not Matt though... just for the record) 

Joan:  Thank you!  I actually did get fairly lucky with the commercial buildings here.  I had to bulldoze a few things I didn't like, but it didn't take as long as I had expected to get the look I wanted.  Nothing was actually plopped either.  However, the mansion among the apartments was a result of my patience ending.  I had to bulldoze countless times to get all the right lots and that one just refused to cooperate.  Finally, this house grew and I just decided to keep it.  I don't think we'll be jumping the river anytime soon... but the distant future is still very much unknown, so we shall see! 

Kwakelaar:  Thank you for stopping in again!

Tomas Neto:  Thanks!

Bobbi:  Thank you as well!

Battlecat:  Thank you!  Fractional angled avenues would be a very welcome addition, but I think I would keep the streets the same anyway.  I purposely add those turns to give them more of a subdivision type of feel.

Update Time!!!

Today I thought we'd close out this recent suburban tour with one more look at the northeast edges of Covington.  I even prepared a handy little map in case you want to follow along.

52.01


As I mentioned in the last update, the area bordered roughly by Cone Boulevard, Interstate 85, and Cotton Valley Road is known as Marshall Hills.  South of Cone Boulevard is Harmony Hills and to the east is the Riedsville River.  From previous updates, you can also get a better idea of the industrial parks along I-85 and also around Harmony Center Drive just south of Cone Boulevard.

52.02


Looking along Dixie Highway shows just how close the subdivisions are to the farmland here.  Most of Dixie Highway itself remains undeveloped in the hopes of maintaining a more rural feel, but as this road gets busier the pressures to build here will only increase.

52.03


Another angle gives a better look at the way these housing developments rise along the hills.  The Dixie Hill Retirement Home can be seen off in the distance at the corner of Industrial Way and James E Marshall Road.  A few smaller shops and offices also anchor this intersection.  The Marshall Historical Park fills the northwest corner.  But we'll get to that in a minute...

52.04


Despite being so close to the neighboring farmland, these subdivisions have been somewhat desnsely plotted.  In the never ending search for larger profits, developers blanketed the hills with as many houses as they could fit here.  There are many nice homes here, just don't expect to have a whole lot of extra space in the yard.

52.05


A closer look doesn't really show us anything different... which begs the question of why this picture was included here.  Quite honestly, I don't have an answer to that question.  I guess I just felt like showing different areas regardless of how similar they may or may not look! 

52.06


The northern edge of Marshall Hills is Orchard Lane.  Once just another farm road between Dixie Highway and Summit Avenue, all the growth has turned this into a fairly busy secondary road.  There is currently talk about adding a new exit from Interstate 85 to Orchard lane, but that could be a ways in the future yet.

52.07


How about that look at Marshall Historical Park now?  Most of the park is actually undeveloped wooded areas, but there are a few buildings near the two entries into the park.  Along James E Marshall Road is the main visitor's center.  This large home with its two smaller outbuildings dates back to roughly the same time as the retirement home in the background.  Originally housing and offices for higher ranking military officers in the Confederate Army, it now serves as a bit of a Civil War museum with displays and other park information.

52.08


Just north of the visitor's center is a recreated guard tower which harkens back to the times when this hill served as an important part of Covington's defenses during the Civil War.  (I really would have liked to fly a Confederate flag here, but the lawyers wouldn't let me)  A gift shop and snack bar sits near the enterance from Industrial Way.  Paths wind back through the woods where battles are re-enacted on many weekends.

52.09


Large bonfires are held here on many weekend nights after the mock battles have finished.  Park interpreters often tell a few ghost stories about war veterans who alegedly still haunt the park and marshmallows can be roasted for the kids.  Despite the bloody history involved, the re-enactments and closing bonfire are generally considered to be a good bit of fun for the whole family.

52.10


Because of the wooded setting of the park, the subdivisions which surround it are very popular.  This area sits along the park's southwest corner and houses are quite nice here despite the proximity to the industrial areas along Interstate 85.

52.11


One last look at the western edge of the park.  From here it merely looks like a wooded area separating the different housing developments.  The edges of the industrial park can also be seen here on the land below the hills.  And with that, our look at Marshall Hills has come to an end...

52.12


The latest region shot shows that, in fact, no farms have been lost since the last update.  (In fact, I've actually added at least one!)  You can also make out the Marshall Historical Park from way up here.

Thanks for reading!!!
JB

[Bobbi]

Great update again! And I like the region map.

[Earth quake]

Just Splendid update.
The suburbs as usual wonderfull. 
The Marshall Historical Park is really nice, excellent work.
And the overview is just impressive.

[ecoba]

Oh, yep, I see the park.

Great update, Jon, I never can have too much Covington. The Dixie Highway sure is nice undeveloped and such, I hope it doesn't have to get widened soon, tell everyone they have to use... uh, some other road...

Good golly, Covington's getting big, I know I say this like, every update, but it's true.

Ethan

[Tomas Neto]

Awesome suburbs!!! Fantastic work again!!!