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

[scott1964]

WOW, nice update. 

[JBSimio]

Matt:  Thanks!  I'm sure the parking in downtown LA is just as bad or worse than here in San Francisco... the prices downtown or at the airport are insane.  I had a hard time getting the higher wealth apartments for a while too, but now that I have the demand they pop up quite often.  Getting that many in one place took a lot of patience though.    The giant weeds were a result of my replanting trees around the edges with the brush set too large.  A few ended up on the lot and I didn't notice until it was too late. 

Ethan:  Thank you!  We've been on the southern side of Covington a couple times now, but much of it is surrounded by industry and not so nice.  The riverfront is all that has saved this part of town.  The bike trails are indeed from the SBFT high wealth set.  I'm using the Columbia terrain mod.  The theater is by SimGoober and can be found in one of his commercial packs if I remember correctly.

Robin:  Thank you so much, my friend.  One last hurrah before the big move...

Battlecat:  Thank you!  Those apartments are some of the ones I made.  They are part of the RUSA Stratton Apartments as are the ones in 54.10.   

Earth quake:  Thanks!  I really like the Evergreen Hills building too... it's simple, but seems to fit very well.

Scott:  Thank you!

Update Time!!!

It's been a lot of fun here once again in OSITM and I'd like to thank everyone for visiting.  It seems that lately the theme in Covington is about growth and sprawl.  Before I leave this section (to become famous apparently    ), I thought we'd have one last look at how things are spreading out.  Enjoy...

http://www.youtube.com/v/nDNcMA0mmug&hl=en&fs=1

Thanks for watching!!!
JB

[Utvaw]

Fantastic update and congrats on the HoF status, I have lurked in your MD for a while I can safely say, you definitely earned it.  Also, nice song.

[threestooges]

This is why Covington's going to the Hall of Fame. Very nice retrospective Jon. The music was an excellent selection and I could almost smell the crops and see myself driving down one of those winding roads that Covington has become known for. The piano solo was pretty good too. As for the tree replanting, I've been there before. It's annoying when it's a plopped lot, but even worse when it's that one you've waited to grow for countless game months. Nice close to the month Jon.
-Matt

[rooker1]

Hey Jon,
That was a very nice stroll down Memory Lane.  Love the video and love the song, they seemed to fit together perfectly.  Perfect way to end the month and enter the MD HoF!!

Robin 

[bakerton]

My time flies when you are in Covington. Nice to remember everything that has been going aroung and growing here in Covington. Keep it up JB. JKB

[rooker1]

Congratualtions JBSimio on your move to MD HoF!



SC4D Staff! 

[Albus of Garaway]

Many congratulations to you, Jon! You deserve it!

-Jason

[danielcote]

Great video! looks like Covington is really Growing.

[pvarcoe]

Excellent video Jon.
I enjoyed it very much!

Phil

[canyonjumper]

I am a first-timer at Covington, but I am deeply impressed. I read all your updates in 3 hours or something (I lost track of time ). Anyway, this MD deserves HoF! I can't wait for the next update!

                            -Jordan

[calibanX]

You did a very nice job showcasing your apartment buildings JB. That's an awesome set. I also never get sick of looking at your zoomed out region view.

Geoff

[Ennedi]

Hello Jon,

Excellent video and a great music! 
Your previous update is fantastic too, I must say I love your suburban appartments, never used them but now collected them and I'm going to use them soon in my cities 

Welcome in the MD Hall of Fame - your new home. Now you are not forced to make updates frequently and you don't need to afraid of moving your MD to the Inactive section. You can also start a new MD if you want. But Covington is a really unique place and I hope we will be able to visit you many times here to see its development!

Here is a link to the Covington Introduction, it includes an interview and photos you have choosen to introduce newcomers to your MD.

I see you received congratulations from the Staff twice (exactly as Alex)  , please take is a s a good prediction for future and a sign of the best opinion about your creations!

Adam

[ecoba]

Congragulations, Jon!

A great video update too!

No long comment today, though.

Ethan

[art128]

Hey Jon !
First of all, congratulation for your entry into the HoF of the MDs ! It's quite well deserved.
The last update, video one, is very nice, I liked it a lot. I love how the video shows well the time you spent to make the area realistic, that is a good thing.
Can't wait for more !
-Arthur.

[Dreamcat]

Hi, JB.  You recognize me?  I doubt it.  I'm an avid fan, just haven't had a lot of time to post.  Welcome to the HoF!  It was a pleasant surprise to look for you in the Classics and then find you here.  Amazing video you have!  Your farmland makes me so jealous.  So wonderful.  Have a very happy day.

[Jmouse]

Absolutely superb video, Jon! And congratulations to you and Covington for induction into the HOF!

Later...
Joan

[Opkl]

Nice region! With all the big box stores, is Covington ready for a few shopping malls? SimGoober's Suburban Mall, Plop-A-Shop packs, and his Super Centers1-2 along with RiverRock Mall by Jawood(STEX) would really blend in nicely. By the way, where did you download the Ukrop's from?

[JBSimio]

Utvaw:  Thank you and welcome to Covington!

Matt:  Thanks!  I have actually been wanting to use that song for a while now.  I just had to gather up enough "suburban encroachment" pictures first. 

Robin:  Thank you!  I really tried to match the pictures up with the song lyrics where ever I could, so I'm glad to hear that they seemed to fit together so well.

Jon:  Thanks!

Robin and Staff:  Thank you so much for this shiny new home!

Jason:  Thank you!

Daniel:  Thanks!  It is still growing quite a bit, as you will see soon...

Phil:  Thank you!  I'm glad you liked it.

Jordan:  Welcome to Covington!  Thank you so much... I'm honored that you spend that much time going all the way back like that.

Geoff:  Thank you!  I'm starting to think I may need a few more of those style apartment buildings... 

Adam:  Thank you so much!  I'm glad you like the apartments... perhaps there will be more soon (as if I need more things on my to do list!) 

Ethan:  Thank you!  Short comments are OK too... not to worry. 

Arthur:  Thank you so much, my friend!

Dreamcat:  I do recognize you... we exchanged a few messages recently.    Welcome to Covington and thank you for your kind words!

Joan:  Thank you!

Opkl:  Thanks!  Covington will definitely have a large shopping mall.  I know exactly where it is going, I just haven't gotten that far yet.  I'm hoping to add some larger big box stores soon, but the demand just isn't there yet.  I'm fairly certain that Ukrop's is another one of SimGoober's stores.

Update Time!!!

56.01


We took a very quick glance at the area around Joseph Bryan Parkway a few updates back, but I thought today we should take a closer look at the northwest side of Covington.  As you can see by the map, there are plenty of unfinished places here, but things are starting to take shape anyway.  One other thing that I'll mention (for the sake of honesty, if nothing else) is that I do take some minor liberties with the maps.  Exit ramps and some other small things are drawn the way I would like them to look and not necessarily the way the game allows me to make them.  But why split hairs, right?  On with the update...

56.02


Holden Road, as we all know by now, changes constantly as it wraps its way around the west side of the city.  Entering from the bottom of the map, the industrial park gives way to commercial development like this near the corner of Market Street.  Unlike most of Cone Boulevard, this area is mostly smaller shops and hasn't succumbed to the big box stores just yet.  It may in time, but so far the large shopping centers in this area have stayed along Market Street instead.

56.03


The commercial strip continues along Holden Road until just south of the Joseph Bryan Parkway.  The area continues to grow thanks to the nearby industrial park.  Shops and restaurants, no longer able to find frontage on Holden Road, began to climb the hill as the area grew.

56.04


A quick stop at McDonald's gives a view down the hill back towards Holden Road.  It also shows how this commercial area has grown and begun to encroach on the older subdivisions here.  It seems a little strange that the city can't seem to choose a consistent form of street lighting here, given the amounts of money in this area.

56.05


Just across Holden Road, some larger apartment buildings have started to go up as the corporate park grows.  We'll get to that in just a second though...

56.06


... but first, I promised a look at this interchange the last time we were here, so there it is.  (Yes, for the moment I'm still using the old method of one way roads here.  That might change soon.)  This is where Battleground Avenue ends and becomes the Joseph Bryan Parkway.  Originally, Cone Boulevard just ended here with a standard intersection at Battleground Avenue.  When the large office park started to take shape and this area became much busier, it became obvious that a better solution was needed to avoid backups onto the Parkway.  And thus... the newer interchange was built.

56.07


So what about this office park I keep mentioning?  Well, it is starting to become almost a second downtown for Covington.  The hills here won't allow for anywhere near the density we would find downtown, which adds to the suburban feel of this development.  This particular building overlooks the beginning of the Josheph Bryan Parkway and houses offices for the regional payment center of Bell South telephone company.

56.08


The northenmost side of the office park is anchored by the Mount Sinai Medical Center, which is Covington's fourth major hospital.  The hospital ranks near the top in North Carolina for treating heart disease and other related problems.  Patients from other areas are often flown here when they require more extensive treatment.  Working closely with UNCC, Mount Sinai is now becoming a recognized leader in cancer research as well.

56.09


The hospital has helped bring prestige to this area, and several new office towers have been added to the hill overlooking the end of Holden Road.  The tallest tower in the office park houses the regional headquarters for Bank of America.  The tower was built with two smaller office buildings nearby, which Bank of America leases to various insurance and other financial companies.

56.10


All this office development has spurred plenty of residential growth along the Parkway.  Just across Holden Road is a familiar sight as sprawling apartment buildings give way to even larger tracts of subdivisions.

56.11


As Covington spreads ever further, the suburbs have started to cover the hills here on the northwest side.  These hills make it difficult to build anything too dense here, but houses cling to the slopes here as the sprawl reaches further out.

56.12


A final look at the region shows the sprawl along the Josheph Bryan Parkway.  The taller buildings in the office park are also very easy to spot from above, although the area will need a while before it can really compete with downtown.

Thanks for reading!!!
JB

[ecoba]

Wow, Covington's sprawl is looking great, Jon. What would be the new method of that interchange though?

Ethan