Holt: One Year Later

[sc-4]

Woaw those images looks gorgeous !

[sim_link]

WHEN THE CRANES FADE AWAY...



...ARENAS COME OUT TO PLAY.
Next time in Holt District.

[rooker1]

Nice chioce in arenas, maybe my favourite one.
Can't wait to see the surrounding areas.

Robin

[sc-4]

Like Robin nice choice.
I can't wait to see a global shot of the area.

[sim_link]

SHERKSTON BOOM


Some of you may have noticed the census is coming in Holt District. I was actually supposed to be writing that update right now - everything is ready to go! But, as it turns out, I managed to never publish update 27 (d'oh!) which explains the lack of much happening here in the last 2 weeks. So before the census comes out, we have this update! I'd delay it to after the census, but I lost the original images and these are already stamped with 27.x - and census counts as an update number. So, as a result, this update will have to serve your appetite. Besides, this signals something about the upcoming census. And you know how I love to tease you all. As of now the census should come out on Friday, so in about 2 days, barring unforseen circumstances.

As for this update itself, we find ourselves in an almost unrecognisable portion of Sherkston. This area, which was grasslands once before, is now a dizzying sea of skyscrapers and open grass parks, and home to a whole heck of a lot of trees and people. Welcome, folks, to the intensification zone. Mentioned a few updates back, you not get to see what that really means... [Fun fact: this update acts as a tour through the area at varying times of day, an excuse for me to play with photo effects! )







27.1 | We find ourselves waking up in this sea of residential condo towers. Developments like this are found throughout the developed portions of the intensification zone. Lots of people have moved into the area very quickly, including ourselves. But enough chit-chat, we're late to work and need to get moving!






27.2 | We eventually got to work - 5 minutes late - but the boss was late too so we didn't have to listen to their rant about "company time" again. It never seems to change, kind of like they're a robot. Heh... maybe they are! They seem to have this thing for grey clothes... Lucky for us it's our lunch break, so we head out for some fresh air and the warmth of the mid-afternoon sun.






27.3 | Just about as we're going to get off work, we get the assignment of delivering yet another file to our affiliate company across the area. Certainly not the thing we wanted to do right now, but at least we get to look into the fancy store Samsung Mobile has at the base of their regional office... the sky looks warm as the sun begins to set. Buildings like this have cropped up like this all across the area the region is calling the "intensification zone" - but luckily all the buildings don't block out the sky... usually. There's usually enough space between buildings to allow glimpses of the sky.






27.4 | Unfortunately part of the drive back home is not so fortunate. This collossal building you see with all the balconies is Sherkston La Mode... overpriced, tiny shoebox condos without a view. Not sure who thought they were luxury, if they were on the water I'd understand. But here, it just doesn't make sense. The other buildings are a little more reasonably priced, but still expensive.






27.5 | After a quick shower and small bite to eat we're off to meet up with a group of friends as we go out for the night. The sun is really setting now, and this part of town looks great with an orange glow. The buildings here are a little more upscale, but still maintain the awesome greenspace between all the buildings. They somehow managed to keep the grass under that canopy of trees more manicured than my neighbour's growing up... I wonder how they do that...






27.6 | Its pitch black when we begin to head back to our end of town. Immediately surrounding Highway 40 a massive development consisting of identical towers went up. Reports of people entering the wrong building at night were high for the first while, but they've declined to I suppose people are getting used to the mass-sameness of the development. It's almost freaky...






27.7 | And as we fall asleep on this night, lights that are still on are scattered throughout the city. The light pollution is rising as more skyscrapers and people find their way here. This area would have been a dark field not all that long ago...









sc-4
Thanks, hope you enjoyed these ones too!

rooker1
Same here, that or one of the enclosed stadiums. The surrounding areas were supposed to be update 27, but I've blown the surroundings up because they weren't up to snuff. They'll be shown off once redeveloped!

sc-4
Thanks - still lots of work to do before that but once ready you can count on it!

[sc-4]

Yup , I enjoyed this one too

Can't wait for the census

[sim_link]

IT'S CENSUS TIME


The second quarter of 2013 has wound up, which means it's time for another census here in Holt District. Find out whether the region continued its climb up in population, or if the region declined this quarter. As usual, this census provides population data for the region and each of its 9 municipalities. This includes the % change in population, and counts for Residential, commercial and industrial. It is, of course, presented in pretty image format.






This second quarter was a big one in Holt District. The region continued its path to creating a Bold New Holt District. The HD LRT system was announced and began construction and operation. The school board was busy keeping up with demand and couldn't build schools fast enough. The provincial Ministry of Health found itself announcing a new healthcare facility what seemed like every other week... things continue to boom in Holt District!






We start off with stats for the region. The region boomed as a whole again this quarter, exceeding 25% growth for yet another quarter. Driven by strong growth in Sherkston and Flynn, the region population find itself being propelled up. Several new transit initiatives, infrastructure projects and more are helping in opening more land to development.






In a surprising turn of events, the fastest growing region in terms of % growth was Sherkston - a big feat considering it is the largest municipality meaning it has more growth to do to reach that title. Fuelled by development in the Intensification zone, Sherkston's population swelled by more than 60%.






Flynn was the second fastest growing municipality this past quarter, catapulting it to the status of second largest municipality in the region. It has come a long way from when it was the smallest, having a population of under 3000. The town is now home to the largest arena in not only Holt District, but the Province of Orchidsen. Development around it is likely to take off in the 3rd quarter.






Dropping to 3rd place is Kuhan. Kuhan's growth was tremendously slower than previous quarters. This was, in large part, caused by the town reaching its limits on water service and waste water sevices. The region is undertaking a huge expansion of the network in Kuhan, with development already beginning to pick up again. Nonetheless, Kuhan still experienced good growth and like Flynn has come a long way since its days of a town of 4000.






Up next we have Manatee, which continues to be the slowest growing municipality in the region. Fuelled in part by council's focus on helping those who lost everything in the Manatee tornado, no new developments outside those surrounding the new LRT line were approved. Developers are, however, chomping at the bit to develop the municipality. Could Q3 2013 finally show massive growth in Manatee?






We now find ourselved in Dofino, north of Sherkston. The sprawl bug has firmly latched onto Dofino. New houses with no yard to speak of are popping up everywhere, fuelling the massive expansion of the town. Dofino council is considering planning a new "uptown" shopping district to help control development a little more and encourage high and medium density development, much to an uproar of the downtown merchants and long-time residents.






Heading out to the shoreline we come to Shorecoast. Shorecoast had 2 new condo towers pop up this past quarter, which were responsible for the majority of the population gains this past quarter. With limited land Shorecoast is never the huge happening location in the region, but it does have space for one last massive condo development which will push its population over 100 000.







Heading to Norecount, we are. Some large sprawl developments and medium-density buildings along the LRT line extending from Manatee helped Norecount's population climb at a fair clip this quarter - rising more than 25%. Norecount has plenty of open land, and developers of both residential, office and industry are salivating at the thought of it becoming open for development...






As we reach our final municipalities on the list, we head to the last 2 coastal communities. We first find ourselves in Midport, which saw a modest gain of about 5% this quarter. Some new compact single-family units helped the population climb.






And last, as has been the recent trend, is Old Port. The developer developing the planned community wants to change the plans to be more compact, but Old Port council is not happy with that idea. So development of the planned community was once again on hold, with a new neighbourhood on its northern border contributing most of the growth this quarter.




And to finish off, the moment you've likely been waiting for... the region view! A lot has changed this quarter.
Nice dirt roads in the intensification zone... you know what that means: lots of new roads = more development...



MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS COMING IN Q3 2013

Highway 40 Refurbishment
The Region of Holt District and Province of Orchidsen are co-operating on the completed rebuild of Highway 40. Current plans call for widening along its entire width through HD to 8 lanes from 4. Every interchange will also be reconstructed. The Region is also working with the region on routes that have exits, evaluating if they need to be widened, and placing input to interchange design. It is unknown if it will complted this quarter, but will likely be started in Q3 at the very least.

Kuhan and Flynn Infrastructure Improvement - Water/Power/Waster Water
The water utilities in the above municipalities are reaching maximum capacity, to the point where it has reduced pace of development in Kuhan. The region is undertaking huge improvements in these areas which will allow the continuation of development to the Kuhan CBD in particular.

Intensification Zone
Work on approving projects in this designated high-density area will continue, and may increase in pace.




sc-4
Glad you liked it - hopefully the census was everything you expected.




HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE CENSUS! 

[vortext]

Spectacular growth results!! 

And yet looking at the region view there still seems to be plenty of empty land, which is a good thing I guess! 

Though what bothers me a bit about the region view is the sudden transition of highrise to suburbs.

Then again I'm nitpicking because it looks just awesome and the new plans sound promising! Keep at it! 

[art128]

I think it's time for your region to get its own international airport...

Impressive grow. The region view is awesome.

[nbvc]

Nice images and good region grow.

[sc-4]

That's some big growth
Immpressive region , i can't wait to see what will be the next steps of your developpements

[sim_link]

[Kergelen]

Impressive grow.
I like the town of shorecoast and the region view

[Swordmaster]

Aha, it comes in seasons 

Nice census!


Cheers
Willy

[sim_link]

...AND SO IS HD'S FIRST BIRTHDAY! HD TURNS 1 TOMORROW!

To celebrate a great first year of Holt District and the "second season" launching, a reflective update and look to the future will be posted to celebrate, along with some stats from the region itself and the CJ.
This update will sadly come a day or 2 after its official birthday. BUT, good things come to those who wait... and you'll love the anniversary update.

And you never know. Maybe there will be a surprise tomorrow too.

[sc-4]

I can't wait

[vortext]

Dunno if it's already tomorrow where you are but happy birthday to Holt District nonetheless! 

[kelis]

Fantastic teaser, I can't wait to see more about it, btw congratulations for your first year 

[sim_link]

It's hard to believe it has already been a year since Holt District launched. HD launched on July 27 2012. At the time, it was a humble region of under 400 000 sims. And it looked to be the peaceful place, with not many changes underway. Of course, this changed in an instant. The region experienced a massive boom in its first year under the bright lights of being a city showcase. It saw the construction of several new highways under HDHIP (Holt District Highway Improvement Project) - the construction of its first LRT line which will eventually traverse the entire region, the introduction of BoldNewHD which introduced a plan to develop Holt District into a world-class metropolis, and a whole lot more. And the vision to have Holt District turn into a world-class metro area is coming true. Today it is home to more than 1.4 million sims - that's a jump of 263% since the launch date back last July. Nevermind that, it's an increase of over 1 million sims. And it's still growing.

The first year of Holt District has been awesome. Holt District was selected Developer Diary of the year at Simmania. It was OSITM at SC4Devotion in January. It won Meg's Smorgasboard Award during the 2012 Trixies. Holt District was nominated for the most categories of any CJ or BAT during the campaign. It amassed over 1200 replies and 50 000 views. And all of this because of you. Without you Holt District wouldn't be what it is today. This update will take us back on the year that has been, and take a look into what happened to each municipality. Consider it your transition into "season 2" - launching soon. So... let's continue!

THE HD ANNIVERSARY UPDATE

Holt District changed a lot in its first year, growing almost 300% to just above 1.4 million sims from under 400 000. The 9 municipalities each saw stellar growth, with no municipality growing below 30%. Each faced numerous developments, monumental changes and challenges. We will now take a look at what happened in each of the 9 municipalities this past year.




Sherkston saw a lot of growth this past year. As the business hub and transport hub of the region (3 key highways meet in the city) the city was bound to feel the effect of a booming region. Coupled with the intensification zone legislation that opened greenfield to highrise development, Sherkston had all the makings of a major boom. The city managed to grow a whopping 227% this year. That is despite all the suburban sprawl going on around it. The city also saw its culture scene pick up with the restoration of Fort Sherkston being completed.






Manatee, meanwhile, also grew. Although it grew at the slowest pace of any municipality, at 36%, it underwent massive changes. The greenfields on the west end of town were opened to an ongoing condo construction project which will soon bump up the city's population. The city faced hardship when a tornado struck a huge path of destruction through the southern portion of the city, which is still recovering to this day. It was embroiled in scandal from the clean-up efforts of those citizens when the major insurance company, a developer and a corrupt politician tried to scam these citizens. Thankfully this sceme was uncovered before any damage was done. And the city is the first to get a line of the new HD LRT system. It has spurred redevelopment all along the route.






Dofino, the northern suburb to Sherkston, grappled with changes on a scale never-before scene in the town. Once a small, sleepy village Dofino has transformed into a sprawling live/work community. The city grew from a population of under 16 000 to now almost 150 000 - a change of 848%. Many lament the loss of the small community vibe, but others note it has strengthened business in the centre of all the charm, its downtown core. The EL-Rail line that runs to Dofino will soon be converted to LRT, and connect to a new line which will lead out to the ever-building Kuhan CBD.






Next we visit Norecount. Norecount started the year as a respectable town just south of Manatee. Serving mainly as a spill-over community to those looking to live in Manatee, it has re-invented itself. While most people who live in Norecount wish to live in Manatee, a growing number of people are moving to Norecount because of the area's new, large industrial park and easy access throughout the region, thanks to the Highway 40/Highway 23 interchange. The town is now served by the LRT line that runs through Manatee, and it is expected this line will soon be expanded. Rumour has it a massive planned community is in the works for the town... In the first year of HD Norecount grew from 17 673 sims to 92 870 - an increase of 425%.






Old Port started the year off on the wrong foot. It was in dire need of a change in political leadership - and it eventually got one. The town decayed due to a council that essentially prohibited any change. Expansion, redevelopment, you name it, they didn't allow it. This was all to avoid the errors of the council that came before. However, they took it too far. The town's restrictions were so strict, the DSBHD almost was forced to shut down its elementary school in the town because it couldn't perform urgent structural problems. Eventually this council was forced out, and a new one installed. Old Port has begun to recover, with a planned community being constructed. Plans are underway to redevelop its waterfront park. The elementary school has been fixed. Old Port saw growth of 294% this year, its population rising from 8121 to 32023.







Next we visit Midport. Midport was not rocked by any sort of major event or scandal, it just faced the desire of many to live on the coast. A massive condo building dominated the year that was. And after a tiny decline in population in the first census, its has been booming ever since. Plans for a new commercial district were unveiled, and along with several condo buildings under construction, a new mini business district is coming Midport's way. The coastal town saw its population rise from about 33000 to 86215 - an increase of 160%.






Of course we can't also forget Shorecoast. Shorecoast also felt the effect of the coastal condo boom. Several mega-structured were construction housing thousands of people between them. The city has not felt any particular effect of BoldNewHD - but the LRT system could soon find itself in Shorecoast connecting to Norecount, Manatee, Sherkston and beyond... Shorecoast grew from 71494 to 98748 - a population increase of 38%.






Next we move to Kuhan. Where to start... so much happened this past year in Kuhan. It's more like what DIDN'T happen. Kuhan saw itself no longer a tiny township. It was reincorporate into a town - going from the Township of Northwest Holt to The Town of Kuhan. It saw 2 new highways move into its boundaries. The last new EL-RAIL line was constructed, and will soon be converted to LRT. The BoldNewHD project opened the area up to massive residential developments. An amusement park opened its doors. Countless businesses opened their doors. The Kuhan CBD has started construciton. While it sits in the middle of nowhere now, it will soon find itself surrounded. A community that was once better known for flat grassy lands is now a major players in the housing and business boom going on in Holt District. And you know what's really scary? Its growth statistics. What's scarier? It wasn't the fastest growing municipality in Holt District this past year. Kuhan - the SECOND fastest growing municipality in Holt District, soared to new heights from a population of 3796 to a population 190 597. That's a jump of 4921%! And current estimates as of this post peg growth to possibly be even higher, now reaching 7000% YOY.






Now we visit our last municipality, also the fastest growing this past year: Flynn. Like Kuhan, Flynn started the year as a rural township. Then known as the Township of Saltfield, Flynn was reincorporated as a town as a result of the November 2012 referendum, like Kuhan. BoldNewHD unleashed growth to the area. Suburban developments began to rampantly spread through the municipality. New houses, new business appeared everywhere. When industry was permitted to be developed in the region, industrial parks began spreading and sprawling. The town is the centre for sprawl. Then, a site in Flynn was selected to house the new Holt District stadium. A massive development plan around the arena ensued, further fuelling the growth of the town. If you were to visit Flynn for the first time today in over a year, you would not recognize it. It was the fastest growing muncipality in the region this past year. Its numbers are impressive and scary all at once. Ready? Okay... Flynn's populations soared from 2462 to a booming 211 028 - a growth rate of 8421%!!! It leapfrogged its way from smalled to second largest municipality in terms of population.






And what better way than to show you the first and current region views displayed in Holt District's lifespan? I can't think of one. So here you go.

Region View, July 2012 [showcased in August]


Region View, June 2013 [current as of Q22013 census]

And have I mentioned it looks a whole heck of a lot different, even from this?


So I want to thank everyone who has supported Holt District in its first year. As you can see, a lot has happened in both the region and the showcase itself. I hope you will all continue to follow Holt District as it enters its second year. I have a lot planned, and assuming RL co-operates a lot to show! You will get a chance to learn more about the road ahead of Holt District in the first official update of "season 2". I once again want to thank all of you for continuing to support Holt District! It wouldn't have amassed over 50K views, 1200 comments without you. So thanks for making HD's first year so awesome!







Replies will be done on first season 2 update!

[sunv123]

And what an amazing year it has been!

Keep up the great work sim_link!

(btw a population boom of 8000 percent is crazy! )