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

[TheTeaCat]

Excellent update Mate

I like the region shot best I think. Its truly stunning.


TTC

[NASCAR_Guy]

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa104/JBSimio93/Covington_19-04.jpg

What is that building beside the police station?

Also since this is Rural North Carolina, could you please put a Stock Car race track in your CJ *puppyeyes*

[bat]

Your region looks really great, Wonderful developed area!
And also wonderful pictures of your city... Nice work!

[paroch]

Jon,

It's no secret that I'm a BIG fan of Covington and this update is an obvious reason why.  Great pics, great story lines and WOW what a region view.  What you're doing with Covington is something I've often dreamed of but never managed, i.e. actually "growing" a region organically rather than the complete one tile and move on the next approach.

Great stuff Jon, I look forward to many more updates.

Paul

[art128]

This update is really nice Jon, great work on your good looking city. the road layout look good too  The region shot is awesome, I'm still crazy in love for your region ! the farms are alway greatly done !! 

[Jmouse]

A beautiful update, Jon. There's a peaceful atmosphere in the countryside - mile after mile of fields, uncluttered scenery and empty roads - that cannot be found anywhere else. And a visit to the country always leaves me rested and invigorated - that's why I love Covington.

In this update, as in many before it, you have captured that atmosphere and made the process look easy. The overview is especially impressive - not all overviews are necessarily attractive, but Covington is a lovely sight from any distance. As always, I am anxious to experience another trip down those lovely country lanes you have given us!

Later...
Joan

[JBSimio]

Pat:  Thank you!  It is sad to see the farmland going already, but unfortunately I think we may see a fair bit of that before this MD is finished.  The good news is that this whole "being finished" idea could take a very long time, so hopefully the farmland will last a good while yet.

Edge:  Thanks!

Derry:  Thank you!  Give me a little more development time, and it should be time for another full region view again! 

NASCAR_Guy:  I believe the building you're referring to is BSP Borders Books and Music by my good friend, Nofunk.  A stock car track, huh?  It would most certainly be appropriate, but I'm not sure I want to use up that much space just for a giant oval.    Although it probably would look pretty cool in the region view... so it's worth thinking about.

Bat:  Thank you!

Paul:  Thank you!  I think we all know that I'm an equaly big fan of West End.  You've mentioned the "organic growth" a couple times now, and while I know exactly what you're talking about, I sort of disagree.  I say sort of because it's really a technicality... even in my own mind.  I think if I was really going to do this right, I would have just started with all farms and towns the size of Ashboro or Raliegh... and then let the thing grow historically.  As it is, to me I'm still cheating a little bit by leaving the space for Covington and the amount of pre-laid roads, etc.  I just don't have the patience to do it completely "right" I guess.  Either way, I take it as a huge compliment and I really appreciate it.  So thank you again!

Arthur:  Thank you!  I'm so glad you like it!

Joan:  Thanks!  I completely agree with your feelings towards life in the country.  I still surprise myself with how much of a country/small town person I've become in RL actually.  I grew up and always lived in cities (never a huge metropolis, but they were definitely cities just the same) until roughly 10 years ago.  I remember being worried about whether I would be able to adjust and actually like it.  Now I wouldn't have it any other way.  To read so many of your comments telling me that I'm reflecting that atmosphere so well is truly an honor and I thank you for it!  I'm afraid we're about to stray from the country for just a little bit this time, though...

Update Time!!!

Last time, I mentioned that the railyard in Holden Township was attracting quite a bit of development as you could probably see from the last region shot.  The area is booming with large warehouses, shipping companies, and chemical research facilities.  The easy rail connections are obviously playing their part in this, but don't forget that the area is also accessible by Interstate 85 and also the US 220 freeway, making it a very enticing location for these types of companies.  The area is doing so well that locals, once thrilled with the promise of jobs and extra revenue, are now beginning to worry about just where this industrial park will end.

20.1


This overview tells the story quite well.  The railyards are on the western edge of Holden Road with the refinery complex just to the north.  A large beef packing plant has set up shop just across the main rail spur from the refinery.  And then we have that crazy wedge between Holden Road and I 85 which is just packed with sprawling buildings now.  A couple pretty dirty factories snuck in before the township realized the potential for this area.  Now most civic leaders are wishing they hadn't been so quick to approve the permits that stuck them with those smoke stacks.  Isn't that the way it always goes, though?

20.2


One of the largest problems facing the area now is the amount of land a single large warehouse complex like the ones shown here can take up.  With so many more companies knocking on the door, the township would love nothing more than to say yes to every one of them, but they just don't know where these places can go.  Residential communities to the south near the river are worried that they'll get squeezed out.  (Other developers are also worried that they won't be able to use the same river front for larger upscale condos.)

20.3


In addition to the warehouses, the Holden Road industrial park has also attracted a number of bottling plants who love the easy connections to the freeways.  There are also a handful of high tech research companies here with several more on the way.

20.4


Did I mention the bottling plants?  It seems that Pepsi and Coke just can't stop trying to elbow one another out of the way.  As soon as Coke built a plant along the expressway, Pepsi started demanding a place for their own facility.  Oddly enough, Pepsi so far has shown no interest in building a corporate office downtown though.

20.5


Speaking of downtown, let's revisit the city's original industrial area just for the sake of contrast, huh?  The Dominos Sugar plant is one of the oldest examples of Covington's early industrial boom.  The large sign atop this beautiful structure has welcomed trains from the northern and eastern lines coming into downtown for a very long time.

20.6


Following the southbound lines is a great example of the older factories and industrial buildings that still do very well here.  While plenty has changed inside many of these walls, these buildings are still a working testament to the industrial powerhouse that put Covington on the map during the heyday of the railroads.

20.7


Just to the west of the Dominos building, these larger factories have anchored the industrial area for decades.  Sandwiched between Freeman Mill Road (on the right) and Murrow Boulevard, trains bound for these buildings once jostled for space with the city's central station on Lee Street.  When the freeway was built here (just below this shot), the train station was cut off from downtown and soon demolished and relocated.  Oddly enough, because of all these transportation networks creating a bit of and open corridor, the taller textile building now has some of the best views of downtown Covington that the south side has to offer.

20.8


Thanks for reading!
JB

[M4346]

Oh wow! I really love the contrast of old and new, and love how it all just makes so much sense! You have outlined a natural, logical process of development and have backed it up successfully with in-game pics!

I love it! 

[Pat]

Jon supper sweet I loved it!!! God I do hope there will be no end to covington, where I would I stroll to get out of the waterfalls...    Bad punner and plugger sorry I couldnt resist though, anyways I do see that building up has taking in effect by the raised road area so that is good to know!!! See you next time...

[art128]

As always Jon, the transit layout is awesome, great work on it !! And You've done an excellent work on this industrial area my friend 

[rooker1]

Super update, your industrial sector is very well setup. 
I like all the rail lines.

Robin 

[thundercrack83]

Wow, just wonderful stuff here, Jon!

Your industries look fantastic, my friend! I can't wait to see what else you have up your sleeve for us here.

Take care!

Dustin

[Geronimo]

Great update, and simply a fantastic region as a whole!

That industrial area looks fantstic 

[TheTeaCat]

Great update once again, but then again that's what we like

I love the contrast between the old and the new industrial areas.
And nicely backed up with the storyline too

The nighttime shot is magnificent can't wait to see what it looks like in daylight

till the next time
Derry

[Jmouse]

Looks like Holden Township is weighing the advantages of tax revenue vs pollution - jobs vs quality of life. It's an age-old dilemma that's hard to avoid.

Your overview looks absolutely fantastic, JB. You've done a fine job on the transport system, and you have created a strikingly realistic contrast between the older and newer industrial facilities - excellent work. I've always been especially fond of the Domino Surar plant, and I see other BATs I've used but cannot recall the proper names of at the moment.

That night shot is awesome, too. As for metroplexes and industry, they're a necessary evil and must be tolerated, but there are still many miles of peaceful roadway in Covington -that's what sets it apart and makes it special.

Later...
Joan

[paroch]

Hey Jon,  what a great update. 

Your style of writing is just spot on for an MD.  You make it easy to read and very interesting.  And it all makes so much sense, it really is like reading a toen's history book.

Love the night time shot - very nice indeed.

I'm glad you're back in the regular update groove as this suggests there won't be tooooo long til the next one!

Paul

[Simpson]

Fantastic new update here   

[JBSimio]

M:  Thank you!  Nice to see you stopping by... feel free to come again! 

Pat:  Thanks!  Yes, you're right... that area around the rail yards seems to work just fine.  The lots don't show any traffic on the route queries, but they've been pretty stable for some time now, so apparently raised roads can work as access points.

Arthur:  Thank you as always, my friend!

Robin:  Thanks!

Dustin:  Thanks!  I have the likes of Jestarr, Simgoober, and Marcszar to thank for most of those industries.

Geronimo:  Thank you!

Derry:  Thanks!  I purposely left the downtown shot dark because there is still a lot of fine tuning to do there. 

Joan:  Thank you!  The battle between development and open spaces will always be there, but we do our humble best, don't we?  (at least in this wonderful little virtual world)

Paul:  Thanks!  I'm trying to get back into a regular groove here, at least as much as time permits me to at the moment.

Simpson:  Thank you!

Update Time!!!

Way back in the very first post of this little thing that turned into an MD, I had mentioned that Covington was actually my second go at this particular region.  While transfering old back up discs onto my new computer, I happened to stumble across some of the pictures I took of the original version.  I thought it might be a interesting to compare the two side by side... so that's what I did!

Let's start with High Point.  First the old, then the new...

21.1


21.2


As you can see, the general layout for major arterial roads isn't much different.  I-85, US 52, and High Point Road are all there... as is the US 29 bypass although I never got into that north west corner on my first go round.  I was still using the "curvy road" idea back then, although I've smoothed it out quite a bit since those days! 

What about Covington itself?  Once again, old and new...

21.3


21.4


The major differences here are in the freeways.  I-85 and I-40 were aligned more like the actual layout of Greensboro, North Carolina in the first version.  The main avenues are still pretty similar.  Also in the original version, you can see Wendover which in Greensboro is kind of a crosstown artery which isn't completely a freeway, but acts like one with exit ramps at many of the major intersections.  Also US 29 going north to Riedsville is more like the real life set up in Greensboro.  There were some things I liked about the old arrangement better than the new one, but I decided at the beginning of Covington to change to a layout where the freeways would come closer to downtown.

Just for fun, here's a look at both maps for Covington as well.  First the old and then the new...

21.5


21.6


I should probably mention here that the new map isn't completely up to date anymore.  It's probably about a month old, so there is some development in Covington that hasn't made it to the map yet.  Beyond that, it doesn't look like my map making methods (say that three times fast, huh?) have changed much.

And now... the part I imagine some of you have really been waiting for, here are the region shots.  I don't think these really need much explaination.  First the comparisons of High Point and then Covington.

21.7


21.8


21.9


21.10


The old version of this region was abandoned about three years ago.  It's truly amazing how far custom content has taken this game.  My plugins back then were probably less than 300MB (that's really a huge guess, but I know I didn't have much then) with no terrain mods or tree controllers.  No custom farms either.  Once I found those, I basically had to stop with the old region and start over.  In fact, if I remember correctly, playing this region was also part of what got me into wanting to make my own BATs.  I remember having so much trouble creating towns like Ashboro and Reidsville that I started making what became known as the Smalltown, USA series.  Just a little more random and probably useless history from the offices of Monkey Around Productions here at JBSimio, Inc.

Thanks for reading!
JB

[Pat]

LoL Jon I wouldnt call that usless histroy at all I would call it more like usefull history as I love hearing that sorta stuff!!! I enjoyed seeing the old v new and also learning how and why you came to bat in the first place... (in a respone to your response to me) I am also glad to hear that the ind area around the raised road is stable and has been for some time too!!! So either way I am hanging around for the next update lol

[paroch]

Now that is a very interesting Covington history lesson for sure.  You know the first version was impressive as well.  Obviously the terrain and trees have made a huge difference and your farms are much "smoother" now as well which also improves the picture for V2.