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

[danielcote]

CELEBRATION HILLS

[dragonshardz]

The Great Unnamed.

BTW, Jon, you can add a poll by editing the first post of this thread.

[ecoba]

I would like to see: The Great Unnamed

Officially Unlurk

Best--

         Ethan

[danielcote]

Isn't there going to be an update soon its been a week without an update. 

[vershner]

I'd like to vote for the Great Unnamed too. Sounds interesting.

[JBSimio]

Isn't there going to be an update soon its been a week without an update. 

I know... if it makes you feel any better though, I've worked about 85 hours during that same week!   

Thanks to everyone for the votes!  I'll hopefully have a chance to get something together over the next couple days, but we'll see what happens.

Until then,
JB

[bat]

Great map, and looking forward to the Celebration Hills (which I vote for...)

btw, my 7100th post!

[threestooges]

Nice work as always Jon and I liked that cloud effect from the last update. As for the next area to hit, though it might go without saying, I vote for the rails of The Great Unnamed. I'd imagine that, though it may be unnamed, it certainly hasn't been left unNAMed. Looking forward to seeing what you've been up to.
-Matt

[KoV Liberty]

I liked the cloud effect too!

[danielcote]

hello arn't you going to keep this lovely cj alive? 

[dragonshardz]

Daniel, he does have a real life to attend to. Don't worry, JB is just busy BATting new pieces for the University.

[JBSimio]

Bat:  Thank you for stopping in to vote!

Matt:  Thanks!  Parts of the latest area have indeed been NAMmed, although not to the extent that the rural areas have been.

Driftmaster:  Thanks!

Danielcote:  I'm trying to... the doctors assure me that they're doing everything possible! 

Dragonshardz:  Real life... university stuff, FAB stuff, and now hillside stuff... I think I've overdone it again!

Well, I know that I stopped by last month to say that I was hoping to have an update here and obviously that didn't pan out.  Summer camp kept me busier than even I expected (and you'd think that I of all people would know better by now!) and I really didn't have much time to get things back on track here.  That being said, I started putting the next update together yesterday!

We will definitely be visiting The Great Unnamed (which at this point still has no name) either later today or tomorrow.  My apologies for the delays... thank you for your patience... and watch this space for things coming soon!

JB

[JBSimio]

Hehehe... y'all didn't think I'd really be back so soon, did you?  I don't really blame you 

Update Time!!!

Well, the votes were in favor of the latest developments around the Covington Railyards.  I was actually a bit surprised by that, to be honest... but my opinion doesn't really mean much in this instance, so who cares?  Let's start with a slightly updated map:

46.02


As you can see, the Great Unnamed finally has a name!  This rather mixed up neighborhood is known as Crescent Park and takes its name from... you guessed it... Crescent Park.  Generally bordered by I-85, Holden Road, and the main line to High Point, this neighborhood blends right into Wheaton Hills near Wheaton High School.

46.03


A closer look at Crescent Park shows that it is a pretty little spot.  The park was supposedly named for its shape, although one could argue that this may have been a bit of a stretch.  Walking paths enter the park from the side streets, although it appears that they haven't quite finished paving them yet!  A large fountain is the centerpiece of this park and a statue of somebody famous watches over the busier intersection to the south.

46.04


The neighborhood itself radiates out from the park.  Considering how far we are from downtown, this is a fairly old neighborhood.  Many older homes can still be found here, but the popularity of the park and proximity to many major employers keeps this area in a constant state of rebuilding.  Many newer and larger houses have been built here to take advantage of the views.

46.05


Just to the west of the park is the local elementary school. Kelley Elementary was built around the same time as Wheaton High School to ease strain on the school in Wheaton Hills.  Unfortunately, no one had predicted how much this area would grow over the years, and this building is quickly becoming pretty crowded.  The school board is busy arguing over whether to build another third school nearby or consolidate into a much larger building.  Time will tell...

46.06


The reason for the overcrowding is pretty obvious if we take a look across the street.  This apartment complex alone is home to nearly 2000 residents.  When the city selected Holden Road for the massive railyards, many homes that had been nearby suffered the consequences.  Holden Road was elevated to serve as a barrier around the yards and also make rail crossings safer.  Several blocks of homes were cut off from their old traffic patterns and redevelopment came to the rescue.  With all the industry to the south and the Koury commercial center to the west, the need for housing led to an apartment boom during recent years.

46.07


Just south of Crescent Park is another, albeit smaller, example of the apartments bordering this neighborhood.  Holden Road passes overhead and large industrial warehouses are located just to the southeast.

46.08


Heading north back into the heart of Crescent Park and towards Wheaton Hills, we see a couple throwbacks to the layout of Wheaton Hills and nearby Oak Park.  A few more of those long narrow parks line the streets here.  This picture also shows just how many of the older houses have disappeared from this area.

46.09


You're probably getting the idea by now that Wheaton Hills, Oak Park, and Crescent Park seem to have a lot of similarities.  It's been mentioned before, but the construction of Interstate 85 really wreaked havoc with this part of the city.  Before the freeway came through, all three neighborhoods were joined together and one spilled into the other.  The large highway changed many of the "official" neighborhood borders regardless of where the areas used to transition.  It's been a long time and the area has certainly healed itself, but a number of dead end streets still remind residents of the past.

46.10


The rail line to High Point marks the western edge of Crescent Park.  There is no sound wall here, but a rather thick line of trees generally keeps the noise down.  Originally a freight line, the traffic on these tracks is getting heavier thanks to several commuter stations along its route.  If rail commuting continues to catch on between High Point and Covington, it is possible that the freight traffic will have to be rerouted through The Flats.

46.11


Just across the tracks is the edge of what is commonly known as the Koury commercial center.  Koury Medical Center currently anchors this area, but the newer professional building next door is just a hint of things to come for this area.  We'll have to visit all that another time though.

46.12


As nice as this neighborhood is, it may be easy to forget just how close some of the city's uglier sections really are.  Pull back a little bit and you can see that this area is under pressure from all sides.  The large industrial park and the refinery both have interests in expanding beyond the Holden Road corridor, but for now they're being told to look in other directions.  The face of the neighborhood will surely continue to change, but hopefully it will retain the residential character that has made it such a popular place to live.

46.13


And of course... the latest parting region shot. 

Thanks for reading!!!
JB

[woodb3kmaster]

Jon, Covington continues to impress. Crescent Park is another fine example of your great building skills, and I'll have to take some of the ideas you've shown here and apply them to Nyhaven. Great work, and I look forward to the next update!

Zack

[danielcote]

Yay you're back! Nice development there im impressed especialy how you get to grow what you want where you want!

[chibytuga]

Good stuff; worth the wait. I especially like the apartment complex.

[Tomas Neto]

Is always good to see an update on your MD, and fantastic update again!!!

[dragonshardz]

Looks great, JB, though I have to ask what the triangular building in 46.11 is. I assume the school is from your school packs?

And whatever happened to that convention center that spanned an avenue?

[ecoba]

Covinton Has Connected To The Rest Of The Region!

Great update, Jon, I can see why this took a while. That's a great neighbourhood, and I kinda want to make my home there. (Of course thats the 1.., scratches head, 7, ...no that's not it.... hmm carry the 6, oh! The Umphmillionth time thats happened in Covington.)

Can't wait for more

Ethan

[Nexis4Jersey]

wat amazing update, i love the residential neighborhoods