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

[art128]

I miss some update there, I'm terribly sorry my friend ! 
Well, that update looks very nice, I always like your city building style my friend, and it's always awesome to see how the FAR-FARR fit perfectly in that area. I really love the last picture - not the region view but the last picture of that area - it looks so like a great place to live in.
Take care,
-Arthur.

[Battlecat]

Fantastic job all around!  I love how organic your suburban areas are.  It just looks fantastic! 

Quick question, in shot 46.09, what trail set is that beside the two baseball diamonds? 

[threestooges]

Excellent update Jon. Though the update as a whole is great, I think 46.09 just stands out as my favorite picture for the update (and certainly one of the best from the whole MD). It just has a great composition with the park, the open grassy area, the nice looking houses, and the paths... I've seen them before... bike trails I think I know them as... SFBT? At any rate, it all combines to create an area that, I think, may be nicer than Oak Park. I know they were part of the same area before the highway (which unfortunately happens more than it should), and that feel carries over, but this is still my favorite of the two.

I'm also impressed with your ability to get those apartments of yours to grow like that. Is it a zoning trick you use, or how long did it take to get them clustered like that? I've been trying, but it hasn't quite been working out as it should. You seem to have pulled it off effortlessly. the region shot too is, as usual, excellent.

Take ti easy Jon.
-Matt

[meinhosen]

Excellent update!  I saw the word railyards and it was music to my ears (I'm probably just as bad as Nardo when it comes to love of railways).  But RRs aside, you showed some great development.  The growth of the small apartment complexes looks good (I hope they grow that well in my own regions), and your new professional building looks good.  Still love your regional shots.

Keep up the great work Jon!

ps.  I still can't believe you're using that awful looking Maxis passenger train... maybe it's time for an upgrade to Amtrak? 

[Jmouse]

Jon, every time I look at your city map it amazes me. I'm sure the map alone has consumed hours of spare time, but it's well worth it to those of us who follow Covington.

The park turned out well, and there you go again with more fetching neighborhoods (46.04, .05) and the apartment complex. I really like the looks of it – it fits perfectly into the surrounding neighborhood. For some reason, 46.08 is especially appealing – perhaps it's the eclectic mix of houses. And 46.12 is a great overview shot which shows how all the different elements are tied together. In fact, it's a superb screen grab which shows the level of planning and detail you are famous for!

Great update this time...
Joan

[JBSimio]

Zack:  Thank you!  I've been lurking in Nyhaven again, but I need to go leave some comments soon!

Daniel:  Thanks!  Getting what I want to grow in the right places is never difficult... just a lesson in patience! 

Chibytuga:  Thanks!

Tomas Neto:  Thank you as well!

Dragonshardz:  Thanks!  The anglular building is another great on by Spa... the Jean Cranfield Building.  The convention center is still under construction.  Basically, I need to dust the darn thing off and finish it! 

Ethan:  Thank you so much!  Covington is indeed a great place to live.    And I hadn't even noticed until you mentioned it that this marked the first time I entirely connected the city with everything else.  Maybe I should pay a bit more attention to what I'm doing...   

Nexis4Jersey:  Thanks!

Arthur:  Thank you!  No need to apologize... the updates took a pretty long time to get here anyway.

Battlecat:  Thank you!  As our good friend, Matt mentioned. the paths are indeed an SFBT set... SFBT Park Set medium wealth to be exact.

Matt:  Thank you!  I was quite happy with 46.09 as well... the church just seemed to fit well right there across from the high school athletic fields.  I'm not sure if I would go so far as to say I like this area better than Oak Park, but that's mostly due to my affinity for older homes.    I really don't use any tricks to get the apartments grown in clusters like that.  It's mostly just a combination of Maxis blockers (along with a very few I've made for my own tastes) and a whole lot of bulldozing.  I just keep making historic and bulldozing the others until they're all the right ones.

Meinhosen:  Thank you!  There probably wasn't quite as much rail in this update as you may have been hoping for.  I still have some work to do on updating to FARR and STR in most parts of the city.  You're absolutely right... I really need to replace my train skins.  I used to have some installed, but I think they got lost in the switchover to this computer.  Time to go searching...

Joan:  Thank you!  I was very happy with the neighborhood overview as well.  It honestly turned out better than I expected.  I could see the transitional areas in my head when I started, but it wasn't until I put the update together that I was sure whether or not I had succeeded.  I'm glad you like the maps...

Speaking of eating up spare time on maps, I've seen quite a few of the Google inspired maps around here and I always thought it might be fun to have an even closer look available for Covington.  So, with that in mind... this is just a bit of a teaser:



It will be a very long time before this is completed for the entire city, and I doubt that I'll even do the entire region... but it gives me something to tinker with when inspiration fails me. 

JB

[ecoba]

That map is stunning, Jon. I would say no more is necessary, but then you would stop.

Ethan

[danielcote]

Looks Great but arnt you going to put labels on it?

[woodb3kmaster]

That map looks absolutely wonderful, Jon! It really looks like Google. Would you care to share your methods in making it?

Daniel: I'd assume so, especially considering Jon said it isn't done yet.

[Jmouse]

Oh boy, this is going to be great! You've done a fine job on that map, but that's no surprise. Funny how our regions eventually take on a life of their own, isn't it!

[Glowbal]

That is indeed a very nice map!

[Albus of Garaway]

Wonderful map! I could never come close to doing that, so I admire anyone and everyone that can do maps with such precision as you have here!

-Jason

[kwakelaar]

The map looks excellent so far, and your last updates have been interesting to follow (as always  )

[calibanX]

Great map JB. I've seen a couple of these Google inspired maps now and I'm really curious to know how they are being created. Is there a trick to it or is this your raw Adobe Illustrator talent on display?

Geoff

[figui]

it was so looong ago that i last commented here... (it was more than a year ago)

it took me many hours to read all updates i had missed, that now i can't remember which one i liked most.

anyway, y wanted to stop here just to say this is wonderful. i'm trying to start playing again and reading this md just inspired me to do so.

mauricio.

[fantnet]

Where can I find the warehouse bats from the lower left hand corner of the picture?

Hehehe... y'all didn't think I'd really be back so soon, did you?  I don't really blame you 
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa104/JBSimio93/Covington_46-12.jpg








46.12





Thanks for reading!!!
JB

[JBSimio]

Ethan:  Thanks!  Don't worry... I won't be stopping any time soon.

Daniel:  Thank you!  Of course I'm going to label things... what a silly question. 

Zack: Thanks!  My methods are the same as the original maps I've shown here.  Just a lot of tedious tracing with a substandard image program. 

Joan:  Thank you!  I had a pretty good feeling you would appreciate the idea!

Glowbal:  Thanks!

Jason:  Thank you!

Kwakelaar:  Thank you!  I'm glad you like everything!

Geoff:  Thanks!  Nope... this is my raw patience with MS Paint! 

Mauricio:  Thank you so much!  It's great to see you again... welcome back!

Fantnet:  Most of the warehouses and industries you see in that corner are from SimGoober and Jestarr.

Update Time!!!

Covington's growth is spreading all over the map!  There's a few places to look at today, and I thought we'd start with Celebration Hills on the west side.

47.01


Celebration Hills is suburbia at its best (or worst, depending on how you view suburbia!).  Trees and open spaces abound between the various subdivisions.  Tucked into the hills overlooking Celebration Square, many of these homes come with beautiful views of the park.  For those home owners who might not have the hillside views, they can still claim some pretty decent bragging rights simply by dropping the names of their neighborhood or neighbors.

47.02


This picture was actually sent to me by a resident of Celebration Hills.  He mentioned that he took this photo from while lounging on his back deck.  I'm not sure if he expected me to be jealous or what, but I figured that the picture did do a nice job illustrating comments which I made above so I decided to include it here.

47.03


I guess his arrogance bothered me a little bit, because I set off to find out just which house the guy lived in.  I'm not sure if it was any of these or not.  As I cruised slowly up and down the various streets, I started to notice a larger than normal number of police cars and thought moving on might be a wise decision.

47.04


Just another one of the pictures I took before leaving for good.  It does show just how spread out some of the homes are here though.  I guess maybe I could be a little bit jealous... although my house is surrounded by a lot less than this... oh well, crazy yuppies anyway!

47.05


Just to the north of Celebration Hills is the intersection of Holden Road and Benjamin Parkway.  The exit from Interstate 40 to Holden Road has spurred a bit of commercial development here.  Not quite the big box mecca we find near Harmony Hills, but this area is still growing and I wouldn't be surprised if this commercial strip continues to grow with it.

47.06


Speaking of Harmony Hills, the big commercial area on that side of town has continued to grow and expand all the way out to Riverside Drive.  Restaraunts, hotel chains, and shops have made this the shopping area for most of eastern Covington.  You say you'd like a closer look?  Well, alright then...

47.07


Closest to the expressway and the Riverside Drive exit was a prime place for some fast food chains.  Pizza Hut is always a popular spot, and Taco Bell does a pretty booming business as well.  I personally question the wisdom of Taco Bell just before getting back in the car and on the road, but I tend to question a lot of things that most other people wouldn't think to care about.  Toys R Us also has a prime location right on Riverside.

47.08


A little further north on Riverside Drive, the shops give way to smaller professional offices and such.  The dentist seems to do an unusual amount of business here.  Speculation says that many of his patients come from the local police station after training exercises involving those little black baton things.  I suppose it makes sense, but I would think that the police unions would have something to say about forcing officers to beat each other about the face with clubs.  Maybe not, though... I've never understood unions anyway.

47.09


Holiday Inn built one of its express motels right along Interstate 40 here.  Although the location isn't really convenient to much of anything in Covington, people seem to enjoy staying here none the less.  Perhaps it has something to do with the proximity to Wendy's and Taco Bell.

47.10


Fairfield Inn also has a location here, so there really must be something to staying on the outskirts of the city.  Kinko's and a multi-screen movie theater can also be seen in the background.  This particular Toys R Us was actually replaced by the newer one on Riverside Drive.  I think it's simply still awaiting redevelopment.

47.11


All these stores need people to mind them... not to mention retrieve all those shopping carts from the parking lots.  Apartment complexes continue to go up in this area as well.  This particular complex was actually begun by one developer who, through very poor business planning, ran out of money.  He only managed to build three out of the ten buildings which were originally intended.  Someone else (with a slightly better head for finances) bought the entire complex and finished it, but didn't really like the first person's designs.  Kind of unusual, but now the complex has two very distinct styles to offer renters.

47.12


All this suburban growth has definitely had an impact on the downtown area as well.  The Freeman Mill Road "gateway" from the south has grown significantly since we last checked in here.  Buildings around the government complexes continue to grow taller and the shadows grow longer.

47.13


The same can be said near Market Square on the eastern edge of downtown.  St Gabriel's Cathedral has anchored the square across Murrow Boulevard since 1857, but nearby offices and apartment buildings are beginning to dwarf the proud spires.

47.14


Just to the north, the Coca-Cola building still holds the title of Covington's tallest building, although not by much to be honest.  Towering over the interchange, the neon welcomes visitors from both freeways as they try to navigate the spaghetti bowl of exit ramps.  It may sound somewhat unsafe, but we're talking about a building with some neon lighting here.  I doubt that it really thinks about the consequences of its actions.

47.15


As you can see, the city really is growing all over the place.  Downtown is becoming much more defined and the beginnings of the northwest side can be seen here too.

Thanks for reading!!!
JB

PS - Before you ask... NO!  The convention center isn't finished yet.   

[dragonshardz]

PS - Before you ask... NO!  The convention center isn't finished yet.

Awww...nuts.

Looks good, makes think that maybe I need to rethink the layout of my current city. It's all grid, as it's planned for it to be the CBD of a larger city. Makes me glad I have some places to put suburbia in!

[danielcote]

Really great update but don't you think you need a bigger townhall for such a big city? I recomend a new one for next update. 

[peter007]

WoW it's looking great. I especially like your region shot
It's very nice