Developing all of these empty lots for building towers with mostly affordable housing is going to destroy or inhibit whatever Bayside could become for improvement. I like the master planning here (see below image) from the city of Lewiston allowing Kaplan Thompson to kind of take over. I think an ideal mix is low, mid and hi-rises, and with a variety of styles and color. Redfern is certainly capable of this. Their 29 townhomes development with the woonerf (street) focus on the hill is one of my favorites. Perhaps taking some more inspiration from the Scandinavians might be a good way to go. If Bayside gets filled with 8-15 story buildings with no real variety of styles and purpose, I think it becomes largely a fail. Redfern, take the ball and run with this--save the city. The NY Times article painting a picture of downtown Portland as the next Portland (OR) from two months ago still stings. It used to be articles from them on how wonderful Portland is to visit and live. All of those accolades are now somewhat irrelevant.
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