It has occurred to me that the new downtown parking garage might to an extent be rationalized as parking for the new jail; whatever else excuse there might be for building the thing eludes me, though I'm certain the project has been thoroughly investigated, considered, reviewed, evaluated and weighed in the scales of public interest before being passed, approved and begun. My other question is manifestly and admittedly none of my business, but I yield to an unsavory curiosity in asking, anyway: what kind of return can Mr. Brookshire expect to get on his remodeling project of the old People's Bank Building? Everything I read indicates that it is a first class job all the way, and I hope the building bursts at the seams with occupants. But, man, Tyler is moving further south (away from downtown) with every passing day. Do any of youse with specialized knowledge have thoughts or opinions?

I think you'll see a lot if remodeling downtown, and I think you already have really. Tyler is moving south but there is still plenty of people to support it downtown. Fitzpatrick being the architect is a plus too.

Tim is a smart guy and has always been about revitalizing downtown. Him and the Bergfelds want it to succeed because of the Bergfeld area as well being close to down town.

Downtown could be really cool if done right and with the right investments/investors

[This message has been edited by A&M Iceman (edited 3/15/2014 10:01p).]

My hat is off to all efforts to re-anchor downtown. Bars and entertainment are nice but they compete with an entrenched, varied and growing scene that continues to move south; the fact that housing/lodging is heavily built in the same areas means the drive after an evening of revelry is much shorter than if it had taken place downtown. This is not insignificant. So compatible close-in housing, which hardly exists to the north, east or west of the downtown area, must be further developed. And, especially, business must again become entrenched downtown. The People's Bank undertaking is a big (it seems to me, but I'm awfully small potatoes) bet on the come; all success. It will also be interesting to see what is in store for the area recently vacated just to the north of Austin Bank in the old Bryant Petroleum Building. The next few years are going to be interesting. The jury will be out for some time. Whatever the outcome, and while the profit motive by definition has to be a major factor, I can't but believe that the impetus to take a gamble of this magnitude by a private investor or investors has to include a component of community beneficence. For the sake of the old home town, and of those rolling the dice, let's hope it works out.

There's a pretty decent handful of folks that want to see it work. The good thing is, some of them have significant money; enough to put it where their mouth/heart is.

Google "Tyler 21". I think the official name has been changed to Tyler 1st or something like that, but this should get you well on the way for info of the grand plan (pipedream?).

I question how all this fits with little Juarez existing N of Ferguson, but I suppose time will tell.....

They changed the Tyler 21 because it was close to Agenda 21 so it spooked some folks