We’ve discussed putting together a list of developments in Austin that were opposed before they were built, but are now loved. Whenever there is a new proposal, there is always the predictable backlash. I think a list of places that people love that were at one time opposed could help calm people down.
I’ll start with a couple and include a news story stating the controversy.
Feel free to keep adding!
Um… How about “The Triangle?” That was a long, drawn-out battle. A few people in Hyde Park and Northfield worked very hard for years to promote the type of development that has taken shape there, but a LOT of people were very vocally opposed to it. (Weirdly a point of compromise was to change the alignment of 46th Street – some people in Hyde Park thought that lining the street up would promote high-volume traffic along 46th…)
The same goes for Central Market. What a battle! People in Rosedale HATED the idea of turning green pasture land into a shopping center (and later a medical center). They didn’t want ANY streets to connect to the new development. (And that’s why it is so hard to ride your bike there now.)