We don’t need skyscrapers but we do need a CBD
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“IF YOU build it, they will come”.
This classic line from Field of Dreams feels strangely appropriate in the context of debates about developing our cities’ CBDs.
The long discussion about a proposed high rise development in Pialba at this week’s council meeting drove home the fact both Hervey Bay and Maryborough will soon be cities on a new level.
An 80 metre, 20 storey building in the middle of Hervey Bay seems ridiculous.
The mayor was right to take a stand against it.
How could our population and business community possibly sustain such a monstrosity?
Still, sometimes you do have to build it so they will come.
That’s not to say high rise buildings have a place in either of our cities.
They clearly don’t.
Modern, 21st century planning, however, is needed to attract businesses and investors to the region.
That’s why the plans to revitalise our city centres are so important.
Maryborough is on the cusp of a return to its former manufacturing glory and it will have a CBD to match.
Likewise, Hervey Bay has evolved from a series of seaside villages to a city in its own right.
An established city centre will be the next step in this evolution.
A city does not need high rise buildings to stand tall but it does need careful, future-minded planning.
