These images stood out to me as stark contrasts from where a community vision wants to see development go compared to what the powers that be are capable of imagining.

The State Fairgrounds Development Coalition (SFDC) has a vibrant plan of mixed commerical/residential, a burgeoning alternative energy and tech center that connects to a high school and middle school, an extensive green park, all of which surround a new space to hold conventions and gatherings.

The currently proposed plan with City government, besides its immediate drab color choices and appearance, doesn’t show much beyond a warehouse and parking lot with a few pockets of undefined development. The primary draw is a new transit center that is quite limited and imagines no future multi-modal connections with nearby rail.