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Life on the Dark SideLife on the Dark SideDavid S. JonesJones, D.
2016-01-14T06:00:00ZMultifamily

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Real estate has a dark side, but it's not the one made infamous by Darth Vader. This one comes and goes with the rising and setting sun.

As cities go higher and higher, in the streets far below the darkness grows. Skyscrapers cast long shadows.

In New York City, battle lines have been drawn between skyscraper developers on one side and anti-shadow residents on the other.

True, skyscrapers have been part of the lure of the Big Apple for decades. But once the shadows started creeping over Central Park, people began paying more attention to the rise of "supertowers."

A New York city councilman said many of the new towers are apartment buildings sold to foreign investors who only reside in the city part-time.

Developers are quick to note that a shadow is constantly moving, lasting only ten minutes in any one place and causing no negative effect on the park's plants and animals.

Shadow opponents counter that 40 million people use Central Park annually. There are now calls for the "right to sunlight" in public spaces. The debate has generated a "Stop the Central Park Supertowers" Facebook page.

In case you are wondering, Texas' tallest building is the 75-story JP Morgan Chase in Houston at 1,002 feet. The second tallest is Wells Fargo Plaza in Houston at 992 feet. Bank of America in Dallas is third at 921 feet.

The first Texas skyscraper was the 14-story Praetorian Building built in Dallas in 1909.

While New Yorkers may be developing a distaste for skyscraper shadows, here in Texas we will take the respite from the heat any way we can get it.

For more information: "In the shadows of booming cities a tension between sunlight and prosperity," The Washington Post.

2016-01-14T06:00:00Zhttps://www.recenter.tamu.edu/info/blog/?Item=17

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