I agree that, in this time of recession and hard budgets, the opportunity to revitalize old buildings with a new clientele could work wonders for the area. Abandoned buildings plague downtown, but I’ve seen definite improvement over the last couple years.

That said, I hope officials don’t forget about building projects all together — they have a history of swinging between extremes. Reusing old buildings helps only in the short-term. The buildings are often in need of serious repair and can only last for so long. If they become derelict run-downs, no one benefits.

I also hope Phoenix officials can get over their fear of high rises. For a city Phoenix’s size, we have almost no vertical growth. If Phoenix really does want people to live closer together and stop urban sprawl, we need to build up.