In a sign of these times, Towers at Channelside is shooting for bankruptcy. See Channelside Condos in Chapter 11 by the Trib. Fortunately the towers are already built and a major of part of Tampa's urban kickoff is no worse for wear. Unless wrecking balls are coming in to tear it all down tomorrow, this is only a banker's problem. Not a problem for our urban future. In 20 years we will all have forgotten about the mortgage meltdown and all that will remain are people living in Tampa, and riding rail.

That sentiment might as well go for all the condos and apartment homes that have been built or are going up in the corridor. It's a reminder why it's important to take advantage of the good times. What if none of these projects had been initiated until now? It would be the length of our current recession to get them up, if ever that political savvy were assembled again in the first place.

Tampa's urban future is secure. Most key projects are already built and therefore recession-proof.

Comments posted at the linked article can be somewhat pointed in the idea that this entire crisis is somehow a Tampa bombshell alone. That of course is pure folly. As other commentators in the same thread point out, this is a national problem, and not even one entirely unique to our times. We will pull out of it, and we'll be that much ahead for our urban infrastructure as a result. By the way, if you want an excellent synopsis of how America got into this mess, I suggest visiting Sub prime Meltdown, a series of compiled 60 Minute videos on the issue.