Loudon City: A Short Tour

My business today is in Loudon, and while I'm there, I might as well show you around a little. The Loudon area is quite large, and Loudon itself is the second largest business centre in the region, behind the combined Downtown-Riverside area.

(Interjection by the author: Sorry folks, I forgot to un-pause while taking the shot apparently and didn't notice 'till now.)

Most people end up approaching Loudon itself from the West, passing briefly through the Breakdown (above).

The origin of the  name is not exactly known, whether it arises from the fact that the skyline basically drops away here, or whether it refers to the uncanny number of cars that choose to break down in the area is uknown. The name has however stuck, and it's regularly referred to in traffic reports. You can also see the Barricade River Theatre, a converted church, at the centre of the picture. Let's move on into Loudon Proper:

The last time Loudon Central Station, the main station in this area, was remodelled was nearly 60 years ago. They did quite a good job, however it's unfortunate that the station now faces in the wrong direction for the major developments (when it was built, the southside (shown below) was about equal to the north, and it was thought the south would continue to be the major area.

The Coca-Cola building was built in the early 70's in response to the proposed upgrade of Loudon Central Station. The upgrade was later quashed, but the company chose to remain in the building because of its prime location.

Some recent growth has occurred in the south side, as the North is quickly running out of room to grow, with 17 River Road being the tallest on the south being built in the past 20 years, but the north side of the rail line will be dominant for some time:

You can see the main area is very dense. AIG is the newest addition to the skyline, and although the council of the area was unsure about approving it, it is glad it did. You can also see at the centre the Loudon Revolution Museum (the domed building roughly in the centre above). It's a small one, and in fact it used to be Loudon Council's city hall. They've long since outgrown the structure, and a few years ago moved out completely, when a local historical society approached them with the proposal for the museum, which was accepted. Loudon Central Library is visible centre top.

And here's the Philip St. Tower, the one I'm here to inspect. The building is of an older design, and as such, the owner hasn't had much luck selling the office space. The Senatorian Government is moving a lot of the major department HQ's away from the main (heavily congested) CBD, and Seha has suggested this building for our department:

The owner seems to love the building. Despite being vacant the past 3 months, the building is in top condition, and given the luxurious interior of the structure, I'm amazed companies aren't jumping at the chance for such a status building. He mentions the plans for a bus stop  right in front of the building. Apparently several previous prospective tenants have worried about access (even Loudon can get quite congested in peak hour). I'm of course well aware of the plans, and set a date for the department to finalise the transaction.

Now that that business is sorted, I've been curious for some time now how the Loudon Riverside redevelopment has come along. The area used to be part of the industrial area to the north, but the area had largely become abandoned, and as such, a redevelopment was scheduled. It appears to have gone well...

...although I would prefer it to have been a little more dense, especially given its location in the Loudon Council Area. Loudon Hospital and the North Loudon shopping strip are also visible. The hospital was rebuilt a few years ago, and it now has one of the highest ratings amongst hospitals in the Senatorian region.

Quite a few large projects are mooted for the North East of the Senatoria region (of which Loudon is the main hub). Indeed, I suspect it's an act of vote-buying by Seha. Locals are none too happy about the power he's taking, so he uses the one tool he's got - bribery. Thankfully most of the projects proposed are actually quite sensible, and despite my objection to his politics, I have zero qualms about planning to implement the projects. They're about due.

I did mention the industrial area. That area also flirts with the Loudon River. I'll leave you with a pic running along part of the river:

NEXT TIME: The North Eastern Infrastructure Program, OR: Vote-buying for Dummies