Third Avenue Townhouses - NO CC

So often it seems like apartments in TS2 just get used as ‘starter’ homes for Sims, and then eventually those Sims move on to owning their own fancy properties in the suburbs like the game is so well-suited for. Yet one only need look at neighborhoods like New York’s Upper East Side or Boston’s Back Bay to see that there’s plenty of wealthy people who still choose to live in the close quarters of an urban environment, especially in fancier old neighborhoods with similarly wealthy neighbors, and for that type of setting to work in TS2, that’s going to require apartments!

Thus, the idea for this corner block of three historic and very fancy townhouses was born! While they’re obviously apartments for the purposes of gameplay, each one is a full house in its own right architecturally- multiple bedrooms, high-end kitchens, even a full garage for the two larger houses. Each also has at least some outdoor ‘yard’ space, though not much (it is an urban setting, after all!)

This is smaller than many of my urban lots, so while it’s certainly still expensive and there’s plenty of stuff included (total lot price coming to $671,070), from a functional standpoint it shouldn’t be too taxing for your game engine and graphics setup to run, especially once you’re mostly just looking at one apartment/household at any given time. The apartments themselves obviously vary in price quite a bit- the corner brownstone has a weekly rent of $9081, the central townhouse the highest, at $10961, and the smaller brick row house the lowest, at a much more reasonable $3660.

As always, I tested a clone of the lot and corrected any routing and interaction problems I encountered, so if you choose to rent the apartments furnished, your Sims shouldn’t encounter much trouble making use of the spaces. Of course, you’re also welcome to reimagine the apartments however you see fit as well! Once again, as is always the case with my lots, no CC is included or required either, so as long as you’ve got all the necessary expansion and stuff packs, you should be ready to start playing with this lot as soon as you find a fancy enough neighborhood to put it in!

Please do let me know if you find any issues with this lot once you’ve got it in your game so I can try to correct whatever’s causing the problem. That should cover all the technical information though, so if you want you can stop reading now- otherwise, read on for a bit of on-the-scene reporting from one of SBN’s finest journalists!



“Good evening, I’m Naomi Harper reporting live for SBN from SimCity’s historic Third Avenue where the recently proposed Historic Landmark Preservation Ordinance is dividing local property owners. Recently added to the agenda for this week’s upcoming City Council meeting, this ordinance would establish a citywide register of buildings deemed worthy of preservation for their architectural, cultural, or historical significance, and establish a grant program to provide funding for property owners to maintain buildings added to this list. “

“However, as the ordinance is currently written, many of the buildings that would appear on the register are in neighborhoods with some of the highest property values to be found anywhere in SimCity, such as right here on Third Avenue. Many SimCity residents are questioning why property owners who already have the resources to afford townhouses in this type of neighborhood should receive additional grants to maintain them, and the current unanswered questions about just where the money for this grant program will come from has resulted in a groundswell of public opposition to the ordinance.”



“We talked to Wayne Cook Johnston IV, who owns a property at the corner of Third and Third that’s already listed on the SimNation Register of Historic Places thanks to being the location where his distant relative, future SimCity Mayor and state Senator Malcolm Landgraab II was born in 1896. Mister Johnston, can you tell us some of your thoughts on this ordinance?”

“Well Miss Harper, as one of this city’s leading philanthropists and a board member on many of our cultural committees, I see great value in ensuring that the cultural heritage of SimCity is protected and preserved for our descendants, and I take pride in my own contributions towards that noble goal. You only need to look at some of the newer districts within the city to see the kind of depredations uncultured landowners would foist upon the populace- nothing but poured concrete and neon lights as far as the eye can see. My family, on the other hand, has maintained our corner townhouse in much the same state it was in when my esteemed ancestors first constructed it nearly two centuries ago, immediately creating it as one of the preeminent brownstone houses in the city. Many of the most notable family names of SimCity history had at one time owned similarly grand properties before sadly making the choice to sell to developers who tore them down with no concern for our great and storied history. As I see it, maintaining properties such as my own along the historic avenues and boulevards of this great city provides a cultural and aesthetic benefit to all residents of SimCity, and as such I think it entirely appropriate that all city residents make some financial contribution towards maintaining these properties, not just those of us who own them.”



“David Bishop is an employee of a local garden company with many contracts maintaining the landscaping for properties in this neighborhood, Mr. Bishop, what do you think of the new ordinance that’s being proposed?”

“Well, I think it’s pretty damned ridiculous to be honest. I mean, some of the houses I’ve worked in are supposedly “historic” under this list, but as soon as these folks buy them, the first thing they do is hire some trendy new designer who goes through and rips out everything historic in the whole place. I mean, look at that marble house back there, see it? Supposedly that’s a ‘historic building’ and all, but I know for a fact that all that’s historic about it anymore is the front windows, all the rest of it’s been re-done three times just since I’ve had this job. And you’re telling me the city’s gonna start giving these people more money to ‘preserve’ these places? I mean, give me a break- they’re just gonna take that money and hide it in some foreign account like they always do, and then hire someone to come in and replace all the original marble that’s left with mirrors or chrome or… or something. Just more rich people looking out for themselves and sucking up more money from the rest of us who actually work for a living, definitely not preserving any history around here.”



“Marlene Strickland has owned one of the brick rowhouses that line many of the streets in this neighborhood since she and her husband purchased the property shortly after their marriage in 1946, and has struggled to keep up with increasing property tax rates as the area has gentrified in recent years. She is not opposed to the proposed ordinance, she says, but wonders whether it will really be targeted to those homeowners who need it most. Mrs. Strickland, what do you think of the debate over this ordinance?”

“Oh, I’m so happy the city is finally going to help out some of us folks who have been having such a hard time lately, what with keeping up with all these tax increases they keep putting on us. My husband and I picked this house just after we were married because it seemed like a nice neighborhood, even if we couldn’t afford anything so big and grand, but now it seems like people are just buying up the old houses here so they can tear them down for their new mansions! It saddens my poor old heart to remember some of our neighbors’ homes that are gone now, but with my husband’s retirement being a fixed income, and having to take care of my grandchildren as well, we were starting to talk about whether we would have to sell this old brick house too, even though we all love it so dearly. I was so excited when I saw this ordinance, I know some other cities have passed them and it’s exactly the kind of thing we’d need to be able to stay in our old house here. I just hope they’ll make sure it helps us out who really need it if we’re going to keep up our nice old houses like we would love to.”

“So as you can see, residents have many different opinions on this proposal. The first public discussion of this ordinance will be at this week’s City Council meeting, but it’s still several weeks until the Council will formally vote on the measure. Any citizens interested in weighing in on the text of the measure are encouraged to contact their local councilmembers, and of course we at SBN will bring you the latest updates on this story as it evolves. Back over to you in the studio, thanks!”