But elected city officials fear the height of the residential building would be out of scale compared with the neighboring buildings, which rise no higher than six stories. The developer argues that he needed the scale of the project in order to justify its costs--especially given that the project is not asking for any public subsidies. The scale, they argue, is appropriate for the site: A busy corner with tens of thousands of cars passing through on a daily basis.

Last month, the city planning commission approved a version of the developer's project, but an appeal by Uptown residents ultimately prevailed before the zoning and planning unit. The project has recently drawn the attention of political candidates, and several powerful city officials, including Mayor R.T. Rybak, oppose the project. "Uptown is not downtown," Rybak says.

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