136 replies to this topic

[Jones133]

orulz, on 15 March 2010 - 06:02 AM, said:

Seems to me that's not so much a site plan as a survey of what's currently there.

It says on it the sole purpose was to show the 4 or so other surveys on a single plat. Its definitely dated as two of the houses shown on Ashe have already been torn down including the cool stone one.

[Jones133]

In conjunction with this roundabout, Morgan Street is almost ready to be two-way from Hillsborough Street to the current end of two-way at St Marys. That will make it two-way all the way to Dawson from Hillsborough.

[DPK]

The FMW project successfully got the land rezoned and continues to move forward:
http://www.newsobser...-for-mixed.html

Also looks like they're still buying up even more land in that area. This project is going to be massive if it does keep step with what they plan to do.  I also like how the city basically made the developer promise not to "cheap out" on materials used.

Edited by DPK, 20 October 2010 - 08:52 AM.

[RALNATIVE]

DPK, on 20 October 2010 - 08:51 AM, said:

I also like how the city basically made the developer promise not to "cheap out" on materials used.

Well i'm all for that...

[Jones133]

Does anyone know of or have pictures of project they have done in Charlotte?

[ncsugrad204]

Jones133, on 21 October 2010 - 08:23 PM, said:

Does anyone know of or have pictures of project they have done in Charlotte?

FMW website

[Jones133]

"Land assemblers" give me the impression of having no regard for their project's surroundings or the interests of those affected by it. I am predisposed to be wary of companies with this approach to making a buck. The economy has certainly crippled FMW's preferred way of making a buck, so now they are doing smaller scale stuff like renovating our old ESSO station on Hillsborough St. Coming from Charlotte where the approach to development is both more gung-ho but more livable and mixed composition, I stay cautiously optimistic that  they get this right.

Edited by Jones133, 23 October 2010 - 01:24 PM.

[orulz]

The site plan and some architectural elevations are up here.

All-in-all there's nothing too surprising here. A coup but the result is fairly disappointing. For the first phase, they are doing 249 units, a density of 60 units per acre. 4 stories of apartments on top of parking. There's definitely several retail spaces facing Morgan Street, and it seems like there might be retail facing Tryon Hill and Wakefield as well, which would make sense because that will probably be facing towards the future light rail station, but the renderings show too few doors there for retail spaces as well.

The two biggest disappointments, I would say, are that (1) the project does not include the parking lot facing the roundabout (which is out of the developer's control) and (2) the treatment of Ashe Avenue. The plans show what looks like a 40 foot wide grassy area along Ashe with one row of surface parking behind. Looks like there's enough space to line Ashe with townhomes, why not do so?

[Jones133]

The talk from the 'hood, was that there were townhomes going up on Ashe. Phase 2 maybe?

[orulz]

I'm trying to make sense of what's going on with the ground level of building 2.


I mean - it looks like it's got 20 foot ceilings, with floor to ceiling windows along almost the entire Tryon and Wakefield frontages (150'+ each). It seems that there will be some parking on the ground floor of building two as well, behind the retail spaces. But what has me puzzled is that there only appear to be three retail entrances, one on Tryon Hill, one on Wakefield, and one on the corner. That seems like an awful lot of frontage for just three retail spaces.

[Euphorius]

Judging from the site plan, it looks like the building with Progress piercing, Phoenix tattoo, and Jade Garden will be torn down. Is this correct? I rather like that building, and would hate to see it go.

[orulz]

Euphorius, on 28 February 2011 - 05:45 PM, said:

Judging from the site plan, it looks like the building with Progress piercing, Phoenix tattoo, and Jade Garden will be torn down. Is this correct? I rather like that building, and would hate to see it go.

Jade Garden, Cycle Logic, Royal Food, etc. and the buildings they are in will all stay. These are not owned by FMW.

I really wish that the Jade Garden parking lot were incorporated, though. It sucks that the lot facing this roundabout - one of the most prominent lots in the city - will be a parking lot forever. I'm seriously thinking about writing the owner and the developer urging that they consider some sort of a deal that would allow the lot to be developed but still Jade Garden its parking spaces.

[Jones133]

orulz, on 28 February 2011 - 08:35 PM, said:

Jade Garden, Cycle Logic, Royal Food, etc. and the buildings they are in will all stay. These are not owned by FMW.

I really wish that the Jade Garden parking lot were incorporated, though. It sucks that the lot facing this roundabout - one of the most prominent lots in the city - will be a parking lot forever. I'm seriously thinking about writing the owner and the developer urging that they consider some sort of a deal that would allow the lot to be developed but still Jade Garden its parking spaces.

 Sanborn 1914 Sheet 73 (Cameron Park - Ashe Ave.).pdf   224.41K   55 downloads
Even the 1914 Sanborn of the intersection shows the corner rounded off here (was Harrison Street then).

[Jones133]

Fencing is up around the Bolton property and it appears that either hazardous material (asbestos) is being taken out or its just salvaging of useful scrap metal and such. Either way, the project is underway. The second of 7  planned apartment buildings in and near downtown.

[orulz]

Here's a 3d rendering of this project I've never seen before. This confirms the townhomes along Ashe. Plus, basically all the building's street frontage is active in some way, with retail along Tryon Hill, Wakefield, and Morgan, and townhouses along Ashe. All in all not a bad project. My only complaint is that the most prominent piece of land around here, the corner facing the roundabout, is (and will remain) a parking lot.

[RaleighRob]

Looks like construction on the apartments is well underway.  However the block that had the old Jackpot looks like it's being used as just a lot for now.

Good news for that old West Morgan Center down the street---Mayor Meeker's son Charles just bought it and plans to spruce it up a bit.
The Burger Hut just closed but Meeker's got the owners of Busy Bee to put a restaurant in its place.  http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/05/03/2039722/david-meeker-son-of-former-raleigh.html

Edited by RaleighRob, 03 May 2012 - 06:53 AM.

[Jones133]

He has a great vision for downtown. I am hoping he eventually puts a nice mixed use building on this site. The current building greatly underutilizes the site.