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Blount Street Commons


capitalapts

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Nice.  White Oak Properties is Roland Gammon, if I recall correctly.  He's done some nice things around downtown.  Mostly small scale stuff, but at least the guy doesn't bite off more than he can chew (are you paying attention, Blount Street Commons?).  Unlike LNR (out of town real estate firm trying to cash in on "hot city", Gammon lives here and actually appears to have some desire to make this a better downtown.

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The Merrimon-Wynne house at the corner of Blount and Polk was scheduled for groundbreaking today to renovate it for event space.  (Highly doubt that is going to happen due to the rain though.)  I think this project could be a catalyst for more development since this will only enhance the immediate area.  And seems like renovating one of the other historic homes into a bed-and-breakfast wouldn't be such a bad idea either.  (Somewhat related note: the Oakwood Bed and Breakfast is up for sale - building & business - since the owners want to retire.)

 

The N&O article also mentions the Peace Street townhomes breaking ground "mid-July".

 

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/06/30/3000930/historic-home-to-become-events.html

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I would be really surprised of an event space could pay the bills since the house was about 700k in its as-is condition. Maybe these folks have a set pipeline of people needing event space ala Red Hat or something. Regardless, it will make the street continue to look nice and I hope it works out. 

Combined with Peace Street Townes and the Market Restaurant relocation this whole neighborhood probably is my favorite area of downtown since it'll retain a lower key vibe that I prefer. 

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The Anglican Church appears ready for a ground breaking...the building has a chalk outline and the word 'altar' drawn out and a backhoe ready for the symbolic first turning of dirt. Also Elan has slabs poured for the southernmost of the two buildings and the water and sewer are going in (pre slab pour) for the north building. My money says it'll be a sought after location as it is very walkable to all the action but it extremely quiet in the adjacent blocks. You'll be able to get your drink on and your sleep on with one downtown location. 

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Here is a site plan showing the next set of row homes to be developed. There doesn't seem to be floor plans for these or an indication as to whether or not its just more of the floor plans built next door already. The old Blount Street Commons project concept currently has 5 projects in some stage:

Elan: Starting third floor walls

Peace St Townes: First building topped out and clad in OSB, second building framing is about half done

Hobby Properties HQ in the 1855 Lewis-Smith House: They removed the victorian rear and appear to be replacing it with modern space of some sort. various gutting and redoing through out the space. Based on my walkthrough, plumbing, electrical, HVAC and windows all needed replaced. 

Anglican (Trinity) Church: Footings going in

Martin Stanley row homes: erosion fencing up and 6 "buildings" noted on sign posts. 

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Blount Street Commons, North Person Street (as an aside N.O.P.E would be the acronym...?) and Seaboard have all sort of blurred together into one entire City growing, and morphing all at once. Seaboard's little set of stores from Bad Daddy's on down is now built out with the opening of Brew. Its a sweet coffee space that is rustic-minimalist in style if you can imagine that. Helios but with wooden slab tables and benches. 

BSC has the church frame taking shape, Elan at the 5th floor, Peace Street Townes being wrapped (all three buildings are in progress now...4 units left) and the Martin Stanley townhouses are being framed up and sedimentation fence going up around the whole block. Add in Lumina and Standard Foods going into Franklin St Plaza and its a whole new exciting world out there. 

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To me, Seaboard still feels like its own area.  Almost all of the storefronts face to the interior and it is very car-oriented.  I think until the periphery is developed with active uses facing Halifax St and Peace St, then it will continue to act as a shopping center and separate district.

 

I think if the government surface lot South of Peace St here had a mid-rise, mixed-use building then that would go a long way to making the area feel more fluid and less boxed-in.

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Just a hunch, but I think when McCrory was calling for demolition of the Archdale building, addressing the under-utilization of the training facility and that parking lot was being implied as getting wrapped into that. The Shell station would be a nice thing to be rid of too. On top of being in the way of better urban development, it creates a very dangerous cluster-f there that results in accidents almost every month including a girl that almost had her leg severed on a moped. 

Of course I also imagine the opportunities now lost to the giving of part of Franklin St to, Peace, and the complete erasing of Harp St south of Delway...actually the whole grid that used to exist from Glenwood to Blount...but I digress...

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Various progress updates:

Peace Street Townes is finishing up and I suspect may be ready for occupancy in 30 days or so (somebody on here was buying one...update?)

The Stanley Martin portion has completed two buildings (one set of row homes and one of carriage homes) and is now pouring foundations for the stuff that will face Person St. Looks like an access street is going north/south through the block ending behind Peace St Townes

The Elan apartments and about 80% done with the exterior and ramping up interior completion.

Anglican Church is about 90% bricked up. Will ultimately be pained white. The Steeple is awaiting a permit the last I knew. 

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Any word on possible tenants for any of the street level retail?  

 

Also, when you talk about the grid from Glenwood to Blount in your old post from a year ago, you are talking about the old Smoky Hollow street grid, right?

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I don't think any BSC buildings in their current form, will have any ground floor retail. 

Yeah, I imagine that is what I meant (too lazy to look back). I often rue the loss of the grid that punching out the Capital-to-south Saunders arterial did on each end of downtown. 

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Here is another terrible iPhone picture, this time of the corner of Peace and Person. Peace St Townes has people moving into the western most units. The Martin Stanley condos are progressing from north to south. You can see the first building framed up. Off screen the second building's foundation is in and the third's footings are being poured. I had originally thought these were large 4 story townhouses, but they are really 8, two-story condos per building...the buildings are just being built to look like townhouses with sidewalk facing facades and entries. post-4367-0-93471400-1431721596_thumb.jp

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