High Point Road (Greensboro)

[StevenRocks]

We all know the Carolina Circle Mall area in Greensboro is in need of a major boost, but the High Point Road corridor is in pretty sad shape as well. Things seemed to go pretty well out there before Wendover exploded, and nowadays there's a lot of empty and blighted buildings.

What gives? Is anyone paying attention to that area going downhill? What needs to be done?

[Jerseyman4]

Perhaps with the population shifts going outside of the city plus H.P. Road being one of the busiest boulevards in the Triad maybe one of the reasons. A lot of H.P. Road pre-dates the 1970's/1980's.

[DCB]

Depends on the area it seems. The area around the mall doing pretty well, but the area around the colluseum seems to be going to potl. I'm really hoping that the old Canada Dry factory is transformed into the new ACC museum. That area really needs something to revitalize it.

BTW, Po' Folks used to be awesome.

[DigitalSky]

It's a very busy corridor, but it reminds me of the older sections of roads such as Independence, South Blvd and N Tryon St in Charlotte where buildings have sat empty for years with nothing done to them and unfortuantely this situation looks the same.

[ezcheese]

i agree that parts of high point road are a lot like parts of independence, south & tryon. my favorite indian restaurant (gold india) is on high point road right down from the olive garden. there are still a few places that a lot of people go, like the area around the interstate, the mall and the intersection with holden, but in general, the whole area needs to be cleaned up and there definitely are some spots that need much more attention than others.

[DigitalSky]

i agree that parts of high point road are a lot like parts of independence, south & tryon. my favorite indian restaurant (gold india) is on high point road right down from the olive garden. there are still a few places that a lot of people go, like the area around the interstate, the mall and the intersection with holden, but in general, the whole area needs to be cleaned up and there definitely are some spots that need much more attention than others.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

ah yes Gold India is awesome

[Beany]

Like you said, West Wendover Ave. has taken a lot of the popular retail away from High Point Road. HP Rd has definitely seen its better days, however I really don't think the road is that bad off. It seems to be more in transition than anything. I think most all of the popular retailers have moved to Wendover because the shopping centers are newer and stores seem to follow one another. In 10 to 15 years you may see a similar exodus of retailers from Wendover to yet another new, popular area of town.

However, HP Road I think will be okay because the road is and should always be a major thoroughfare. Also, the demographics on the southern end of the road are still favorable with Sedgefield and Grandover. What I have noticed is that these empty storefronts do eventually get filled again. The quality of stores is not the same as it once was but buildings are slowly being filled. Some of the larger buildings take a lot longer to fill though.

Examples of some recent re-uses:

OfficeMax => Shoe store

Kroger Grocery Store building => World Market/Bed, Bath and Beyond

Circuity City building => Habitat Restore Store

Pier 1 Imports building => Goodwill Store

Hechingers building => American Furniture

Phar-mor => Roses

Best Products/Heileg Meyers => Big Lots

Anyway, I don't think HP Rd will ever be as popular for shopping as it once was, but I have been encouraged by the way that vacancies do eventually get filled.

[StevenRocks]

^ Good analysis, beany.

The only part of High Point Road that seems healthy is between Meadowview Road and Holden Road. That's roughly from the Koger Center/Howard Johnson's (Hooters! ) to Borders Books and the new Walgreens All the rest is falling apart, though like Beany said, the spaces are slowly filling up.

Jerseyman4's right: a lot of the development on High Point Road is from the '60s and '70s. I remember some of it getting built in the mid to late '80s, like Stonesthrow Crossing shopping center, the old Circuit City and Hechinger stores, and the shopping center with Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. But it's been pretty stagnant for a while.

If I had my say on the area, I would love to knock down most of those old strip malls and junky buldings and do something different: maybe new housing, maybe something better integrated with the street.

[Roadgeek]

You've also got to think about Four Seasons Mall. Before Greensboro had malls, there were shopping centers. But with the malls popping up, what happens to the old shopping centers? They become obsolete. People take the more modern way of shopping in a cool air conditioned beautiful and crisp mall. That might be why a lot of those other stores are losing.

PS: check out my road site: Tar Heel Highways

[StevenRocks]

You've also got to think about Four Seasons Mall. Before Greensboro had malls, there were shopping centers. But with the malls popping up, what happens to the old shopping centers? They become obsolete. People take the more modern way of shopping in a cool air conditioned beautiful and crisp mall. That might be why a lot of those other stores are losing.

PS: check out my road site: Tar Heel Highways

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Tar Heel Highways is coming along nicely, roadgeek.

I prefer enclosed malls, too, but the trend is going towards these indoor-outdoor hybrid shopping centers with a mixture of strip mall and enclosed mall features.

What i've found though is that the big boxes on High Point Road anre being replaced with even bigger boxes on Wendover Avenue. It's not really an improvemnt or a real change in shopping habits; it's just newer boxes.

[DigitalSky]

Wendover is the new High Point

[cityboi]

Randleman Road in Greensboro use to be a bustling road like High Point Road is today. Now its filled with pawn shops and empty shopping centers. The reason why High Point Road hasnt decayed is becasue of the presense of the Coliseum and the mall/Koury Convention Center. High Point Road between those facities are filled with restaurans and bars. But once you go a half a mile south of the convention center on High Point rd towards High Point you'll notice vacant stores. Many for those stores like Circuit City moved to West Wendover.

[StevenRocks]

There's a lot of decay between the mall and coliseum these days, too. At least half a dozen chain restaurants went out of business on that strip over the past five years or so

[NCMike1981]

I'm sure that eventually a sort of rebirth will happen on all of the decaying roads. It may be yrs and yrs away but it will happen. It may not also be what you may expect, or even want, but new uses will come to the abandoned buildings...

It's a market driven world out there.....

[jasoniman24]

Randleman Road in Greensboro use to be a bustling road like High Point Road is today. Now its filled with pawn shops and empty shopping centers. The reason why High Point Road hasnt decayed is becasue of the presense of the Coliseum and the mall/Koury Convention Center. High Point Road between those facities are filled with restaurans and bars. But once you go a half a mile south of the convention center on High Point rd towards High Point you'll notice vacant stores. Many for those stores like Circuit City moved to West Wendover.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm surprised the Toys R Us hasn't moved to Wendover.

[StevenRocks]

I'm surprised the Toys R Us hasn't moved to Wendover.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They actually remodeled that store not too long ago. Looks like they're in it for the long haul.

[richthofen]

They actually remodeled that store not too long ago.  Looks like they're in it for the long haul.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Huh. Is the adult bookstore next door to it still in business? I always thought that was an odd co-location...

High Point Road in general isn't in great shape, but I'd arguably say it's better than it was a couple years ago (like when the Kroger, Hechinger, and Circuit City buildings were all vacant...)

I remember its better days too though. Back in the late 80's, my dad was the assistant manager of the Best Products at the corner of High Point and Merritt, and we used to shop at the Harris Teeter next door and the Phar-Mor down the street all the time...all of those are gone now. It makes me a bit sad to drive down there these days.

The funny thing about all that is that, during that time, my family moved out to the Oaks West/Beechcroft subdivision off of Stanley Rd. And Wendover, once you got past the I-40 exit going west, was EMPTY. I think the only things out there were the Courtyard hotel and Shoney's. This was 1991...14 years later, look at that area now. Many of the businesses there are the very ones that left High Point Road. Kinda strange to live essentially in between the two transitioning streets...

[StevenRocks]

Huh.  Is the adult bookstore next door to it still in business?  I always thought that was an odd co-location... 

High Point Road in general isn't in great shape, but I'd arguably say it's better than it was a couple years ago (like when the Kroger, Hechinger, and Circuit City buildings were all vacant...) 

I remember its better days too though.  Back in the late 80's, my dad was the assistant manager of the Best Products at the corner of High Point and Merritt, and we used to shop at the Harris Teeter next door and the Phar-Mor down the street all the time...all of those are gone now.  It makes me a bit sad to drive down there these days. 

The funny thing about all that is that, during that time, my family moved out to the Oaks West/Beechcroft subdivision off of Stanley Rd.  And Wendover, once you got past the I-40 exit going west, was EMPTY.  I think the only things out there were the Courtyard hotel and Shoney's.  This was 1991...14 years later, look at that area now.  Many of the businesses there are the very ones that left High Point Road.  Kinda strange to live essentially in between the two transitioning streets...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Stange indeed.

I think the adult bookstore is still there beside TRU.

Also, that Harris Teeter used to be a Kroger before they moved up to the Holden Road intersection.

[ILoveCallingNCHome]

I could see Randleman Rd Getting an overhaul before High Point Rd. There is a lot of new developement around Elm St and much of that is residential. With Painter Blvd being so close to all of this and the new Wal-Mart being built, I could see it spilling over into Randleman Rd. (and I add, that area of Elm St was pretty rough and dead before all of this new growth there)

As for Toys R Us, it probably didnt move because of some financial troubles a few yrs ago around the time they closed the CCM location.

I dont think High Point Rd has totally gone by the wayside yet.(though it definately is not in it's hayday as it was 30 yrs ago) It still has a good deal of traffic. It caters to many who are not for the life of them going to try to attempt West Wendover for example. What seems to help areas with regrowth though...is to tear down existing outdated buildings (the shopping center where Zayre that now has tj maxx comes to mind right away) and build new things. It seems wasteful, but it appears that is what attracts new business and gives new life to an otherwise floundering area. This is what was done in Burlington on the corner of S Church and Huffman Rd where Lowes built their store 8-10 yrs ago. There used to be tiny strip shops and a theater there...now everything is new...and very busy.

[StevenRocks]

I agree with ILoveCallingNCHome. Some of those old buildings on High Point Road need to be knocked down to free up the land for new development.

[ezcheese]

This is what was done in Burlington on the corner of S Church and Huffman Rd where Lowes built their store 8-10 yrs ago.  There used to be tiny strip shops and a theater there...now everything is new...and very busy.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i saw many movies at the terrace theater before it was torn down. also, behind the theater were some cool bike trails with huge jumps back in the woods that led to a neighborhood off of mebane street.

[ILoveCallingNCHome]

i saw many movies at the terrace theater before it was torn down.

It was the only one on this side of town (and the only one that I know of that showed new releases). We dont see many movies in the theaters. Even now, there is only one...and it appears to be packed all the time when we ride by.

[richthofen]

I thought the Terrace was the theater that used to be at Friendly Center. Or were there two?

As far as High Point Road redevelopment, there are a number of older shopping centers that could be torn down and replaced with something more modern. The Lowes Foods/TJ Maxx center (former Zayre) does come to mind, as do the former Best/HT/Peaches, and the one across Merritt from it with a drugstore and a bunch of small shops. Also, though it's actually not that old, the center on Farmington where Michael's is and Phar-Mor/Bradlee's used to be has never seemed to make much sense as a strip mall to me. There's gotta be a better use for that land.

[cityboi]

There were two. One was at Friendly Shopping Center across the street (east) from K&W Cafeteria. They tore that down and there is a restaurant in its place. The other one was about less than a mile a way at the Wendover/Battlground Ave split. They tore both of those down and replaced them with modern stadium seat theaters. The one at Friendly Shopping Center (The Grande) was moved southwest of K&W behind sears and the Carousel theater was built on Battleground a little ways south of the old one near the Battleground/Wendover split. I never could understand why they built two big mutliplex theaters less than a mile apart.

[ILoveCallingNCHome]

I think that the Terrace was also the name of the theater that was torn down in burlington ...as refered to earlier in this thread in these two comments by me and ezcheese...

This is what was done in Burlington on the corner of S Church and Huffman Rd where Lowes built their store 8-10 yrs ago. There used to be tiny strip shops and a theater there...now everything is new...and very busy.

i saw many movies at the terrace theater before it was torn down. also, behind the theater were some cool bike trails with huge jumps back in the woods that led to a neighborhood off of mebane street.

I think one of the complexities is that on High Point Rd in some of the shopping centers mentioned....that while they need to be replaced/upgraded/major renovations....they are indeed busy and have viable tenants that rent the spaces. They just dont look good and are not new.