Plaza-Midwood Projects (Central, Commonwealth, The Plaza)

[radiosimon]

On 6/27/2016 at 10:49 PM, GeauxCLT said:

This was a hot topic a few months back, but seems to have died down at least temporarily. The school board had identified it as an excess property to be marketed for sale (since they have no intention to ever use it as a school again - facilities are not ADA compliant and would cost a ton to get there), however they got scared off due to ownership concerns.  The original deed to the school board from the city had a reverted clause that stated it needed to revert to city ownership if it ceased operation as a school.  Upon further investigation, it appears that claim was abandoned by the city in the 70s, so the school board does have full ownership (and right to sell). That said, last I heard they were not looking to sell at this time and were in negotiations with International House for a (1 year - which is shorter than normal) lease extension. Meanwhile, the city landmarks committee is reviewing this building's viability for landmark status. If so, it would make it harder to sell and tear down. 

Does all that jive with what you are hearing? Anything different?

Sounds about right, with slight variations. But the landmark status part is news to me. That would be an ideal scenario....well, mostly because I'm concerned about what would go in it's place =/

16 hours ago, Spartan said:

Wow. I seriously hope they are able to preserve that building. 

Agreed!

2 hours ago, nonillogical said:

I think that blank wall will be blocked from almost all angles by the building going up around Thirsty Beaver, although I'm sure it won't look much better (I can't recall seeing a rendering but the few details about the project were disappointing). 

This was my assumption as well...the Beaverplex will block it.

As mentioned, Plaza Midwood deserves so much better....

[Niner National]

2 hours ago, caterpillar2 said:

If it were gray, it would look like a Russian prison. 

I think it IS supposed to be a light grey color.

Pretty certain it isn't going to remain tan/beige like it currently is.

[UrbanGossip]

That's a big ol' blank wall.  Wow.  But hey, be reassured that they's put some brick on it so it will be an expensive blank wall.

It will at least mostly be hidden by the one surrounding the Thirsty Beaver.  Which, by the way, makes me think of this old Bugs Bunny cartoon.  He battles with a builder that is building a high rise where his hole is and in the end they build a notch in the building around his hole.  In this case it's a beaver not a bunny.

 

[SgtCampsalot]

The Thirsty Beaver folks are local heroes.

[UrbanGossip]

6 minutes ago, SgtCampsalot said:

The Thirsty Beaver folks are local heroes.

The Thirsty Beaver is great, but why are they heros?  They don't own the building.  If someone is a hero for giving us this absolutely silly situation in my opinion it would be the now deceased owner of the building.  If I were the ones set to inherit that bag of s*#t I wouldn't think him a hero at all.  It's worthless now.

[SgtCampsalot]

37 minutes ago, UrbanGossip said:

The Thirsty Beaver is great, but why are they heros?  They don't own the building.  If someone is a hero for giving us this absolutely silly situation in my opinion it would be the now deceased owner of the building.  If I were the ones set to inherit that bag of s*#t I wouldn't think him a hero at all.  It's worthless now.

Heroes in a symbolic way.

In a landscape where development gobbles up full blocks not because it benefits the final product (where they truly want to "transform" the area around it), but rather as a necessity to make the project viable due to the regulatory/financing process that we have, it is a blatant, obscenely visible, practically absurd protest against that. I don't know about everyone else, but I have to respect them on a level for that.

Edited June 29, 2016 by SgtCampsalot

[archiham04]

The visual appearance of the beaver after all this is going to be so ridculous, it will be an attraction... increasing its value... in my opinion...  to PRICELE$$

[Midwoodian]

Last night, crossing Central and Pecan from DQ to CVS, both I, my wife, 1 year old son, and another pedestrian were almost killed by a driver turning left from Pecan onto Central.  We had the pedestrian signal, and the driver turning left was simply not paying attention--she sped up rapidly into the turn as soon as the light changed.  A tenth of a second this way or that way, all four of us would have been seriously injured or killed.

Why has the City and CDOT not installed a 20-25 second delay, once each light cycle, where all traffic has a red light so that pedestrians can cross at the following intersections: Central and Pecan, Central and Thomas, Central and Plaza (where we have also almost been run over, and where multiple people have been hit according to Police)?  There is simply too much pedestrian activity at these intersections for there not to be a delay.

In the coming days, I will be writing an email to the Mayor, CDOT, PMNA, PM Business District group, Commonwealth-Morningside NA, the Charlotte Observer, and other news organizations about this issue.  This isn't just an issue in Plaza Midwood either.  Its completely unacceptable.

[deleted]

1 hour ago, archiham04 said:

The visual appearance of the beaver after all this is going to be so ridculous, it will be an attraction... increasing its value... in my opinion...  to PRICELE$$

For some reason, this book from my childhood comes to mind:

 

Or for the younger folks:

If you don't have kids, just ignore me...

 

 

Edited June 30, 2016 by JBS

[Bat'leth]

1 hour ago, Midwoodian said:

Last night, crossing Central and Pecan from DQ to CVS, both I, my wife, 1 year old son, and another pedestrian were almost killed by a driver turning left from Pecan onto Central.  We had the pedestrian signal, and the driver turning left was simply not paying attention--she sped up rapidly into the turn as soon as the light changed.  A tenth of a second this way or that way, all four of us would have been seriously injured or killed.

Why has the City and CDOT not installed a 20-25 second delay, once each light cycle, where all traffic has a red light so that pedestrians can cross at the following intersections: Central and Pecan, Central and Thomas, Central and Plaza (where we have also almost been run over, and where multiple people have been hit according to Police)?  There is simply too much pedestrian activity at these intersections for there not to be a delay.

In the coming days, I will be writing an email to the Mayor, CDOT, PMNA, PM Business District group, Commonwealth-Morningside NA, the Charlotte Observer, and other news organizations about this issue.  This isn't just an issue in Plaza Midwood either.  Its completely unacceptable.

Same problem exists at 7th & Pecan

[Midwoodian]

Same problem exists at 7th & Pecan

Yea I completely agree. Same issue. The City must act.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bat'leth]

On 6/29/2016 at 9:58 AM, ah59396 said:

 

It's seriously the worst.  The wall is just SO commanding coming down central and so flat and bland.  I wish I could say they've improved upon it from this:

 

 

 

But I'd be lying.  One 305 "live outside the lines".  LOL.

It complements the side elevation of the Gibson Apts down the street, facing Central Coffee. 

[ah59396]

So so bad.

[archiham04]

So.... dryer vent detailing really irks me for some reason.  These apartment projects ALWAYS seem to overlook them in some awful way.  In this example some exited over the window and some exited through the stucco... they obviously didn't have the space to exit over the windows, so they added a soffit to make them fit.  This resulted in half the balconies having bulky patios and the other half slim... which is the intended aesthetic? certainly not half and half:

 

17 hours ago, Midwoodian said:

Last night, crossing Central and Pecan from DQ to CVS, both I, my wife, 1 year old son, and another pedestrian were almost killed by a driver turning left from Pecan onto Central.  We had the pedestrian signal, and the driver turning left was simply not paying attention--she sped up rapidly into the turn as soon as the light changed.  A tenth of a second this way or that way, all four of us would have been seriously injured or killed.

Why has the City and CDOT not installed a 20-25 second delay, once each light cycle, where all traffic has a red light so that pedestrians can cross at the following intersections: Central and Pecan, Central and Thomas, Central and Plaza (where we have also almost been run over, and where multiple people have been hit according to Police)?  There is simply too much pedestrian activity at these intersections for there not to be a delay.

In the coming days, I will be writing an email to the Mayor, CDOT, PMNA, PM Business District group, Commonwealth-Morningside NA, the Charlotte Observer, and other news organizations about this issue.  This isn't just an issue in Plaza Midwood either.  Its completely unacceptable.

I think Central and the Plaza has one...  I avoid Central and Pecan whenever possible as a driver and pedestrian.  It scares the hell out of me.

Edited July 1, 2016 by archiham04

[GeauxCLT]

^^^Also notably absent in the renderings is the absolute cluster of powerlines that surround this building. Why they couldn't have been buried when the sidewalk was all torn out for months is beyond me.

[Spartan]

18 hours ago, JBS said:

For some reason, this book from my childhood comes to mind:

 

Or for the younger folks:

If you don't have kids, just ignore me...

 

 

I thought the exact same thing. Did you ever see the Disney short? I used to watch this when I was a kid. It dates to 1952, so you can clearly see the bias towards the paradise that is suburbia.

 

 

2 hours ago, archiham04 said:

So.... dryer vent detailing really irks me for some reason.  These apartment projects ALWAYS seem to overlook them in some awful way.  In this example some exited over the window and some exited through the stucco... they obviously didn't have the space to exit over the windows, so they added a soffit to make them fit.  This resulted in half the balconies having bulky patios and the other half slim... which is the intended aesthetic? certainly not half and half:

It's just another example of the gloriousness that is modern/contemporary architecture.

[SgtCampsalot]

"They found her... Someone who knew that the best to find peace and happiness is in a little house, on a little hill, waaay out in the country."

Yeah, seems about right.

[deleted]

I had not seen that but my wife had.  As usual, the book was better than the movie.

I do differentiate between suburbia and country (not to get all technical on a lighthearted post).  Thanks for sharing!

[teeg]

On 6/30/2016 at 3:19 PM, Midwoodian said:

Last night, crossing Central and Pecan from DQ to CVS, both I, my wife, 1 year old son, and another pedestrian were almost killed by a driver turning left from Pecan onto Central.  We had the pedestrian signal, and the driver turning left was simply not paying attention--she sped up rapidly into the turn as soon as the light changed.  A tenth of a second this way or that way, all four of us would have been seriously injured or killed.

Why has the City and CDOT not installed a 20-25 second delay, once each light cycle, where all traffic has a red light so that pedestrians can cross at the following intersections: Central and Pecan, Central and Thomas, Central and Plaza (where we have also almost been run over, and where multiple people have been hit according to Police)?  There is simply too much pedestrian activity at these intersections for there not to be a delay.

In the coming days, I will be writing an email to the Mayor, CDOT, PMNA, PM Business District group, Commonwealth-Morningside NA, the Charlotte Observer, and other news organizations about this issue.  This isn't just an issue in Plaza Midwood either.  Its completely unacceptable.

 

Really glad no one was hurt.  I've lost count of the number of times something very similar happened to me at that intersection.  The last time, the person flipped us off before driving away.  I'm reminded of that every time I start to miss living over there.  

We have a 20-ish second delay at Cherokee and Providence and it makes a huge difference.  Good luck with the campaign.  

[southslider]

Look, Central and Thomas doesn't even get a walk signal, unless you push the button. And this is an intersection one block from Pecan, and one block from Plaza, each with a signal that always changes for cars. Obviously, Thomas should just change lights in sync with Pecan and Plaza, whether cars are on Thomas or not. And this would also help cyclists on a signed bike route.  But motor vehicle throughput for just one more block evidently matters more than human-powered transportation in Car-lot, NC.

[sakami]

Catch On Seafood sent out an email indicating they are leaving their current location and moving somewhere 3 blocks away. Any word on where they are going and/or what is taking their place, if anything?

http://us8.campaign-archive1.com/?u=55a2db2e5e601dc1ad4560292&id=41da3ce671&e=[UNIQID]

[Midwoodian]

On 7/1/2016 at 10:31 AM, archiham04 said:

I think Central and the Plaza has one...  I avoid Central and Pecan whenever possible as a driver and pedestrian.  It scares the hell out of me.

Central and Plaza does not have a delay.  If you are crossing Central from Harris Teeter on the East side of the intersection, the traffic turning left from Plaza onto Central (going East) has a green light during the same time that pedestrians have the right of way signal.  I have almost been hit here several times as well.

This is unacceptable in my opinion.  Too much pedestrian activity at these intersections.  There needs to be a delay.

[GeauxCLT]

5 hours ago, sakami said:

Catch On Seafood sent out an email indicating they are leaving their current location and moving somewhere 3 blocks away. Any word on where they are going and/or what is taking their place, if anything?

http://us8.campaign-archive1.com/?u=55a2db2e5e601dc1ad4560292&id=41da3ce671&e=[UNIQID]

Great concept, terribly run business. I know for a fact they have donated items to local nonprofits and then gone silent when it was time to follow through, embarrassing the nonprofit. 

I used to be a customer. I'm not anymore. 

[DEnd]

On ‎7‎/‎6‎/‎2016 at 5:32 PM, Midwoodian said:

Central and Plaza does not have a delay.  If you are crossing Central from Harris Teeter on the East side of the intersection, the traffic turning left from Plaza onto Central (going East) has a green light during the same time that pedestrians have the right of way signal.  I have almost been hit here several times as well.

This is unacceptable in my opinion.  Too much pedestrian activity at these intersections.  There needs to be a delay.

I'm ok with a Barnes Dance.  Especially in Plaza Midwood.  Independence is right there for high traffic speed and flow, adding a bit of vehicle congestion to Central shouldn't cause major problems.  At the same time it would make Central more pedestrian friendly.  They'd likely have to install some no right turn lights to come on during the pedestrian scramble. 

[Midwoodian]

4 hours ago, DEnd said:

I'm ok with a Barnes Dance.  Especially in Plaza Midwood.  Independence is right there for high traffic speed and flow, adding a bit of vehicle congestion to Central shouldn't cause major problems.  At the same time it would make Central more pedestrian friendly.  They'd likely have to install some no right turn lights to come on during the pedestrian scramble. 

Is the delay I am talking about called a "Barnes Dance" in transportation jargon?  Also, I was thinking about the same thing on the no right turn lights.  The could come on during the delay and then turn off.  Glad to hear others on this board think this is also needed.