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

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voyager12 Town

voyager12

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Central between Pecan&Thomas is really the only part of Charlotte that feels like a real walkable city for me. It's just so painfullly short. Has there ever been any serious discussion about infill where that always empty parking lot sits past the drugstore? There is so much space there that could be better utilized.

Right now it's just weird and a little depressing to have mindless frontloaded parking lots and sprawl along Central then a brief oasis of urbanity in PM's commercial core and right back to waste. I am grateful for what we do have but it's endlessly depressing to travel to cities that have such neighborhoods that go on for blocks and blocks and blocks and then come back here, it's just not even close to comparable.

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archiham04 Burg

archiham04

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I don't think that the density is there to support blocks and blocks of walkable urban streets on Central. South End is just now starting to see density levels approaching a point that can sustain retail with inconvenient or under served parking. PM/Central/Commonwealth has a long way to go to get a comparable density. The sad fact is that there is demand for convenience. When I am on my way to work for instance I need a place that I can pull in and park. I don't have time to stop and walk. ...and I am a strong supporter of walkable communities with a pretty high threshold for inconvenience!

Higher (minimum) density residential requirements for this future streetcar corridor would make a difference... similar to the light rail transit stop land use planning. The challenge will be creating high density residential while at the same time catering to the high demand for convenience that is not going away. Most of the land area is built out to 6 units per acre. That kind of density will ALWAYS have a car oriented demand.

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southslider Town

southslider

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While I too would like to see the Family Dollar/CVS site someday go mixed-use, density doesn't always translate into automatic success. I think Latta Pavillion in Dilworth proves that density of foot traffic is just as important (if not more) as residential density (or vertical integration). In other words, putting a lot of rooftops atop storefronts won't guarantee success, as much as having an interesting district of multiple and varied destinations. Plus, it helps to have defacto shared parking working in Plaza-Central. Ironically, the auto-oriented CVS partly serves as just that, providing parking for the area's nightlife.

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PlazaMidwoodGuy Whistle-Stop

PlazaMidwoodGuy

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Central between Pecan&Thomas is really the only part of Charlotte that feels like a real walkable city for me. It's just so painfullly short. Has there ever been any serious discussion about infill where that always empty parking lot sits past the drugstore? There is so much space there that could be better utilized.

There's been a lot of discussion about that sea of asphalt and that entire shopping center. It's my understanding that the owner (who's had the property for well over 30 years) has been approached countless times about selling and has no interest in it. There have been some posts about it in the PM thread over the last couple of years. I agree that it's hardly the best use for that space and as a PM resident for 16 years now, I've always hated having to look at it.

Edited by PlazaMidwoodGuy
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voyager12 Town

voyager12

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I noticed tonight that a bar has opened in the former LGBT Center/White Rabbit location. Anyone have details? Also, slams are being presented in the front space.I am glad some life is returning to the spot. Although I am still annoyed about the community ctr losing such a great high visibility location. Given how dead much of the complex is, I wonder if the developers regret not being more flexible with the rent they were offering for it to stay.

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Eastman Whistle-Stop

Eastman

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I noticed tonight that a bar has opened in the former LGBT Center/White Rabbit location. Anyone have details? Also, slams are being presented in the front space.I am glad some life is returning to the spot. Although I am still annoyed about the community ctr losing such a great high visibility location. Given how dead much of the complex is, I wonder if the developers regret not being more flexible with the rent they were offering for it to stay.

The new restaurant is Cafe Central. The bar is nice as well as the interior, they also have an upstairs patio with a great view of downtown. They are still working through the menu so I would give them a week to get settled. The tenant next door was featured in the O on Sunday and should be operating soon. Upstairs are several tenant spaces, some with views of town also.

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sharkdawg Unincorporated Area

sharkdawg

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The new restaurant is Cafe Central. The bar is nice as well as the interior, they also have an upstairs patio with a great view of downtown. They are still working through the menu so I would give them a week to get settled. The tenant next door was featured in the O on Sunday and should be operating soon. Upstairs are several tenant spaces, some with views of town also.

Who is the tenant next door that was featured in the O?

The new restaurant is Cafe Central. The bar is nice as well as the interior, they also have an upstairs patio with a great view of downtown. They are still working through the menu so I would give them a week to get settled. The tenant next door was featured in the O on Sunday and should be operating soon. Upstairs are several tenant spaces, some with views of town also.

Who is the tenant next door that was featured in the O?

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Eastman Whistle-Stop

Eastman

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Who is the tenant next door that was featured in the O?

Who is the tenant next door that was featured in the O?

As mentioned before Story Slam will be featured in the space for poetry and story readings and possibly bands. After rereading the artilcle though the developers are donating the space on a temporary basis. Still should be fun.

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voyager12 Town

voyager12

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The ads for the The Vyne still insist on describing their location as in the center of Plaza Midwood. That's not even a stretch which is common in marketing but a complete falsehood. It's a nice bike ride or walk down Briar Creek to Commonwealth and up to Thomas. Guess I can't blame them for trying...but any prospective residents not familar with the area are bound to be dissapointed.

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dubone Megalopolis

dubone

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I was looking back at agendas for City Council Meetings this summer since I was busy and didn't follow closely. Conformity is getting the land at Pecan and Commonwealth, and will lease the land that will eventually be used for the SE transit corridor station until it gets built.

http://charmeck.org/NR/rdonlyres/eg5svofni...Resolution1.pdf

Perhaps CATS will even redesign the station and work with Conformity to reduce the open space in the design and fit more densely into a development.

http://www.charmeck.org/NR/rdonlyres/ehhvi...TPECANColor.pdf

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plaza-midwood Unincorporated Area

plaza-midwood

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Anyone know if/when Jackalope Jack's is actually moving to Plaza-Midwood? It was initially supposed to happen this year sometime, but obviously got pushed back. Any word?

Creative Loafing, August 20th, 2008:

"And after that we went to Jackalope Jacks. (OK, so technically the bar-rant is in Elizabeth, but it is moving to the old Steeple building in PM next year -- close enough.)"

http://charlotte.creativeloafing.com/gyrob...tent?oid=347232

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southslider Town

southslider

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^I heard the Steeple location had problems with parking. But considering that so many existing (including some fairly new) Plaza-Central area establishments (Soul, Snug Harbor, Petra's, Penguin, Thomas St., etc.) all rely on surrounding daytime-business surface lots (CVS, Wachovia, etc.) for their late night parking needs, it does make you wonder why Jackalope Jack's couldn't do the same.

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InitialD Burg

InitialD

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Blame it on the economy. The reason Jakalope Jack's (and the P. Stone) were moving was for redevelopment of the sites they are on. With the economy the way it is, that's been put on hold.

Or rather thank the economy. I haven't seen any plan impressive enough to warrant the move of Jack's or P-stone.

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boochops Unincorporated Area

boochops

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Hi everyone- It's been a long time since I've read the boards, but I just jumped back on and love catching up on all the info.

The company I work for is moving from Elizabeth to Midwood - we've rented the space behind Shine Salon, next to Brodt Music on Commonwealth. It's directly behind Conformity's land and the proposed new CATS station. We're a small graphic and web design firm.

All of us live in Midwood, too - so we're excited to move into our own neighborhood. Looks like I'll just keep checking back for more info on the CATS station and Conformity land, but any info or insight you can provide would be more than welcome. Thanks...

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