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


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Hasn't the circle thing at the corner been done to death? Is there nothing else that would give the building some presence except that? After another glance, the metal (I assume) columns that go straight up and angle out and remove the round bunch in the middle and maybe some snazzy neon. I know, geez, more neon. No retail. I don't like it Plaza Midwood deserves better. Will the top be visible from Independence? They don't really show that in the rendering.

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While I agree with most of what's already been said, I will point out that based on the rendering, it appears ground floor units will have direct access to the street. While retail doesn't exist, having people's front doors opening up on to the street is important to a quality urban environment. So, despite the fact that it's not mixed use, it's not terrible from an urban design perspective.

What I hate is the aluminum/beige stucco thing. The other yellow/beige with aluminum building on Central is probably the ugliest building in Charlotte, and completely out of character for Plaza-Midwood.

Hasn't the circle thing at the corner been done to death? Is there nothing else that would give the building some presence except that?

Personally, I like the trend of having some sort of focal point on the corners of buildings. They make for good sight lines.

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Observer and CBJ both had articles on The Edison project. I was wrong on the developer. Conformity apparantly sold this site a couple of months ago to Lat Purser who is doing the small apartment community on McDowell and 36th in NoDa.

Key Points:

- 53 units

- Construction should start very soon

- Rents start in the $500/month range for 1BR

Personally, with rents that low, I would think it would change people's mind about the lack of height/parking deck. When you do a small scale/wood frame project with no commercial space, it is much cheaper to build, and you are able to offer much more affordable rents. Maybe this site "deserved" something more, possibly, but I think its a great use for a periphial site and should make that under-pass under Independence seem a little less sketchy to walk at night.

I love the Lat Purser model (2 Noda projects and now this) of small/cheap to build creative in-fill rental projects with no amentities. I think this is a great way for people who either want to be in in-town neighborhoods who either don't want to/can't afford to pay up for the giant apartment communities with pools/fitness centers/club rooms/theatres/etc. These are the types of propeties the "creative class" live in in other cities, and product type we have VERY little of here in Charlotte save Tryon House in Uptown, and some a small smattering of quad-plexes in Dilworth, Elizabeth and Plaza-Midwood. Cheap, no-frills but nice clean rental units is exactly what we need more of.

EDIT - I also find it somewhat amusing that people talk about how out of place this will be for the neighborhood. Isn't the new Harris Teeter going to have either an aluminum or aluca-bond "turret" right at the corner of Plaza and Centeral? Maybe it's the new design language for the hood.

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I can see the merits of the cheap = affordable strategy, but oddly, there are plenty of other parcels that would warrant that more than this one.

But at 500$/ mo, it will fill quickly and people will know people there, and it'll be 'cool' then.

It's true that not every project needs to be some amazing utopic ideal of urban beauty. This project obviously has redeeming aspects, the most critical being that it has walk out units. It does take over a vacant lot that was obviously not helping the neighborhood much.

Here's hoping they'll surprise us during construction with a bolder paint color.

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^ It is better than a vacant lot. And I like the cheap cost. As you said, it'll fill up quick. Which will increase demand for retail in that area. Which will in turn hopefully add to more retail. So, while I would prefer a different design, I'm happy to see it.

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I believe the Harris Teeter is closing down sometime next month for the total renovation and replacement, I just got a notice in the mail from HT with some coupons. Hopefully when the new replacement store is built, there'll be new employees as the customer service at that store is lacking especially with the management.

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Observer and CBJ both had articles on The Edison project. .....

Key Points:

- 53 units

- Construction should start very soon

- Rents start in the $500/month range for 1BR

The Observer reporter provided a correction to the rent numbers she provided last week:

Rents on the units will start at $800 per month for a 500-square-feet apartment. A two-bedroom unit with upscale finishes will start around $980 a month.

http://cltdevelopmen...-at-edison.html

She suggested that some numbers got transposed.

Edited by kermit
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^And neither Elizabeth Square nor Metro 808 have ground-floor retail, too. But those developments did place a lot of dense rooftops in walking distance of Kickstand, Loco Lime, Intermezzo, Central Coffee, and Thirsty Beaver. Similarly, The Edison will be a very short walk to The Diamond, Soul, Snug Harbor, and Common Market.

But take notice how most of these business establishments are bars and restaurants. True small-business retailers like MoNA beside Metro 808 or Eco-Licious beside The Edison likely can't afford the rents in a new, mixed-use project. However, they can creatively reuse nearby, funky old houses as their retail spaces.

In other words, be careful what you wish for. New, vertically integrated developments tend not to be where organic, small businesses can make a start.

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That is a decent bright side for this new trend of urban apartment projects popping up out of left field and getting built quickly, but lacking the street retail space.

We certainly do need the density of residential units walkable to existing retail and areas where new organic retail can grow. Obviously there is some merit to this, as you can see it already in other areas.

It really will mark an improvement right now, but eventually it will be seen as a missed opportunity like Central 27, taking away some of the potential.

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Couldn't really imagine paying $800 for 500 square feet. That's getting damn close to the prices I was paying when I lived in DC.

God I wish, $800 for 500 sq feet. At one point I was paying $1500 for 500 sq. feet and am now paying $2000 for 1200 sq feet. But I live in Brooklyn.

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God I wish, $800 for 500 sq feet. At one point I was paying $1500 for 500 sq. feet and am now paying $2000 for 1200 sq feet. But I live in Brooklyn.

There were places in DC that were considerably more expensive, but I occasionally saw small studios for $800.

I was paying $1100/mo for a 740 square foot apartment in Silver Spring and that was in a rent controlled building. My mortgage is Charlotte is considerably cheaper than that.

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  • 3 months later...

Considering all of the construction in the neighborhood, I am suprised there haven't been comments earlier. There are five projects underway right now, maybe even six.

  1. Harris Teeter is under construction with a targeted completion date of Spring 2013. The beams are up on the corner facing portion.
  2. Apartments on corner of Commonwealth and Pecan are well under way.
  3. Another set of apartments are going in next to Dairy Queen where the car wash used to be. The sight is under construction.
  4. What I thought was going to be a second Jackalope Jack's has a name painted on the building "The Peculiar Rabbit" and appears like it is soon to open.
  5. Commonwealth construction project. 1/2 of the street is complete and they are still heavily working on the other side
  6. The building near the railroad tracks that has been a number of restaurants over the past few years has been re-done. I have heard this will be a new restaurant/bar under the same ownership as Whiskey Warehouse.
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Considering all of the construction in the neighborhood, I am suprised there haven't been comments earlier. There are five projects underway right now, maybe even six.

  1. Harris Teeter is under construction with a targeted completion date of Spring 2013. The beams are up on the corner facing portion.

  2. Apartments on corner of Commonwealth and Pecan are well under way.

  3. Another set of apartments are going in next to Dairy Queen where the car wash used to be. The sight is under construction.

  4. What I thought was going to be a second Jackalope Jack's has a name painted on the building "The Peculiar Rabbit" and appears like it is soon to open.

  5. Commonwealth construction project. 1/2 of the street is complete and they are still heavily working on the other side

  6. The building near the railroad tracks that has been a number of restaurants over the past few years has been re-done. I have heard this will be a new restaurant/bar under the same ownership as Whiskey Warehouse.

It's Jackalope Jacks 2, but a new name, and a gastropub. They had a tasting at Jacks that got rave reviews.

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I was surprised how quickly the Edison started moving.

It is about time that Peculiar Rabbit finally is near opening. It is insane how long that took. It is a little boring-ish with the faux stone façade, but it will still be a good addition to the neighborhood. But yes, a jackalope is a peculiar rabbit... it is a sister bar to Jackalope Jacks.

I am loving the Commonwealth improvements, but I don't understand why they changed the plans in front of the veterinarian. They jog the sidewalk out toward the street and have a large pad. Maybe it will result in a couple more spaces, but I can't tell yet. I did notice last night that some dumbass walked on the sidewalk, so we'll have classy footprints on our new streetscape.

http://charmeck.org/...e - Low Res.pdf

I'm most excited about the front patio at Common Market. They've been needing more outdoor space for a long time, and right now they won't let you drink anything on the front, but once they have a fenced in patio, they would.

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That is a decent bright side for this new trend of urban apartment projects popping up out of left field and getting built quickly, but lacking the street retail space.

We certainly do need the density of residential units walkable to existing retail and areas where new organic retail can grow. Obviously there is some merit to this, as you can see it already in other areas.

It really will mark an improvement right now, but eventually it will be seen as a missed opportunity like Central 27, taking away some of the potential.

So, what may be an innovation here could be to (somehow) construct a building with apartments on the street level that could be converted to retail in the future. Building codes and fire separation may make this difficult, but I would think that geometry would make the most difference... in particular floor to floor heights and column spacing. Retail likes 60' depth, 16' clear to ceiling, and 20' clear between. Maybe if the next apartment building were constructed with tall spaces, perhaps with lofts, on the ground floor, 25' deep facing front, 20' wide (500sf) with a 10' center corridor and similar unit facing back for a total of 60'?. Seems like a forward looking formula to me....
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I am loving the Commonwealth improvements, but I don't understand why they changed the plans in front of the veterinarian. They jog the sidewalk out toward the street and have a large pad. Maybe it will result in a couple more spaces, but I can't tell yet.

My understanding is that the vet insisted on retaining some private parking spaces, or else, they threatened to fight the project. What you see is supposedly a "driveway" for their property. The sidewalk jogs, in case cars are parked on the effective parking pad.

Still, the City's streetscape project should end up creating the same number of new public spaces as originally envisioned. That's because, while the vet got a "driveway," the Penguin later changed to wanting a patio, giving up their driveway on Commonwealth.

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  • 4 weeks later...

They seem to be almost halfway through the framing, with work being done on the second story already. This was one of those projects that seemed to be far below the potential for the site, but it is still impressive for it to be so far along to reality at this point.

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