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

[Niner National]

I just walked down Central Ave. with my dad close to Nova's Bakery and it was... unfortunate. This place has a lot of potential but its car-centric design will be the biggest challenge to the community for decades to come. TLDR at bottom.

 

I noticed immediately that the 40-45 MPH traffic produces a great amount of noise pollution, particularly from trucks. It was difficult at times to hold a conversation with dad. Sidewalks are placed so close to the road so you maybe just a few feet from a 2,000 pound automobile going past you at lethal speeds. In a few locations, dining tables on the curb were empty, probably a result of the traffic. The bricks do not help. 

 

I almost forgot to mention this was about 2:30 - 3:00 PM on Tuesday. I need to see it on the weekends.

 

With few exceptions, most shops are designed with cars in mind, meaning front-side parking. Biggest offenders are 1703 Central Ave and places like the Midwood Smokehouse. Harris Teeter is another. It's great that there is a local grocery store but it's so large and takes up a whole block while greedily using half of the space for surface parking. Apparently, the community had a to compromise with the developer on how the structure was built. I am absolutely terrified what the original design the developer had. I'm sure it could have been worse. Overall, just a lot of asphalt.

 

Architecturally, there are some great gems in the area. The Soul Gastrolounge building is quite charming as is The Diamond. Some of the newer developments though leave me scratching my head. The Nook has a decent front facade but I cannot for the love of me understand the side facing the dairy queen. Seriously, what the hell?

 

The yellow modernist apartments next to the lovely Zada Jane's Cafe aren't necessarily ugly but it's completely out of place in the historic neighborhood. First floor parking and it's choice of using those steel bars for the front facade make it imposing to pedestrians.

 

The second biggest challenge to the community is the shopping center with the Family Dollar. That is a textbook strip center. Though I see it's potential. That parking should one day be turned into street facing 2-3 story shops. It would be quite glorious. Until then, it's a parking crater where half of the parking spots are empty. Central ave. doesn't provide any safe pedestrian crossing there anymore.

 

TLDR; Alot of work to do before Plaza Midwood becomes a great neighborhood. Traffic on Central needs to heel to the community by possibly closing down one of the lanes and hopefully that streetcar will come in a few years. Traffic should drop to around twenty five miles an hour. Newer shops should try to add to that 'main street' where the Bakery is. Finally, plant some street trees next to the section with Noda's bakery, it will help slowdown traffic and shield shoppers from the heat.

I agree with you on just about everything, but surprisingly, that strip mall isn't really a textbook strip center in that it wasn't built to be one. While it may look and function as a textbook strip center today, it actually is quite old and was originally a warehouse. It was built by a leading architect in the city at the time and it has great brick work. It is just overlooked because of the huge terrible parking lot and the stucco facade that was added to the front.

[ah59396]

I'd be very okay with the city purchasing the lot, building stylized brick 2-3 story buildings with winding alleys and subsidized rents for small business owners and apartments above the shops. Oh, one can only dream of that reality.

[Old Carolinian]

The tax parcel information for the strip center at 1334 Central (where the Family Dollar is located) show it being constructed in 1959.  There is an adjacent parcel of land to the southwest of the strip center on which the former Cole Manufacturing was located.  That parcel does have a two story building that was designed by Louis Asbury, a prominent Charlotte architect.  The Asbury designed building was built in 1912.  

 

I don't remember what was on the property before the strip center and its acres of asphalt parking.  Looking at old maps of Charlotte, pre-1949 and pre-independence Boulevard, the maps show Clement bisecting the property and continuing north of Central (where the Smokehouse is located).  I do remember the second incarnation of an A&P was located on the parcel that is now a CVS.   The old A&P building suffered fire damage in the mid 1960's and was demolished.  The third incarnation of the A&P was in the strip center.  And the three story Charlotte Casket Company factory was located on the north side of Central next to the CSX line.

 

Anyway, a polite description of the strip center and its ocean of asphalt would be 'unaesthetic'. 

[km1789]

Todd's Flowers building is completely gone now.

[Guest]

I have stared into the abyss of stupidity and humanity and it is the Plaza Midwood facebook group.

[southslider]

Todd's Flowers building is completely gone now.

^ultimately for a building similar in scale to the brick warehouse to its east, which will be rehabbed. And the house turned office on the corner will be retained.

[Guest]

After brief contact with Plaza Midwood facebook page, I conclude that the area is beyond saving and should redeveloped into a business park with a divided highway in the middle.

Edited June 13, 2015 by mazman34340

[CLTProductions]

Workman's Friend is FINALLY opening monday, this place looks fantastic. excellent addition to plaza midwood for sure http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2015/06/12/inside-plaza-midwood-s-new-irish-pub-photos.html

[go_vertical]

Yeah, they did a real good job with the place. Looks quite cozy and welcoming. No doubt it will become a busy spot in no time.

[Midwoodian]

Does anyone have renderings of the office building going in on the former Todd's Flowers shop?

[Prodev]

There's not a new building going there. It'll be parking for the existing brick building next door that will be renovated. 

[southslider]

Site plan showed a new bldh

[Prodev]

What site plan?

[CLTProductions]

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/development/article24511582.html

See ya later Tommy's. I for one, am not upset

[ah59396]

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/development/article24511582.html

See ya later Tommy's. I for one, am not upset

 

 

I bet Charlotte Absorber spontaneously combusts.

[Guest]

Feelings are mixed about these developments. Downtown Charlotte desperately needs more people living but the scale of a lot of these projects worry me, especially developers who take up entire city blocks. Midwood is up in arms and while there's NIMBYism afoot, some of the folks there could make a buck out of it. What are the renting laws in the neighborhood and has anyone mentioned the 'missing middle'?

[Niner National]

Feelings are mixed about these developments. Downtown Charlotte desperately needs more people living but the scale of a lot of these projects worry me, especially developers who take up entire city blocks. Midwood is up in arms and while there's NIMBYism afoot, some of the folks there could make a buck out of it. What are the renting laws in the neighborhood and has anyone mentioned the 'missing middle'?

There aren't any specific renting laws in PM that I'm aware of.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by missing middle unless you're referring to the parking lot  at the Family Dollar. No plans for that. It's a viable shopping center that definitely isn't going anywhere.

 

I'd love to see them do something with the parking lot, but that would seriously screw over the businesses there, so I'd be shocked to see anything built there any time soon.

[Guest]

I actually think its one of the better looking buildings going up in PM.

Edited June 16, 2015 by Guest

[tozmervo]

^ That's going up on the Tommy's parcel? Well damn. If that's how all this development had been going in the first place, we wouldn't have this problem.

[Niner National]

^ That's going up on the Tommy's parcel? Well damn. If that's how all this development had been going in the first place, we wouldn't have this problem.

It is mind blowing to me that people got so pissed off about this great looking project (can we kill the wing on top though please?), but completely ignored rezoning for The Venue and the Gibson.

 

I personally think this project looks great.

[Guest]

^ That's going up on the Tommy's parcel? Well damn. If that's how all this development had been going in the first place, we wouldn't have this problem.

Yup... Its one of the the best looking developments in the city. There are some decent apartment projects, that look nothing like what is going up in Southend under construction in Plaza Midwood. People say "Everything looks the same" but i can unequivocally say that very few of these apartments look 

 

• 1305 Central looks more like something built in Nashville than SouthEnd. 

• Levine Apartments isn't the worst ever and it has decent scale.

[archiham04]

My worry is that 1305 will end up getting washed out like NOOK did.  Imagine all those materials as hardy board siding, and then a last minute color change to brown, dark brown, umber, and bronze.

Edited June 16, 2015 by archiham04

[Guest]

My worry is that 1305 will end up getting washed out like NOOK did.  Imagine all those materials as hardy board siding, and then a last minute color change to brown, dark brown, umber, and bronze.

Yea. I'm pretty worried about that myself. I was scared as hell when Quarters Morehead stayed Beige for three weeks. Also, Camden Gallery was supposed to be fun colors, but at least they still have a quality project from what I can tell so far. 

[Crown]

#neverforget

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 16, 2015 by Crown

[Niner National]

#neverforget

 

 

 

 

 

 It looks so bad.

 

It's almost like the developer is planning on that Dairy Queen going away in the future so another project can block that terrible exterior on the east side of the building.