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FreeMore Projects (West Morehead, Freedom Drive, Bryant Park)


cooperdawg

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  • 1 month later...

The Blumenthale / Merrifield Properties site where The Charlotte School of Law is being built, all the land around it has been cleared and about 9 buildings around it have been torn down. The schools building is topped out and they are hanging curtain walls and installing glass. There will be a new road connecting Wilkinson Blvd. ( at Class Room Central ) to West Morehead Street ( lining up with Millerton Street ) it will be called Bryant Park Ave or St.

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These aren't the best of photos, but Sunday I shot a couple of the new Clt Law School. Much of the land had been cleared and a retaining pond built. I understand that the new roads will built as quick as all the necessary approvals can be obtained. I'm anxious to see other starts in Bryant Park. This site has such potential.

Clt Law School

Bryant Park

Bryant Park #2

Edited by ontap
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These aren't the best of photos, but Sunday I shot a couple of the new Clt Law School. Much of the land had been cleared and a retaining pond built. I understand that the new roads will built as quick as all the necessary approvals can be obtained. I'm anxious to see other starts in Bryant Park. This site has such potential.

Clt Law School

Bryant Park

Bryant Park #2

Thanks for the photo update on the Charlotte Law School building; I think it is going to be a very nice building when it is completed. The Bryant Park area has a bright future and the law school will fit in someday ... but it sure does look out of place now.
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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

It was never posted, but last week the Next Big Thing was a climate controlled self storage space ~7 stories tall with street level and penthouse offices. It was designed to look like an older brick warehouse. I thought it looked pretty nice. It will be located immediately next to the I-77 overpass on Morehead street (non uptown side) where there is currently a white brick building.

Edited by tiblerbrit
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It was never posted, but last week the Next Big Thing was a climate controlled self storage space ~7 stories tall with street level and penthouse offices. It was designed to look like an older brick warehouse. I thought it looked pretty nice. It will be located immediately next to the I-77 overpass on Morehead street (non uptown side) where there is currently a white brick building.

would be great if they could incorporate a street level coffee/sandwich shop into that development. Fair amount of office space around there and no where to walk for lunch other than open kitchen.

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Per zoning they can't have a coffee shop or retail in this building, the developers wanted it, but the zoning they needed would not allow for it. They will have there rental office and other offices on the ground floor facing W. Morehead, the street level windows will be clear glass and then on the top level of the building there will be offices facing W. morehead & uptown on the corner there will be a large corner balcony. They are looking to purchase the old coffee shop & tattoo parlor next door for any retail or coffe shop. They added parking on there site for those other old buildings. The only building being torn down are the white 2 story auto parts store and the building connected to it 1 story brick building that has rollup doors down it side.

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Per zoning they can't have a coffee shop or retail in this building, the developers wanted it, but the zoning they needed would not allow for it. They will have there rental office and other offices on the ground floor facing W. Morehead, the street level windows will be clear glass and then on the top level of the building there will be offices facing W. morehead & uptown on the corner there will be a large corner balcony. They are looking to purchase the old coffee shop & tattoo parlor next door for any retail or coffe shop. They added parking on there site for those other old buildings. The only building being torn down are the white 2 story auto parts store and the building connected to it 1 story brick building that has rollup doors down it side.

This makes no sense to me. Why wouldn't the city allow a developer to add retail services to the community. The city has spent considerable money with repaving, adding new sidewalks & streetlights to this block. The city wants to make this area pedistrian friendly, yet they will not allow retail? I'm sure the residents of Wesley Heights would love for a coffee shop, grocer, or retail to open on W. Morehead. We need more smart zoning. Just because storage and retail haven't been done together before, doesn't mean Charlotte shouldn't try it. It's a common sense approach. One size does not fit all. They made the developer add a "park" to the development -- would be nice to be able to buy a cup of coffee there too. (Sorry about the rant...but gheeze)

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  • 4 weeks later...

the landmarks commission cannot really decide the buildings fate. One of my professors is the head of the landmarks commission and was discussing this in class. The only thing the landmarks commission can do is delay demolition for a year and hope the developer changes his mind or sells the property to someone else who does not intend to destroy it. If the developer wants it torn down, it will happen eventually.

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You are correct, the Historic Landmarks Commission does not have the final say in the fate of the Coffee Cup. They are like just about every other commission, such as the Zoning Commission, they make recommendations to either the City Council or County Commissioners on what the fate of a site should be and then those elected officials make the final decision. As you said, and is written in the NC general statutes, they can delay the demolition by up to 365 days. But, if they choose not to fight anymore, the fate is definitely sealed.

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They voted to delay demolition for one year, and even recommended having the city look at acquiring the property through eminent domain. I say whatever can be done to save it--hopefully purchasing it from Beazer--should be done. You can never have to many little pieces of history like this in a city, especially in Charlotte, which has so few.

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I say whatever can be done to save it--hopefully purchasing it from Beazer--should be done. You can never have to many little pieces of history like this in a city, especially in Charlotte, which has so few.

Pieces is correct. It's been on the news the last few days that someone stole the Coffee Cup's trademark sign.

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I don't understand why Coffe Cup just didn't sell the place for a bunch of money and take what they could and put it in museum or a different location. The building it's self is just cender blocks theres nothing archetectually historic about it. The inside was disgusting and the food wasn't the bomb or anything. The only thing historic is the stories and the segragation it went threw. Other than that tear it down it looks like crap.

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The owners did sell out (years ago) and they didn't care about the structure or signage or anything else. They just sold out and left. The property was owned by Crescent and later bought by Beazer. The people who were operating/leasing were the ones who wanted the structure to be considered historic. After all the media hoopla, the historic commission and city council deemed it historic. Beazer tried to work with the operators, but a couple of months after their beloved building was declared historic they abandonded it and moved the restaurant to Univ City and the Cameron Brown Bldg. Since, the Cameron Brown location shut down. Now Beazer (or whoever buys the property) is stuck with a 'historic building' that nobody wants to use. Hence the petition to demo the building. Right now the building has a one year reprive. Stay tuned to see what happens in one year...

I agree that the historic significance of the building is in the nostalgia. The physical structure has been added on and modified so many times that isn't worth saving. Maybe some organization would like the broke-down lunch counter or signage but that all that's worth saving. IMHO. I can't believe how much people rallied behind saving this building when around the same time the old nursing school at Presby in the Elizabeth neighborhood was torn down. Dan Morrill should have tried to save that building instead. It was worth saving.

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I can't believe how much people rallied behind saving this building when around the same time the old nursing school at Presby in the Elizabeth neighborhood was torn down. Dan Morrill should have tried to save that building instead. It was worth saving.

Exactly structures worth saving in this city hardly get the attention they deserve. Thats why we hardly have anything old downtown( or "uptown"). Yet a delapedated cender block building gets an up roar of people that want it preserved.

I should start my own commity to have it torn down and see what kind of attention that would bring. Anti Historc Society. :rofl:

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  • 4 weeks later...

Skybridge Phase I is now scheduling walk-thrus before the final closing date. Anyone seen or heard about any progress on Phase II? I know several owners in Phase I are wondering about Phase II. I assume that Phase II has to be built before the actual SkyBridge is built. And the Skybridge is the main attraction. Financing is also a concern of mine.

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Skybridge Phase I is now scheduling walk-thrus before the final closing date. Anyone seen or heard about any progress on Phase II? I know several owners in Phase I are wondering about Phase II. I assume that Phase II has to be built before the actual SkyBridge is built. And the Skybridge is the main attraction. Financing is also a concern of mine.

The bridge is scheduled as part of Phase 2. Phase one sold out quickly, and last I heard, Phase 2 was pretty much sold as well. Phase two is, or at least was, on schedule and set to begin vertical construction after Phase One was completed. Last I went by, it seemed some of the grading had begun, but I haven't been by in a while to see any progress of the second building. I did notice they knocked down prices of some of the units that don't have the city views for the second building, which I believe were the trouble sells. It's quite affordable properties so close to uptown, that's for sure.

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