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

[rockhilljames]

How about "Beazer low-density, crappy materials, waste of land."

That would be a good name.

[nyxmike]

Is there a site plan anywhere for this Beazer project? There isn't much info on their website.

[Justadude]

The use of the "Common" label is a sure sign they haven't left the suburban roost yet.

[BobbyRobert]

I haven't heard anything about Radiator Specialty in a while. Has this died?

(sorry for the parasitic post)

[atlrvr]

I don't think its dead, but probably delayed a bit. There is so much downtown office contruction, and W. Morehead residential construction, that my money is on them waiting a couple of years for things to stabilize (and for the area to improve a bit more).

Duda Paine has a rendering on their site.

[JBGB]

I drove past Calvert St. the other day and they have fences up and earth movers getting the land ready for Skybridge Terrace. The project was suppose to break ground January!

[fulcrumsf]

Nothing new or exciting for that matter, but it looks like Beazer has reserved www.moreheadcommon.com

Edited June 22, 2007 by fulcrumsf

[uptownliving]

They have an advertisement for Morehead Common in today's CBJ insert Luxury Living. At the bottom of the advertisement they have 3 renderings and honestly they don't look that bad. They are similar in style to some of the stuff going up in South End. First 3 floors of brick and then the top floor with some type of wood siding.

[New Name]

Here's a shot from the back of the Beazer Morehead Common lot (showing 1 of 3 blocks included in this development) - I think it's a great corner of the city for a residental development, and I think it will do very well, no matter what we purists may say about Beazer.

...especially... if Morehead can be revitalized completely from there to Freedom (this is the corner of Morehead and Freedom - it's looked this way for about 8 months):

Morehead is such a dense area, with so much potential, even leading into Wesley Heights, I would love to see some of those open buildings across from Open Kitchen get leased and revitalize the corridor:

Edited June 22, 2007 by The Escapists

[cltheel.sdl]

It's good to see this area finally being revitalized.

O, I just thought I'd point out all those nasty power lines as well. Those really need to be buried.

[Charlotte_native]

Maybe, hopefully, with all the recent bad press Beazer will work to make their next projects exemplary.

[brian7270]

Don't worry, the site is going to be sold to another group that will reentitle it for the density it deserves. Beazer needs the cash...

B

[Mobuchu]

^^^ Is that insider knowledge or speculation? I'm hoping your the biggest insider we have because that would be great. They have already started site work though, so I'm doubting they will sell the property.

[New Name]

http://www.moreheadcommon.com now has "some" content. No real information, but if I beleive the pitch (which the optimist in me wants to), sounds good. Still no renderings, just more pictures of happy people doing happy things.

[atlrvr]

^^^ Is that insider knowledge or speculation? I'm hoping your the biggest insider we have because that would be great. They have already started site work though, so I'm doubting they will sell the property.

The fact that they are pushing dirt around doesn't disuade me from believing that they may sell the site. In a sense, they are adding value, by prepping the site, and especially if they get it entitled to a higher density. The fact that Beazer is sinking money into advertising for a site that will ultimately sold, would be the strongest indication that they are going ahead themselves, but then, the advertising costs could be a drop in the bucket on the return they could make on flipping the land. They paid about $1M an acre, a graded site with MUDD zoning would be easily worth 2-2.5 times that.

[Conformity]

Indications, and they are numerous, are that they will move forward. Sorry for the cryptic crap.

[dubone]

Okay, so West Morehead might be about to surge ahead with its two long stalled large scale projects about to begin.

Dougie is announcing the Charlotte Law School (where is wranglerjoan with this announcement) is going in and will anchor the Radiator Specialty development that the Blumenthals (yes, those Blumenthals) have been trying to get off the ground for a decade. Granted, it might be just another Elizabeth Avenue, where they get an anchor tenant, but still struggle to get the rest of the quarter billion dollar project off the ground, but this is great news at least for a project that has been off our radars since before UP even got started.

http://www.charlotte.com/business/story/170759.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morehead Common, is now starting to ramp up its ad campaign, with a new website and print ads in the CBJ insert mag.

Here are the renderings of their project, which I cannot say that I hate as much as I desperately wanted to hate anything that Beazer did. Three and four story mostly brick buildings of non-suburban design is a very pleasant surprise for me. I was expecting just two story townhomes like you'd see in packaged with some culdesac project in the middle of nowhere with garage doors taking up most of the first level. But I guess The Boulevard Co is going to be the only one bringing those to intown Charlotte.

[rockhilljames]

Really nothing special but better than I expected. I assumed we'd see detached single family vinyl homes, being Beazer and all. I still don't trust them and I'm going to wait to see about the materials they use and the site plan.

[Spartan]

Morehead Commons looks decent, but I'll wait until I see a site plan before I make any comments. The buildings can be pretty, but they might not be situatred ideally.

I, for one, will be happy if they will just pave Morehead.

[brian7270]

The fact that they are pushing dirt around doesn't disuade me from believing that they may sell the site. In a sense, they are adding value, by prepping the site, and especially if they get it entitled to a higher density. The fact that Beazer is sinking money into advertising for a site that will ultimately sold, would be the strongest indication that they are going ahead themselves, but then, the advertising costs could be a drop in the bucket on the return they could make on flipping the land. They paid about $1M an acre, a graded site with MUDD zoning would be easily worth 2-2.5 times that.

You are pretty close. I am hearing $35M-$40M for the 20 acres with at least a doubling of the density. I dont know that it will happen but there are people trying to make it happen. That I do know. What is amazing is how many times this site will have flipped. A lot of people could have egg on their faces...

B

[dubone]

The NE corner of Cedar and Morehead is now up for sale, with Crescent apparently interested.

http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte...8/tidbits1.html

It would be ironic it Crescent buys back the Beazer site for a larger project.

I sure hope it does get flipped. Not only does this parcel deserve a lot more density, even than the 3 and 4 story buildings that Beazer plans, but I think having Beazer doing it by definition means it isn't its highest and best use.

[Raintree21]

News 14 is reporting that the Toll House Motel is in the process of being sold. The owner of the motel said he expected the contractor interested in buying the property to use the site as a communications store. Wonder if that means a Verizon Wireless store or something along those lines? At least this crime magnet is being converted to something productive.

[uptownliving]

Today's CBJ says that Charlotte based First Landmark USA has the property bounded by West Morehead, S Tryon, Carson, and Winnefred under contract. This is the block that has the Overstock Market and is across Tryon from the Uptown Caberet. If everything goes well they expect to start construction later this year on a "sexy" brick, glass, and stucco (yawn) apartment complex with first floor retail. About 225 units targeted towards young proffesionals that work downtown.

It is good to see all these plans come together for this area that will help reconnect downtown with SouthEnd.

[ontap]

The photo is incorrect in the Business Journal. It's actually one block further west on morehead. It's the block where the print shop is not the overstock market.

[atlrvr]

Yates Honey owns the building with the Overstock Market....Honey Properties has signage on that building. I believe the CBJ got it right.