Westside/Beatties Ford/Biddleville/West End Projects

[A2]

No, it's further down on 5th  where it intersects with Trade.  Across form Johnson C. Smith.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

thanks for the clarification. It sure would be nice to see that project come to fruition.

[dubone]

has anyone seen any progress on the projects like ice house or bordeux point in biddleville?

[atlrvr]

dead and dead....

there is a new proposal out there that is much grander in vision.....something more along the lines to the West Trade St. small area plan from a few years back....it's taking a while to put together, but there is finally a developer who is trying to bite it off

[dubone]

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/12948125.htm

No Grease owners want to help restore The Grand on Beatties Ford. It was the black theatre during the Jim Crowe era.

I think it is great that successful businessmen in the Black community and investing in this way to showcase history and to spark some additional pride in this neighborhood.

[cinco]

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/12948125.htm

No Grease owners want to help restore The Grand on Beatties Ford. It was the black theatre during the Jim Crowe era.

I think it is great that successful businessmen in the Black community and investing in this way to showcase history and to spark some additional pride in this neighborhood.

you couldn't ask for 2 better guys to open shop in your neighborhood. great people. i do hope their positiveness rubs off on this area and generates some growth. this part of town really is overlooked. i drove all through this part of town a couple of months ago. it is one of charlottes only areas that exudes an old southern feel. there is a rich sense of culture mixed with industrial history... kinda reminds me of durham.

Edited October 20, 2005 by cinco

[appatone]

That's great. Didn't the Afro-American Cultural Center want to build a new Children's Theatre as part of the new ASC package? I think The Grand would probably make an awesome Children's Theatre space for them.

[dubone]

That's great. Didn't the Afro-American Cultural Center want to build a new Children's Theatre as part of the new ASC package? I think The Grand would probably make an awesome Children's Theatre space for them.

i don't remember reading that, but you are right. the AACC should take advantage of many of the historic structures on Beatties Ford Rd.

Beatties Ford has a rich history in the black community. When all the cities in the country were going through and naming street after Martin Luther King, Jr., that a proposal was put forth to rename Beatties Ford after him. The Beatties Ford name, being very historic, and the strong identification the black community had with the beatties ford area left charlotte as one of the few cities without a Martin Luther King blvd.

[Seabreeze]

Here is a picture of the Grand Theater

The theater closed in 1967 and later became a JCSU dorm, a barber shop, and apartments

[graydog]

That project west of 77 has been announced in Doug Smith's column this AM. There a website too. Bobby Drakeford is the developer.

The website:

http://www.walnuthillcondos.com/

Doug's article:

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/business/12997915.htm

-graydog

Edited October 26, 2005 by graydog

[nyxmike]

Those look nice.. it's good to see the Westside get the attention it deserves - that area has a lot of potential. I can't wait until the streetcar is finished - that will really accelerate everything.

[dubone]

the craftsman style will fit in well into Wesley Heights. Hopefully as the northern end of wesley heights redevelops that it will push mementum north.

i think a great site would be the cheap looking apartments on the hill overlooking 77 between the 5th and the Trade interchanges. those could have killer views.

[DigitalSky]

I agree, this is great news for the Westside/Wesley Heights area.

[Seeker]

The Development just nees to continue up West Trade. There are other historic neighborhoods with nice size lots in that area besides Wesley Heights.

[monsoon]

Beatties Ford has a rich history in the black community. When all the cities in the country were going through and naming street after Martin Luther King, Jr., that a proposal was put forth to rename Beatties Ford after him. The Beatties Ford name, being very historic, and the strong identification the black community had with the beatties ford area left charlotte as one of the few cities without a Martin Luther King blvd.

BTW, the road is named as such because before they built Lake Norman, the road went all the way to the Catawba River and the crossing there was called Beatties Ford. They later built a cantileavered bridge over the river at that point, but it was demonlished when they flooded the area for Lake Norman.

Its interesting however in that there are now two Beatties Ford Rds in Mecklenburg county. Both were once the same road, but the lake flooding covered up part of it, but there is a small section located on on a hill that did not get flooded and it remains today. Its only accessable off Hwy 73 however and is essentially a cul de sac since water cuts it off on both ends.

Its worth a trip to travel from one end of Beattis Ford road to the other starting or ending at Trade & Tryon. You will see almost every kind of neighborhood in the county from the skyscrapers downtown, through the historic Black downtown in West Charlotte, suburban development, to farms, Latta Plantation, ending at Lake Norman. The Cowans Ford Wildlife refuge is off Betties Ford and is worth a look.

[dubone]

is it true that the old indian trails that crossed at what eventually became trade and tryon were Nations Ford and Beatties Ford roads?

[Seeker]

BTW, the road is named as such because before they built Lake Norman, the road went all the way to the Catawba River and the crossing there was called Beatties Ford. They later built a cantileavered bridge over the river at that point, but it was demonlished when they flooded the area for Lake Norman.

Its interesting however in that there are now two Beatties Ford Rds in Mecklenburg county. Both were once the same road, but the lake flooding covered up part of it, but there is a small section located on on a hill that did not get flooded and it remains today. Its only accessable off Hwy 73 however and is essentially a cul de sac since water cuts it off on both ends.

Its worth a trip to travel from one end of Beattis Ford road to the other starting or ending at Trade & Tryon. You will see almost every kind of neighborhood in the county from the skyscrapers downtown, through the historic Black downtown in West Charlotte, suburban development, to farms, Latta Plantation, ending at Lake Norman. The Cowans Ford Wildlife refuge is off Betties Ford and is worth a look.

That's a lot of interesting info about Beatties Ford

[chicagobearsfan]

I've read a lot about Uptown/Downtown, NoDa, SouthEnd, Dilworth, Southpark, Plaza-Mid, etc. on this site. Is anybody out there a resident on the westside, particularly within Route 4? Aside from Wilmore (which is considered 'west' anymore) what are the interesting areas for redevelopment/reinvestment in your opinion? What are the hidden gems? What are the perceptions? I have my opinions, I'd like to hear from others.

[Spartan]

Wesley Heights has a few good projects going on. I'm not sure if thats covered eslewhere or not, or if it would really be considered "westside" since its notably different from the other westside neighborhoods.

There is the redevelopment of Bryant Park on Berryhill. I think its going to be low income housing mostly.

[JBGB]

Camp Greene and Dowd Heights you can still find homes from 60k-100k. A lot of Arts and Crafts bungalows from the 1940's and up. There are a few streets in these neighborhoods that are pretty nice but some still have prostitutes and drug dealers around them. If your an Urban Pioneer it'll be worth the investment in the long run.

Edited July 18, 2007 by jon bon

[ontap]

I'm a westsider. I live in Camp Greene area which is between W. Morehead, Wilkinson, Ashley, Freedom.

The previous post was incorrect about the redevelopment of Bryant Park. This is a 38+- acre redevelopment of Westwood Apartments on Berryhill Road. The new community will consist of a mid-rise market rate apartment building with retail/office, single-family homes with detached garages, quad-plexes, and a village of townhouses. It is a complete mix of living options. Look for the homes to be in the 200-350K range. Site work will begin anytime now.

Across W. Morehead is the Blumenthal property where up to 1 million square feet of office in eight buildings and 2,000 residential units are being built by Merrifield. There will also be retail. This will be the new home of Charlotte Law School.

At the corner of Freedom and Thrift a new development by Wood Development was just approved. They plan on building 500 apartment units and possibly having a condo component. This property back to the new greenway that Park and Rec is building right now.

City planning has been meeting with our community groups and local businesses about all the zoning changes and are in the process of creating a TOD and POD for the Morehead corridor. Lots of property along Morehead is changing hands and the Toll House Motel, notorious for drugs & prostitues, is closed for good and will be demolished soon. Being a transit corridor look for big changes very quickly.

All this is happening in a one mile radius which is only 1.5 miles from the square. Property prices are increasing faster than Wilmore and Wesley Heights. Smart money has bought in. It looks like the westside is finally getting attention (and respect).

(PS. Doug Smith this is the next big thing)

[Spartan]

Thats good to know about Berryhill. Sorry for the mix up. The westside is definitely going to see a lot of change over the next few years if this is just the start.

[New Name]

Can anyone recall about 3 or 4 months ago a project being announced for the West Side (my memory says either on Rozelles Ferry or Beaties Ford just up from JCSU) along the lines of "City of God" or something like that. It was proposed at very high price, a large project for that area and was geared toward a church group, but to place mixed housing/retail in a complex. Anyone remember this? Was it called "City of God"? Did I make it up?

[Raintree21]

There is a preacher who owns a bunch of property on Statesville Avenue that is trying to redevelop his land. Perhaps that is what you are speaking of.

[ontap]

Does anyone know what is happening with the old White Consolidated Industries building on W. Summit? Over the past few weeks they have started what appears to be a complete demo of the building. It's on a large 18 acre parcel next the the RR tracks. The building itself is over 200,000 sq ft. Wonder if Clt Pipe & Foundry is expanding?

[sfmartin]

While we're asking questions ... anyone have info on this rezoning? Looks like they will have to demo three buildings, two of which have that classic old look that I would prefer not be turned to rubble. The petitioner is Budget Developement (not the best name) and it looks like storage units??