"High Ground" mixed-use development planned for Battleground Ave in Greensboro

[cityboi]

A mixed-use development is planned for Battleground Ave and New Garden Rd. The project which will be 5-stories will include 120 apartments and 40,000 square feet of retail. 2 to 4 story retail buildings will be built along Battleground Ave. The project is being built by developer Marty Kotis. Looks almost like a scaled down version of the Red that Kotis has planned for midtown 

https://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2022/01/24/high-ground-project-gains-city-approval.html

Edited January 25, 2022 by cityboi

[HRVT]

9 minutes ago, cityboi said:

A mixed-use development is planned for Battleground Ave and New Garden Rd. The project which will be 5-stories will include 120 apartments and 40,000 square feet of retail. 2 to 4 story retail buildings will be built along Battleground Ave. The project is being built by developer Marty Kotis. Looks almost like a scaled down version of the Red that Kotis has planned for midtown 

https://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2022/01/24/high-ground-project-gains-city-approval.html

That's what I thought too. I think this looks more in line and character of that area than the old proposal from some years back. That's a great place for some new places to eat. Hopefully at least something not elsewhere in the Triad.

Maybe Kotis can bring back his Marshall Freehouse concept (I know, wishful thinking). Maybe moving the comedy club over here would be nice.

[cityboi]

8 hours ago, HRVT said:

That's what I thought too. I think this looks more in line and character of that area than the old proposal from some years back. That's a great place for some new places to eat. Hopefully at least something not elsewhere in the Triad.

Maybe Kotis can bring back his Marshall Freehouse concept (I know, wishful thinking). Maybe moving the comedy club over here would be nice.

As far as I know he still plans the larger development in midtown with the retail, highrise apartment lofts and hotel around Red Cinemas. But this development reminded me that. They look very similar. Much of his new development along the Battleground Ave corridor whether its in midtown or further northwest has that similar brick architecture, basically his signature. Can't wait to see what he does with the property he owns on the southern end of downtown.

Here is the midtown proposal. Other renderings  showed the taller building which would be the hotel as being an Aloft 

Even the planned Publix not too far away in midtown has similar architecture.

Edited January 26, 2022 by cityboi

[nicholas]

I wish Battleground and Wendover could be rebuilt to be more urban.  Wendover is particularly egregious as it is essentially an interstate from Spring Garden St to Battleground.  Not sure why the DOT is so insistent on restricted-access US highways running through town when most through-traffic has long shifted over to nearby interstates.  These look like pretty solid urban projects, but I think will be hampered by being surrounded by an ocean of suburbia.

[jthomas]

10 minutes ago, nicholas said:

I wish Battleground and Wendover could be rebuilt to be more urban.  Wendover is particularly egregious as it is essentially an interstate from Spring Garden St to Battleground.  Not sure why the DOT is so insistent on restricted-access US highways running through town when most through-traffic has long shifted over to nearby interstates.  These look like pretty solid urban projects, but I think will be hampered by being surrounded by an ocean of suburbia.

You are so right, and unfortunately it's going to get worse, since NCDOT plans to reroute US 70 along the entirety of Wendover through Greensboro. Sometimes I try to imagine what it would be like to completely remove the Wendover "freeway" you mentioned. Its function could be replaced by the parallel Green Valley Road. Likely, what you would see is what has happened in other cities that removed urban highways - rather than overcrowding other roads, much of the traffic simply disappears as people find new travel patterns. One can dream...

[nicholas]

On 1/27/2022 at 5:14 PM, jthomas said:

You are so right, and unfortunately it's going to get worse, since NCDOT plans to reroute US 70 along the entirety of Wendover through Greensboro. Sometimes I try to imagine what it would be like to completely remove the Wendover "freeway" you mentioned. Its function could be replaced by the parallel Green Valley Road. Likely, what you would see is what has happened in other cities that removed urban highways - rather than overcrowding other roads, much of the traffic simply disappears as people find new travel patterns. One can dream...

Like what does that even accomplish?  What is the point of having all these highways going everywhere throughout Greensboro.  I will grant that there is probably some minor added convenience, but at the expense of further segmenting the city and making it impossible to do anything without a car.

Possibly a controversial opinion, but do we even need most US highways anymore?  Most have had their purpose supplanted by interstates, which is where virtually all long-distance driving is done now.  In fact some US highways are literally being turned into interstates where both routes are literally concurrent (look at US 74 and I-74 between Rockingham and Wilmington).  I don't get the impression that US highways generally factor into economic decisions anymore - look at industries such as manufacturing and logistics, where interstate access is much more crucial for projects such as Amazon warehouses and Toyota plants - so it seems like a total waste of resources to worry about which road US 70 follows.

[AlmaPinnix]

I know this isn't midtown, but not far off. The intersection of Pisgah Church Rd and Martinsville Rd, in between Battleground Ave and Lawndale Dr. -- There is new development construction happening. 3 residential houses were bought out and have been demolished. There are already multiple 3-5+ story buildings in this area, with 3 of them being built within the last 5 years.  The opposite corner has the Winstead Commons, 5 story apartment building and 3 story building with street level retail. This area is quickly becoming suburban sprawl with midrise buildings. There are two multistory corporate buildings in this area, one can be seen on the far right of the picture, with another just to the right of that, not in the picture. The area in yellow is where the new construction is to happen soon. I read an article somewhere online that I cannot find anymore, that had information on the new construction, if anyone has info about it or can find that, it would be greatly appreciated. I have a feeling the shopping center where delicious bakery is, will be redeveloped at some point in the future. It is poorly designed and was the home to the old original The Fresh Market before they moved to the new building pictured above. If this area keeps growing at the current rate into the future, it could very well carve out its own name within the community.

Edited March 20, 2022 by AlmaPinnix

[cityboi]

34 minutes ago, AlmaPinnix said:

I know this isn't midtown, but not far off. The intersection of Pisgah Church Rd and Martinsville Rd, in between Battleground Ave and Lawndale Dr. -- There is new development construction happening. 3 residential houses were bought out and have been demolished. There are already multiple 3-5+ story buildings in this area, with 3 of them being built within the last 5 years.  The opposite corner has the Winstead Commons, 5 story apartment building and 3 story building with street level retail. This area is quickly becoming suburban sprawl with midrise buildings. There are two multistory corporate buildings in this area, one can be seen on the far right of the picture, with another just to the right of that, not in the picture. The area in yellow is where the new construction is to happen soon. I read an article somewhere online that I cannot find anymore, that had information on the new construction, if anyone has info about it or can find that, it would be greatly appreciated. I have a feeling the shopping center where delicious bakery is, will be redeveloped at some point in the future. It is poorly designed and was the home to the old original The Fresh Market before they moved to the new building pictured above. If this area keeps growing at the current rate into the future, it could very well carve out its own name within the community.

I think it will be a Lidl. I remember someone on one of the forums saying that is what is going there. But I'm not sure 

[urbanpirate]

LIDL

[gso27]

I wouldn't call this suburban sprawl. It ls long been in the city limits, although it has been low density up to just a few years ago. I grew up in a neighborhood nearby off of North Church St during the '80s. At that time this area was a kind of unofficial commercial center for Northwest Greensboro. With all the recent growth, it will become more dense, a welcome development for Greensboro. The city needs to do more to make parts of Greensboro walkable that are outside the core. This area in particular is both a traffic and pedestrian nightmare.

[AlmaPinnix]

On 3/21/2022 at 3:34 PM, gso27 said:

I wouldn't call this suburban sprawl. It ls long been in the city limits, although it has been low density up to just a few years ago. I grew up in a neighborhood nearby off of North Church St during the '80s. At that time this area was a kind of unofficial commercial center for Northwest Greensboro. With all the recent growth, it will become more dense, a welcome development for Greensboro. The city needs to do more to make parts of Greensboro walkable that are outside the core. This area in particular is both a traffic and pedestrian nightmare.

You're right, its not "sprawl," its just an area being redeveloped. I guess in this instance its more of Urbanization of an area outside of downtown. I hope Koury can sell that brick corporate building that is almost an eye sore at this point and that 7.4 acre tract of land on the adjacent corner. I do wish something would be done to increase pedestrian/bicycle traffic is many areas, most notably the Lawndale/Battleground/Westover area. They could rip out all that train track that hasn't been used in almost 2 decades because the Sears distribution center is no longer and use that extra space to reconstruct that cluster of intersections and make it more walkable, bike friendly.

Edited March 23, 2022 by AlmaPinnix

[jthomas]

1 hour ago, AlmaPinnix said:

You're right, its not "sprawl," its just an area being redeveloped. I guess in this instance its more of Urbanization of an area outside of downtown. I hope Koury can sell that brick corporate building that is almost an eye sore at this point and that 7.4 acre tract of land on the adjacent corner. I do wish something would be done to increase pedestrian/bicycle traffic is many areas, most notably the Lawndale/Battleground/Westover area. They could rip out all that train track that hasn't been used in almost 2 decades because the Sears distribution center is no longer and use that extra space to reconstruct that cluster of intersections and make it more walkable, bike friendly.

The tracks have actually been removed - that will be redeveloped as an extension of the A&Y Greenway, which will run from where the greenway currently end behind Target all the way downtown to intersect the Downtown Greenway. Some manner of intersection redesign will be part of that project. Don't know the exact timeline, but I think it may start soon-ish.

Your larger point still stands though. Development in Greensboro is still car-first, with people as an afterthough. The Lawndale-Pisgah-Martinsville area is already a mess, and I don't see pedestrian experience being a priority for any of the actors involved in the current development (including the city).

[AlmaPinnix]

4 hours ago, jthomas said:

The tracks have actually been removed - that will be redeveloped as an extension of the A&Y Greenway, which will run from where the greenway currently end behind Target all the way downtown to intersect the Downtown Greenway. Some manner of intersection redesign will be part of that project. Don't know the exact timeline, but I think it may start soon-ish.

Your larger point still stands though. Development in Greensboro is still car-first, with people as an afterthough. The Lawndale-Pisgah-Martinsville area is already a mess, and I don't see pedestrian experience being a priority for any of the actors involved in the current development (including the city).

I know that they removed the tracks and put in fresh pavement down years ago on the street parts and removed the railway crossing signs and crossing levels, but did they actually dig them up on the grassy areas in the middle where they could use that extra land to optimize traffic? I didn't think so, but i could be wrong. Connecting the greenway is alright, I guess.. but that doesn't really help anyone who is shopping at those shops on Lawndale and decides they want to get a bite to eat at one of the restaurants across the way, or someone getting their phone repaired at the Verizon store and wants to check out some comic books across the street. no sidewalks, and those intersections are like frogger with no crosswalking signals.

[AlmaPinnix]

Speaking of the Battleground/Lawndale/Westover intersections the City of Greensboro seeks input from the public on how to reconfigure the area. More info can be seen here: https://www.greensboro-nc.gov/Home/Components/News/News/17919/36