McMansions Transforming Myers Park, Good or Bad?

[voyager12]

Coming from peninsular Charleston where you can't drop a doormat with out BAR approval teardowns are quite jarring. I also think new infill neighborhoods that try to mimic the established older streets nearby are just as bad. Lela Court in Wesley Heights and several infills near Commonwealth/Central are good examples. Perhaps after the trees mature they will look better but they don't "blend" at all right now no matter how hard the builders may try to piggyback on the neighborhood architectural ancestry.

[49er]

Its a shame that developers have borrowed from the styles of early bungalow and craftsman homes and are pasting tapered columns on the front of every other tract house in charlotte, it seems.

This home is particularly cheesy b/c they used the faux stone on the front chimney and didnt bother with the 2nd one, which is in plain view from the skreet.

edit here, what do you all think about the trend in blowing out the roof of old ranches and adding a second floor? Its quite popular in cotswold and myers park & occassionally turns out ok.

[dubone]

They are also doing those second floor additions to mill houses in NoDa and other neighborhoods.

I think added a second floor to an existing house is mostly fine, as long as it is done well, but it all comes down to quality. I think if the house in Cotswald had been just two stories (without a huge roof hiding a third story, that is), and had been designed and built in a high quality way, it wouldn't be as tragic. It is a way of adding density without as much impact. The key, though, is quality.

[Miesian Corners]

Its a shame that developers have borrowed from the styles of early bungalow and craftsman homes and are pasting tapered columns on the front of every other tract house in charlotte, it seems.

This home is particularly cheesy b/c they used the faux stone on the front chimney and didnt bother with the 2nd one, which is in plain view from the skreet.

edit here, what do you all think about the trend in blowing out the roof of old ranches and adding a second floor? Its quite popular in cotswold and myers park & occassionally turns out ok.

Two houses on my street have had their roofs blown off. The owners of both actually did fairly good jobs (they hired an architect instead of having a contractor design them). The bad one on my street (and in lots of Charlotte neighborhoods with ranch houses) is what I call "The Ranchalow". Really bad. Word to those considering such an alteration to their homes: a ranch will not become a bungalow simply by putting tapered columns on the front and changing the window mullions. Instead, it will become a rediculous, silly, and (for the most part) ugly house.

[monsoon]

Fox news at 18 did a story last night called "We Build Ugly Houses" which was a featurette on the teardown/replace with McMansion trend that has invaded Myers Park, Elizabeth and Dilworth. It was interesting as they gave a profile for the average person that builds one of these monsters:

• Between the ages of 35 - 45 (presumably they have more sense after 45)

• Works for a Bank.

• Has no ties to the local community

• Drives expensive cars (ok I added that one)

No one that was building one of these places was willing to be interviewed on camera. They went on to say that Myers Park was probably a lost cause as the effort to give it historic status and thus restrictions on what can be built, failed a few years ago and it wasn't likely to happen now. Most likely Elizabeth and parts of Dilworth will meet the same fate.

I was amused when they used this hideous house as one of their examples which has been discussed in this thread before.

photo taken by ezcheese but resized. takes a lot of pixels to catch this suv of houses

[DigitalSky]

that house is infamous

[peaceloveunderstanding]

I've seen uglier houses go up in Myers Park, that one has some symmetry and some balance even though it's so over the top. The house needs much more land to look attractive maybe 30 acres.

Which houses did they knock down to build that house? Were they classics or just ranches?

[atlrvr]

I enjoy how the stonework doesn't match at the corners.....not that the facade on this thing is fooling anyone anyway.

[49er]

that thing was under construction before my little 1300 sq ft house was completed in early 2003. Seriously, didnt it take this long to build the Biltmore Estate?

[28202]

I agree wholeheartedly, my followup to your ending question, is how exactly can one put a 6000 ft house on a 1/3-1/2 acre lot, what ever happened to a front and back yard???? Maryland Avenue used to be one of my favourite streets in charlotte, next to queens road, and now its just unsightly, and because of all the construction impossible to navigate. I just wish the size race of "the big hair houses" would inspire two big banks, wachovia and bank of America, and start them fighting eachother for who can claim tallest, I know mr. thompson lives on Eastover Rd. and experiences the mansions first hand.

Actually Mr. Thompson is to move to Eastover Rd. into a Grand new home that is being built on a tear down site... A lovely street where most of the New mansions actually rise to the benchmark of the surrounding homes in material and detail. This location for A list tear down's is probably an inspiration to the many younger and less capable who put their mark on the style du jour of the home they selected from a magazine... But hey, build what blows your skirt up... the long term market is the utlimate judge. Sometimes cruel to even the best of designs, but most often favorable to original work executed well in material and scale.

[Miesian Corners]

that thing was under construction before my little 1300 sq ft house was completed in early 2003. Seriously, didnt it take this long to build the Biltmore Estate?

I remember the commercial from my childhood "...it took 200 men five years to build".

Last time I drove by the Queens Road "thing", it was still empty. In all seriousness, why has it taken so long to finish the thing? Is it difficult to get contractors to work on a dwelling (I refuse to call it a house) that ugly?

[Lady Celeste]

photo taken by ezcheese but resized. takes a lot of pixels to catch this suv of houses

I don't think this house is ugly per se. I feel it would have been better done in a rich deep red brick...perhaps with granite accents. The doomers should have been faced in real stucco. The style of the home is not ugly in my mind. I think what is happening is that to some it seems to overpower the lot. This is not all that unusual for a city home though. Maximize interior space with little worry for landscaping issues. Why would one want their city home on 30 acres? That's what your lake/weekend home is for. Once the landscaping is done and a picture is taken on a sunny day, I'm sure it won't look so bad.

Me personally, I would have never choosen the stone for the entire exterior. Too overwhelming. I can imagine the dual floating staircase in the marble foyer is a beauty. I wonder could someone take a head on shot of this home? Is that a porte cochere on the side of the home? How does the driveway approach the home?

[Miesian Corners]

^Lady, the drive is on the side of the house. As far as it not looking so bad once landscaping is in, not necessarily true. The house isn't bad just due to architecture, its bad because of its scale and context. I'll try and get a new pic that puts it in perspective with the houses on either side of it.

[Lady Celeste]

^Lady, the drive is on the side of the house. As far as it not looking so bad once landscaping is in, not necessarily true. The house isn't bad just due to architecture, its bad because of its scale and context. I'll try and get a new pic that puts it in perspective with the houses on either side of it.

That would be greatly appreciated Miesian. Thank you in advance.

Infills are always troublesome at first. It shows however that there are monied people who want to live intown. I must admit that I am not fully knowledgeable of everything Charlotte but I would gather that Myers Park is a choicey location. Perhaps in five years both houses on either side of this home will be replaced by larger more modern digs as well.

I do not agree with all knockdowns. Some homes should be spared but every ranch-styled house in choicey intown locations as Myers Park cannot be saved. It's a sign of the changing times I suppose.

No rush on the picture hun....I'm just curious to see it from a different prespective. I will eagerly await it when you have the chance. I'm at your mercy.

[Miesian Corners]

Here are pics from this afternoon...

[Lady Celeste]

Miesian I wish more men were are accomadating as you.....

Thanks for the pictures.

Looking at them, I am finding a hard time seeing the monstrosity that you guys early spoke of. The boulevard like avenue it is on softens it's size to me. I still don't like to stone treatment but the landscaping did greatly increase it's appeal. Looking at the homes next to it, they aren't ranches. What type of home did this house replace? I was thinking the homes were like those little ranches that some people like. My mind is moving a mile a minute so I will end by saying....I really like the fact that the neighborhood has sidewalks.

[Miesian Corners]

Always glad to help a Lady.

Check out the second pic. Remember, the house is further away than those in the foreground, yet looks larger than they are. The street goes like this: 4,080 sq ft, 4,650 sq ft, 4,600 sq ft, 17,000 square feet, 10,000 sq ft, 3,240 sq ft, 5,060 sq ft. Guess which one is our house in question. Put that in context. The pics don't do it "justice".

[dubone]

Is there a different ecosystem in different wings of the house? 17,000 sq ft!?! I just makes me happy to think than in 25 years the owner will subdivide it into apartments in order to afford the taxes.

[dmccall]

is this the house you're referring to?

WOW! I love progress and all, but that house is totally repulsive! I like the doors on the right side of the house, and that's about it. Everything else is just awful.

[DigitalSky]

According to the tax site, the house is worth only $ 3,060,200

[DanRNC]

I know exactly where that house is-I used to live on the corner of Queens and Selwyn just up the road. Its completely out of context in that neighborhood. I have a feeling the charm of the area is being destroyed by these monstrosities. Before I left they were building similar homes further down where Queens becomes East Blvd-not as large though.

[Unifour]

I was wondering if anyone would mind posting photos of what they consider beautiful houses architecturally from any of Charlotte's historic areas (ie Myers, Dilworth, Plaza-Midwood, etc.) I'd like to see more of these neighborhoods before they disappear.

I'd love to see them...

[dubone]

It would be an interesting effect if the city simply required that the old mansions be relocated.

The old Myer's Park mansion at 3rd and Queens Rd was relocated for a small office project. They move it to Cherry.

Cherry could really become a great neighborhood if they moved all the old mansion there

[DigitalSky]

http://marynewsom.blogspot.com/ the naked city blog today talks about what exactly a mcmansion is and specifically points out the one in myers park

[teshadoh]

Here is an offbeat question, one that I've wondered about some Atlanta neighborhoods myself. What happens after the owner moves in? Do traditionalist neighbors scorn the owner or do they let bye gones be gone (what is that saying?).