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Dilworth Projects (Kenilworth, Morehead, East)


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Seems we will finally have a occupant for the Longhorn site. Steve Harris is planning to build a 5 story midrise complete with 20,000 sq feet residential, 10,000 sq feet office and 5,000 sq feet retail space including a new restaurant. As we know this is a small site, so parking would be shared by residential and office folks. He seems to think that during the day all the residents will be gone to work, and all the workers will be there, so they can all just share parking.

From the Print CBJ. http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte...y13.html?page=1

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...and some of you doubted me :) The residential component may or may not stay depending on market conditions. Steve Harris has been around long enough to know what he's doing and to do it well.

We believe you :). I hope the residential component stays, but this particular area could support any of the potential mix discussed.

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I was disappointed to look at the latest site plans in the rezoning petition for the northwest corner of Tremont and Euclid. David Furman had original proposed to keep the existing apartment buildings and an adjacent single-family house on the site. Now, everything gets leveled for all new construction. Also, the rendering shows a substantially more boring new building for the site.

In my opinion, this went from an A- to a C+ development.

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Also, the rendering shows a substantially more boring new building for the site.

In my opinion, this went from an A- to a C+ development.

That is surprising considering this is in the Historic District and they will have a lot of say in the design of what goes there. Do you think he or they are dumbing this down?

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I think there was a lot of confusion involved since the South End transit plan says one thing for the parcels, and the Dilworth small area plan says another, not to mention they were within the Historic District.

I'm not really sure what happened, but my guess is this was an easier solution that trying to juggle a site plan through a contentious rezoning while at the same time making sure it would receive approval from the Historic District. If this was the case, it shows how broken the system is.

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I think there was a lot of confusion involved since the South End transit plan says one thing for the parcels, and the Dilworth small area plan says another, not to mention they were within the Historic District.

I'm not really sure what happened, but my guess is this was an easier solution that trying to juggle a site plan through a contentious rezoning while at the same time making sure it would receive approval from the Historic District. If this was the case, it shows how broken the system is.

I was at that Historic Commission meeting about a month ago, and they presented their plans for yet another go-around...They wanted to get the plans passed before going through the rezoning to save the headache of doing it in reverse and it not getting passed. Furman had submitted plans for 1-2 condo buildings with flat parking and to preserve 2 houses and the historic apartments right on the corner--a fabulous idea. The HC voted the plans down several times, and I think that this last attempt was enough for Furman to give up that idea (it was almost 50/50...people on the HC did not like the design & thought it looked like everything in 1st Ward, and to tell you the truth, if it didn't look like a bungalow on crack {ie The Tremont next door, which I do like}, then it wasn't going to be passed).

I wish that they could have come to an agreement, but the old apartments don't look "Dilworth-ey" either!!

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it didn't look like a bungalow on crack {ie The Tremont next door, which I do like}, then it wasn't going to be passed).

Hahahaha.....ummm...yep, that sums up The Tremont.

I wish that they could have come to an agreement, but the old apartments don't look "Dilworth-ey" either!!

Nice phrase, but how about Dil-worthy? :rolleyes:

Anyway, it sounds like I had it about right, and like I said, the process is broken. If it is a conditional rezoning in a historic district, then the HDC should make a recommendation to staff, zoning board, and council, just like all other departments. It's counter-intuitive that you have two different functions of the Planning Department that's interdependence precludes thoughtful development.

For the record, that old apartment building may not be Dil-Worthy to some, but I thought I thought it shows a different part of the neighborhoods history. Poor HDC isn't going to know what to make of the Landmarks Commission designating Myrtle Square as a historic landmark....there are no gables, and no exposed timbers anywhere!!!! The horror!

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You liked it, though :)

Let me clarify: One major opposition (besides the roof lines, building materials, mass, and modern design) to the condo plans was that the front stoops were not staggered. The historic apartment buildings have flat fronts, do not have staggered stoops nor doorways, and do not have much ("Dilworth-like") character nor charm. Much of the opposition, then, was ironic given that the historic apartments, if built TODAY, would not likely have passed through the HC. It is all so subjective.

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Let me clarify: One major opposition (besides the roof lines, building materials, mass, and modern design) to the condo plans was that the front stoops were not staggered. The historic apartment buildings have flat fronts, do not have staggered stoops nor doorways, and do not have much ("Dilworth-like") character nor charm. Much of the opposition, then, was ironic given that the historic apartments, if built TODAY, would not likely have passed through the HC. It is all so subjective.

Not to mention, over half the dwellings in the existing apartment building are currently uninhabitable. Furman made concessions to keep the structures intact of two of the four existing parcels AND renovate them, among other things. It's painful to watch progress being halted...

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I love living in Dilworth and I could never afford to buy here. I live in one of the fast dissapearing older apt houses. Mixed incomes make urban neighborhoods interesting. My building contains a combination of teachers,creatives, public sector attorneys and civil servants and we are all going to get kicked out eventually.Sorry about ranting but the apts being displaced at Tremont&Euclid while hardly beautiful represented a reasonable housing option in of the most expensive neighborhoods in the city. God forbid there could some affordable housing left in Dilworth for us. I know I know this is "progress" and it's wonderful. Uh huh. Not to the renters impacted. My original post was to clear up the confusion of seeing the Vidalia&Grapes sign back on the vacant former Jaimama site. I have read on here and in the O that the place is destined to be a burger joint :huh:

Edited by voyager12
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Mixed incomes make urban neighborhoods interesting.

Agreed. On the topic of affordable housing, aren't granny flats / garage apts / whatever you want to call them illegal to build under residential zoning? It seems like that would be a practical way to increase the stock of affordable housing in some of the more expensive neighborhoods.

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Berrybrook Farm is celebrating their 35th anniversary all this month. The store is quite small but they have a great variety of organic food including great smoothies,soups, and sandwiches. The prices are very reasonable and I think it's important to support local business in Dilworth as much as possible.

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The double murder at Moe's on East yesterday was so horrible and shocking. I was at Berrybrook Farm up the block getting lunch when it all went down. I have never seen so many police cars and ambulances converge so quickly. The police response was almost immediate because a cop was leading a funeral procession by the restaurant when the shootings occurred. The Manager and assistant manager killed were very nice guys. I go there several times a week for dinner. One of them just had a baby along with three young children. So senseless.

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It was so weird, because I had almost went there for lunch yesterday, but while driving down E. Blvd around 1pm, me and my gf decided to go to . What was even weirder- I called my mom up in Buffalo about it mainly for the facts that it happened in an area you wouldn't have thought for something to happen in as much and I was near there. She calls me back today and tells me that it made the Buffalo News! Apparently the murderer was a son of someone that worked for the Buffalo News or something along those lines, so it made it up there too. It's really sad that something of this magnitude would happen to such innocent people especially for the reasons that it did, and my deepest heart goes out to the families. Voyager, when you said that one of the managers just had a baby, that really got me- that is just terribly saddening... Side note that should probally be posted in the other topic, but maybe there is something that our newly formed Urban Planet Organization can do in regards to this matter, whether it is to help out with families that loose loved ones in tragic times, or whether it could be to help make neighborhoods safer, kind of like implementing neighborhood programs in certain communities in uptown. All so sad...

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I went to get a hair cut last week from my longtime barber at Master Stylists Barber Shop next door to Picasso's. It's part of La Scala Salon at Latta Pavillion. I walked up and found a sheriff's notice shutting the place down immediately along with Difonseca Boutique next door. Both units are dark and locked up tight. Luckily my barber had left his number on the door and I found him at a new locale not far away. He said they received no warning. The owner of the spaces ran out of money or something and they showed up at work to find themselves locked out and jobless. I wonder what will replace these stores. I am not exactly mourning Difonseca's passing. I went in there once when I first moved to Dilworth. The people that worked there were so incredibly snobby and rude to me. They did not greet me, one of them just condescendingly said in a fake European accent "Do you know what couture is ? We only sell couture here". I don't care if it was couture since the clothes were ugly and overpriced to me anyway. I never saw anybody shopping in there and I don't see how they lasted this long. The employees spent all day sitting on the benches outside chain smoking and being "cool" :rolleyes: . I hope whoever replaces them has a nicer attitude.

Edited by voyager12
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It is disconcerting that these street retailers are struggling so bad. I think part of the problem is that there really aren't a lot of people walking past to pop in to spend money. Of course, it also might be that the problem with boutique stores is that they rely on the skills of a single manager/owner to make all the right business decisions to stay open. National stores often have an entire headquarters team to do a lot of the management, which makes it easier to solve problems that come up. I hope that this area does move faster into a solid pedestrian district. The Starbucks is a huge draw right now but it has major parking issues. I think a great temporary solution would be if Epicurean owners could open their vast lot to be overflow parking, so that people could start walking through the area to their destination. Who knows, though.

In other news, Ordermore8, a fairly modest sized townhouse project at Scott and Ordermore appears to be 50% sold, and ready to begin construction.

http://www.charlotte.com/business/columnis...ory/315708.html

http://www.ordermore8.com/

Although I love some of the old houses on these blocks, I do think it would be good for the neighborhood if the whole stretch between Kenilworth and Scott became a denser urban corridor. It is already happening between East and Romany, and with Dilworth Walk and Ordermore8, it could be starting to happen between Park and East. The Boulevard Co (Chris Branch of Ryan Homes and Summit SouthEnd infamy) is asking to rezoning the northern tip of this area to MUDD.

http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/Planni...ns/2007-142.htm

Not surprisingly, though, he appears to be making the site worse by making most of the [tip of the spear] parking and taking out a building or two that is there. Of course, better developers would probably try to do something excedingly interesting considering this is a very highly visible site, and a perfect spot for a modestly size building with a flatiron footprint. Also inexplicably, he is rezoning it from O2 to MUDD even though he'll put only office on the site. Has Chris Branch done anything positive or interesting in the past few years? Outside of Crescent, he is my least favorite infill developer.

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Although I love some of the old houses on these blocks, I do think it would be good for the neighborhood if the whole stretch between Kenilworth and Scott became a denser urban corridor. It is already happening between East and Romany, and with Dilworth Walk and Ordermore8, it could be starting to happen between Park and East.

If the Epicurean site continues to sit there and rot, forget it. Even a good friend of mine, who does like to see development occurring but isn't as well versed in urban issues, said "They need to do something with that site" when we rode by it a week ago.

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I went to get a hair cut last week from my longtime barber at Master Stylists Barber Shop next door to Picasso's. It's part of La Scala Salon at Latta Pavillion. I walked up and found a sheriff's notice shutting the place down immediately along with Difonseca Boutique next door. Both units are dark and locked up tight. Luckily my barber had left his number on the door and I found him at a new locale not far away. He said they received no warning. The owner of the spaces ran out of money or something and they showed up at work to find themselves locked out and jobless. I wonder what will replace these stores. I am not exactly mourning Difonseca's passing. I went in there once when I first moved to Dilworth. The people that worked there were so incredibly snobby and rude to me. They did not greet me, one of them just condescendingly said in a fake European accent "Do you know what couture is ? We only sell couture here". I don't care if it was couture since the clothes were ugly and overpriced to me anyway. I never saw anybody shopping in there and I don't see how they lasted this long. The employees spent all day sitting on the benches outside chain smoking and being "cool" :rolleyes: . I hope whoever replaces them has a nicer attitude.

This sounds more like an issue with whomever owns those spots. A sherrifs notice would be a foreclosure unless it was an eviction of the tenant. I doubt the tenant would be hit with this surprise (trying to hold out). If it is an issue of the owner that doesn't imply the businesses weren't doing well necessarily.

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You could be right. I did not read the tiny and confusing legalese on the yellow Sheriff's notice signs. All I got was " by order of the Sheriff blah blah blah". So I figured someone missed a payment or ran out of money or something. It will be interesting to see what is done with these spaces.

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It also could be a notice against trespassing, as I believe Volare on Elizabeth Ave had a notice like that on the door when they closed up. Not sure if it is directed to the people involved with the restaurant now that they aren't a lease payer, or whether is it is just to the general public now that the premises are vacant.

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Does anyone know if First LandMark is planning to move forward with the demolition of the old office building at the corner of Morehead and S. Caldwell? This would be the building across Caldwell from the YMCA?

Supposedly, a new building is/was planned in the 6-story range with ground-floor retail, and condos above, with an office component.

I don't think this has even gone for rezoning yet, but the potential developer has purchased the building.

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