NoDa (N Davidson St Arts District) Projects

[voyager12]

I was not around for The Fat City glory days but its encouraging that KC is going to be involved in the new restaurants opening in this space. The developer could have easily flattened the site entirely. It will clearly never be the same, but I think we need to give the people behind this some credit and thanks for being sensitive to community sentiment.

[uptownliving]

The Fat City Lofts party is this Friday from 7pm-11pm for anyone that wants to come. I am salivating just thinking about KC's Chicken Salad Sandwich and Banana Pudding. It will be at the intersection of Davidson and 35th.

[monsoon]

And K.C. is still there.....so that kind of off-color is still there....this is the best that could have been hoped for in my opinion.

In reading that article, it doesn't sound as if they are going after the same crowd. It only says KC is a partner now. The proto yuppies that are going to attend those two new places probably won't be too appreciative of KC as he was in the original days of that place and the debauchry that went along with it.

[atlrvr]

It implied to me that he will be an equity partner in the overall development and that he will be the proprieter of two new restaurants, a Oyster Bar and Chicken Shack....but yes, I would assume that the demographic will be different....but he was always gracious with all types in the past, so I'm not sure he is concerned.

[Vitamin_N]

I was just browsing through the Noda real estate listings and saw that this is apparently going to be built right behind my house:

http://listings.vitalfew.com/tempo/results...847&email=#

3,800 sq ft? That's a big ol' house, especially in a neighborhood where 2,000 sq ft is big.

[monsoon]

It's also 4 stories tall.

[Charlotte_native]

I am not sure what this means. Fat City and all that went with it, is gone afterall. Saving a few yellow bricks really isn't going to do much to bring any of that back.

Nor would simply saving the Coffee Cup. My point was, and is, the buildings and their architecture can at least point our eyes to our past, the city's past, and once they are gone only a picture will do that. No one expects anything in the new fat city to BE the old fat city, but some of our history surviving is a good thing. Saving "a few yellow bricks" will give me something to point to when I think about the good ol' days and show newcomers and friends where the great old bar used to be.

Same with all of our disappearning landmarks. As for KC, bringing him back is great for the restaurant, but lock up your kids...

I was just browsing through the Noda real estate listings and saw that this is apparently going to be built right behind my house:

http://listings.vitalfew.com/tempo/results...847&email=#

3,800 sq ft? That's a big ol' house, especially in a neighborhood where 2,000 sq ft is big.

It looks like some kind of public building...is that for real? Is it a library? A school...?

[Vitamin_N]

It looks like some kind of public building...is that for real? Is it a library? A school...?

It's definitely a house. I guess they're doing it on spec, or maybe just seeing if there's any interest in something like this. They haven't built anything yet as far as I know. I wonder if anybody would really be willing to drop 700K to live in Noda.

[voyager12]

I just clicked on the link for that..I don't know what to call it.....

[Charlotte_native]

I just looked at that 3800 SF house online -- including the floor plans. If you don't like the outside, the floorplans are WORSE. There is an outdoor shower on a 2nd floor patio...why? Otherwise lots of angled interior walls, and a series of what they are calling "stepped seating" facing into the den. Will they be putting on shows in the house?

Listing states this: "Truly a work of art, 'The Muse,' as affectionately named, fuses elegance, practicality, and style. A landmark on its own, featuring a soaring open plan, integration of outdoor environs with interior spaces, state-of-the-art equipment, 2 wetbars/kit, tankless h/w, garage and more. Will custom build to buyer's specifications. This is a pre-build, marketing listing to gauge buyer response. Seller is willing to build on vacant lot specific to buyer's plan or sell vacant lot (price to be determined.) Unheated sq. ft. garage/workshop. Additional sq. ft. open porch, patio, & decks. "

[voyager12]

This sure is a head scratcher Someone will probably bite. We sure don't need an onslaught of Mcmansions in NoDa though.

[Vitamin_N]

The Observer had a front-page story on the Mecklenburg Mill fiasco today. It sounds like an inexperienced developer with no skin in the game received $6 million in taxpayer money. Who could possibly have foreseen this kind of outcome?

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/15737085.htm

Excerpt:

Deleted. Please read the rules on posting newsclippings.

[Charlotte_native]

The Observer had a front-page story on the Mecklenburg Mill fiasco today. It sounds like an inexperienced developer with no skin in the game received $6 million in taxpayer money. Who could possibly have foreseen this kind of outcome?

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/15737085.htm

Excerpt:

Deleted. Please read the rules on posting newsclippings.

I think a lot of people could have forseen this outcome. A lot of people have known about this for a long time. I don't think anyone, or not many in the least, think this was from inexperience as much as a huge swindle. He conveniently no longer has financial records and even his investors think he is a crook. Classic case of a big ol' rip-off.

Edited October 12, 2006 by Charlotte_native

[voyager12]

It sure was a ripoff and the residents were the ones that suffered the most. I had friends that lived in Mecklenburg Mills and they were all responsible employed citizens and did not deserve what happened to them. The city botched the evacuation and people lost most of their belongings because they were not allowed enough time to retrieve everything before being thrown out the door. I think the idea of preserving older buildings and allowing for affordable housing in them is a good idea and should be included in the redevelopment of the Meck Mill property. Making sure the owner is not shady and leaving the city bureacracy out of the mix is the best way forward.

[monsoon]

What I don't understand is why the city waited until the place was about to collapse before they did anything about it. The problems with this development have been known for a long time.

[voyager12]

Mary had an interesting column today about growing efforts to rehab Meck&Johnston Mills into artist space. It has some support from City Council Members. Well, that be an overstatment, so far one person has spoken positively about it: Mayor Pro Tem Susan Burgess. She is usually supportive on affordable housing issues because she heads a cmt that deals with this issue. Artspace is considering whether they could make the site work with their program. Having a cross section of residents that also included the prior inhabitants would be important, I think. There is a long way to go before knowing if this could fly. Would be a great accomplishment though and serve as a good example of Charlotte's committment to the artistic community.

Edited December 2, 2006 by voyager12

[Charlotte_native]

Mary had an interesting column today about growing efforts to rehab Meck&Johnston Mills into artist space. It has some support from City Council Members. Well, that be an overstatment, so far one person has spoken positively about it: Mayor Pro Tem Susan Burgess. She is usually supportive on affordable housing issues because she heads a cmt that deals with this issue. Artspace is considering whether they could make the site work with their program. Having a cross section of residents that also included the prior inhabitants would be important, I think. There is a long way to go before knowing if this could fly. Would be a great accomplishment though and serve as a good example of Charlotte's committment to the artistic community.

I hope this works out and it was a good article, but I went to the Artspace meetings when they came to town. They are a great organization and their "product" would be perfect for those mills. Unfortunately I got the impression at that time, and from this article, that timing will be an issue. The city wants some resolution with these properties fairly soon and have been preparing the RFP for them since before the termite issue moved out the residents. Artspace says they will need AT LEAST a year to "survey" the Charlotte market to determine need for artist housing and they have to have tax credits in place for their projects to work -- that takes a good bit of time to line up and they won't start until they (the tax credits) are in place. At their meetings they said an optimistic time-frame for a project by them would be no less than 2 years, maybe 3...not trying to be negative, but I also would hate to get all geared up for them and what they do just to find out it won't happen. Perhaps they can fast-track things with the city behind them offering support, I hope so, but if they go through their normal procedures and timing those mills will likely be long off the shelf.

Edited December 2, 2006 by Charlotte_native

[voyager12]

You may be right CN, but at least the City Council's thought process seems to be favoring preserving the mills affordable housing potential. If this proposal does not come together hopefully the final product will have similiar features and all will not be lost in the end.

[Charlotte_native]

You may be right CN, but at least the City Council's thought process seems to be favoring preserving the mills affordable housing potential. If this proposal does not come together hopefully the final product will have similiar features and all will not be lost in the end.

I hope so. In the least the city and make some requirements through the RFP to keep some or all units affordable.

[voyager12]

I went to Sunshine&Daydreams this weekend, feeding my addiction to adorn my clunker with more lefty stickers Several storefronts in NoDa have great large posters saying "Noda wants Artspace at the Mills". I found that encouraging. I am sure one of the factors Artspace takes into account is the amount of comittment the community is willing to show for their endeavor, and this is evidence of heartfelt support.

[Vitamin_N]

Some minor Noda items:

* Peered into that old vacant one-story yellow brick building on N. Davidson today--across from Cabo Fish Taco, just down from Addie's, right next to the other one-story brick building that's been vacant for years. It looks like they might be outfitting it for a bar/restaurant. Anybody know anything about that?

* Walked by Sunshine & Daydreams... it was emptied out and there was a bunch of Cabo Fish Taco stuff in there. CFT is currently closed for remodeling, so maybe they're finally expanding in there, although I didn't see any connection between the two spaces as of yet.

* The parking lot next to and behind the Neighborhood Theater / Boudreaux's cluster of buildings is now a pay parking lot. Anybody parking there between 3 pm and 8 am will have to pay $3. Is it a sign of progress in Charlotte when we can worry less about ugly surface pay lots in downtown and start worrying about ugly surface pay lots in inner-city neighborhoods?

[MZT]

Naturally people will be parking all among the side streets to avoid paying... So the next phase of evolution will be more "no parking" signs to get the cars back into the pay lot. Or maybe somebody will start a dollar lot.

[dubone]

Actually, the fact that they charge for that lot makes me more apt to park there (as I have multiple times in the last few months). It is much better to just pay than to park illegally or walk a lot farther. It would be better, though, to take the light rail or trolley .

[voyager12]

I loved Sunshine&Daydreams. It was the only store I could find in Charlotte for stickers and hippie things I like. It's not like this Asheville or Chapel Hill where there are dozens of these places! Another local establishment with character gone

[Charlotte_native]

* The parking lot next to and behind the Neighborhood Theater / Boudreaux's cluster of buildings is now a pay parking lot. Anybody parking there between 3 pm and 8 am will have to pay $3. Is it a sign of progress in Charlotte when we can worry less about ugly surface pay lots in downtown and start worrying about ugly surface pay lots in inner-city neighborhoods?

This land either has been purchased and will be redeveloped into mixed use mid-rise or is close to closing. I didn't realize it was coming this soon, but the pay lot is a good indicator that this deal has moved forward. They are talking about a ground level grocery store there which would be BIG for the area.

* Peered into that old vacant one-story yellow brick building on N. Davidson today--across from Cabo Fish Taco, just down from Addie's, right next to the other one-story brick building that's been vacant for years. It looks like they might be outfitting it for a bar/restaurant. Anybody know anything about that?

Did the stuff in there look old or new or could you tell? It was a pool hall bar a few years back. A lot of people would be delighted to see that building in use rather than in the state it is but the owner, to date, has been uninterested in selling or doing anything.