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NoDa (N Davidson St Arts District) Projects


uptownliving

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  • 2 weeks later...

  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

The Habitat for Humanity house on 35th street has a "sold" sign on it, and there's a new rezoning request for the site:

http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/Planni...ns/2007-091.htm

The plan is to renovate the building into 1- and 2-story condos, and to build another decent-sized three-story building right next to it on 35th. Maximum # of units under the proposal is 20. A rendering of the concept can be found here:

http://ww.charmeck.org/Planning/Rezoning/2...site%20plan.pdf

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  • 1 month later...

The Fat City building is no more! It's been demolished except for the front wall, which is currently being held up with a giant brace. I guess they'll be starting on construction soon? About 2/3 of the condos have been sold.

In other news, the first few residents have moved into Steel Gardens. And does anybody know when 28th Row is going to start? It looks like they've sold out everything they've offered so far.

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What happened to Mellow Mushrooms off of 36th and N.Davidson? I went in today, everything still looks the same, EXCEPT for a few mural changes, and it's now a different name of a pizza chain. I do recognize most of the employees there still, so I am assuming that they just changed the franchise name (since they've now become extinct) to something of a private name but is still owned by the same management. Anyone knows more information about this?

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^ I read somewhere that the parent company pulled the plug on the local franchises ... the local franchise holder converted his two stores to Moon Dog Pizza; or whatever the name is. The pizza tastes exactly the same though.

I think this is one of the only markets that Mellow Mushroom has pulled out of ... not sure what kind of problems they were having.

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And does anybody know when 28th Row is going to start? It looks like they've sold out everything they've offered so far.

They just applied for their building permits 2 days ago, so its probably several months from starting, though they could be doing site work sooner.

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I just read about that on the O site as well. Maybe it was divine intervention :unsure: if the building had to be imploded than all of Fat City should RIP and not be yuppiefied. Who knows....some cars were apparently damaged as well. Fortunately no people were hurt, everything else can be fixed.

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^ I'm really starting to worry that NoDa might be on a bubble at this point. The whole point of the district was that it had a "bohemian", artsy feel that attracted creative types. But that was back before SouthEnd and Plaza-Midwood had been re-developed, and before land values on Davidson had become a deterrent to non-white-collar types.

A decade later, the district has actually lost a little of its flair (no Fat City, but no major new attractions either) and price points are still inflated. BUT... the adjacent neighborhoods are still exceedingly seedy and the district still lacks real connectivity to the rest of the city.

Maybe I'm alarmist, but I can imagine NoDa becoming a cautionary tale about over-eager gentrification. The economics of NoDa just don't seem quite right; what happens if the bottom falls out and people start moving on to greener pastures?

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I agree that it might be a bubble (an inflation of prices without true value at the core). NoDa does have charm in its old mills and mill houses from the early 20th century. Also, many people like to be a part of the having the bohemian element in the neighborhood, even if they button up and go to the banks every morning.

But I think a major reason for the recent run up in prices is that it is now viewed as mainstream. That feeling of being mainstream comes mainly from the new condo projects, which I believe come partly due to the plans for transit in the area. The transit line and old mills and storefronts cause people to believe it is the next SouthEnd/Dilworth/Wilmore.

If the transit tax dies, then I believe people will not view the area as much in that light, and it will have fewer buyers, developers, and investors running up the prices. If the transit tax stays, and the NE line is subsequently built, I see this area getting many more buyers, investors, and developers and the prices will get to Wilmore levels or higher. I doubt you'll see Dilworth prices, as there isn't a stately home area in NoDa.

However, the only hope for NoDa to retain its bohemian charm is for many of these denser developments to plan for them to stay. That includes building artist housing, less expensive gallery space, spartan or unfinished units (like Bloc90), and to allow for ways of residents to express themselves uniquely.

Remnants of its funky past will be very important, though, so restoring the Fat City wall will be a big deal.

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^ I'm really starting to worry that NoDa might be on a bubble at this point. The whole point of the district was that it had a "bohemian", artsy feel that attracted creative types. But that was back before SouthEnd and Plaza-Midwood had been re-developed, and before land values on Davidson had become a deterrent to non-white-collar types.

A decade later, the district has actually lost a little of its flair (no Fat City, but no major new attractions either) and price points are still inflated. BUT... the adjacent neighborhoods are still exceedingly seedy and the district still lacks real connectivity to the rest of the city.

Maybe I'm alarmist, but I can imagine NoDa becoming a cautionary tale about over-eager gentrification. The economics of NoDa just don't seem quite right; what happens if the bottom falls out and people start moving on to greener pastures?

I agree with everything above, but I was pleasantly surprised a month ago when I went to a gallery crawl. Much of the vibe was still the same, drum circles abounded and fire throwers were at their edge and the crowd was a healthy mix of white collar folks and the bohemians we are used to seeing there. New bars and restaurants have sprung up and seem to be doing very well (Solstice, Cabo, another place I can't remember the name). The Dog Bar seems to be doing well, and all the galleries were crowded.

This really isn't so much a statement about pricing, but about the people that were there. It does seem that pricing in NoDa has taken quite a jump, but I was very happy to see the activity on the main drag that was not much different that in years past.

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I agree with everything above, but I was pleasantly surprised a month ago when I went to a gallery crawl. Much of the vibe was still the same, drum circles abounded and fire throwers were at their edge and the crowd was a healthy mix of white collar folks and the bohemians we are used to seeing there. New bars and restaurants have sprung up and seem to be doing very well (Solstice, Cabo, another place I can't remember the name). The Dog Bar seems to be doing well, and all the galleries were crowded.

This really isn't so much a statement about pricing, but about the people that were there. It does seem that pricing in NoDa has taken quite a jump, but I was very happy to see the activity on the main drag that was not much different that in years past.

Excellent comments and observations. I LOVE the NoDa area and believe that it is the last NoN corporate invaded area of Charlotte. It has 100 year old charm that we have been overly eager to destroy. Boston is fabulous because of the old buildings, charm and character. The new developments should be encouraged and welcomed. Affordable housing close to center city should be built and it getting more and more difficult to find. We should accept and respect Charlotte's neighborhoods as their individual characteristics that make them desireable rather than trying to change everything.

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