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North Hills East


dmccall

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^ I disagree. I think the way North Hills East addresses Six Forks is something we could use a lot more of in our city. Pretty much everything we see these days is inwardly focused, like Meadowmont and the current incarnation of North Hills. There's no rule that says a six-lane highway can't have an attractive pedestrian-friendly streetscape. It just takes extra infrastructure - wide sidewalks, traffic barriers / railings, and special accomodations for crossing. That's what the bridge is for, after all! I hope the developers would consider redeveloping the west side of Six Forks as well.

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^ I disagree. I think the way North Hills East addresses Six Forks is something we could use a lot more of in our city. Pretty much everything we see these days is inwardly focused, like Meadowmont and the current incarnation of North Hills. There's no rule that says a six-lane highway can't have an attractive pedestrian-friendly streetscape. It just takes extra infrastructure - wide sidewalks, traffic barriers / railings, and special accomodations for crossing. That's what the bridge is for, after all! I hope the developers would consider redeveloping the west side of Six Forks as well.
I agree.
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This area:

NorthHillsEastmaster.jpg

I can't think of anything I would do differently on North Hills East. I really do like the existing (west) phase of North Hills too, but it is still an essentially internally focused development. I think that some more buildings along the major public streets (Lassiter Mills and Six Forks) would do a lot to convert North Hills West from an above-average, high-density, mixed use "new urban" shopping center, into something that feels like a genuine city.

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Oh! Thanks for the map. I think that is it for that area. I think that area has the most flaws of the whole project. That bank building is pathetic, the road is one of two egress routes from the parking deck, and the funnel shaped flood pool is supposed to handle large scale runoff. I don't really see how they can do it differently, now. Of course, had ChickFilA been put where the bank is, their business would be 2X what it is.

I haven't heard anything about updated plans for the area north of your inquiry (the Exxon area). The gas station is convenient for everyone in the area, so it is sure to go (the only thing people really don't like about NH is the removal of convenience outlets like the post office, blockbuster, fast fare, drivers license office, etc)

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One interesting thing to note about the Exxon station is that it has been a major pollutor of groundwater over the last 10-15 years. My parents live "downstream" from NHills, and they have been sent mailings that indicate the underground strorage tanks have leaked groundwater to within almost 1500 feet of their property, which means that potential contaminents have moved past Six Forks into the residential areas to the east. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with the delay in the Exxon being redeveloped, but I'm sure that whomever does it would be required to do a lot of groundwater remediation, which could potentially be costly and time consuming.

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This area:

NorthHillsEastmaster.jpg

I can't think of anything I would do differently on North Hills East. I really do like the existing (west) phase of North Hills too, but it is still an essentially internally focused development. I think that some more buildings along the major public streets (Lassiter Mills and Six Forks) would do a lot to convert North Hills West from an above-average, high-density, mixed use "new urban" shopping center, into something that feels like a genuine city.

If memory serves, Mr. Kane had originally planned a couple of mid rise (8 stories) office buildings for that area. The plans were rejected by the city because they would be too close to the side walk.

I personally thought that was a huge mistake.

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  • 3 weeks later...

hey guys, I haven't posted in a while but just wanted to throw this out if it has not all ready. Check ou this link to see the schematic plans for this retirement community. Plans call for a 14 story building and a 5 story complex. If the link doesn't work let me know. :D

http://www.ctvirginia.com/pdf/Card%20Cover.pdf

Thanks for posting that. MAN! Where do you people find this stuff? This and the rendering of Crabtree really blow my mind as far as digging around on the web.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Was checking out the city website for rezoning cases, and I stumbled across this one for North Hills East. If you check the application, among other things, he's proposing to construct a 10 ft noise wall along I-440, and proposes limiting building heights to either 285 ft or 340 ft in certain locations. I know developers always shoot for the moon in these applications and scale back later, but this shows the type of scale he wants in this area (BTW 340 feet is on the order of 25 stories).

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Was checking out the city websire for rezoning cases, and I stumbled across this one for North Hills East. If you check the application, among other things, he's proposing to construct a 10 ft noise wall along I-440, and proposes limiting building heights to either 285 ft or 340 ft in certain locations. I know developers always shoot for the moon in these applications and scale back later, but this shows the type of scale he wants in this area (BTW 340 feet is on the order of 25 stories).

Interesting. Thanks for poking around and finding that!

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Will the area between North Hills and Crabtree, currently suburban housing and parks, get transitioned into a (more) urban style in the vein?

Yes, I think so. Those areas have quite a lot going for them, especially in terms of existing infrastructure and accessibility. It may never appear "urban" in the traditional (pedestrian-oriented) sense, but densities are going to increase significantly.

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Will the area between North Hills and Crabtree, currently suburban housing and parks, get transitioned into a (more) urban style in the vein?

Obviously this is something that would take years and many millions to do.....but

I doubt it.

North of the beltline is the North Hills neighborhood, which you can't really do anything with because it is completely built out with houses. South of the beltline is pretty much the same thing with Lakestone Dr. and Country Club Hills. There are some sections on North Hills Dr. where the Polo Run apartments are, that could be developed even more densely. Also, there are already lots of dense neighborhoods and apartments along Lead Mine Rd.

The not developed areas are part of North Hills park and the land around Crabtree Creek. I don't think there is much you can do with that either.

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Here's a neat idea that would never fly:

(Refer to this map)

Reroute Currituck Dr. from its sharp curve westward to follow the beltline path and connect with Century Drive (behind the Holiday Inn).

Just a thought. Of course my neighbors would fight it. They'd say the Beltline is a perfectly fine way to get from NH to Crabtree. I am kind of surpised that the area behind the Holiday Inn never got built up. Yeah it floods, but that doesn't stop people from building the tallest buildings around, does it?

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Here's a neat idea that would never fly:

(Refer to this map)

Reroute Currituck Dr. from its sharp curve westward to follow the beltline path and connect with Century Drive (behind the Holiday Inn).

To me, it seems that this would work. Obviously this would never happen, as it wouldn't be worth the cost (both of money or time spent wooing neighbors).

Could this same route, or a similar route get built as part of a Busway (or LRT) to connect North Hills and Crabtree? Maybe continuing down Edwards Mill Rd past the Arenas and onto to the (future) TTA station?

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The not developed areas are part of North Hills park and the land around Crabtree Creek. I don't think there is much you can do with that either.

There's about 10 acres undeveloped there along Crabtree Creek. If you throw the hotel in the mix, it's more like 15. I seem to remember seeing some of that land posted recently as build-to-suit.

You're probably right that the properties along Currituck and Lakestone Drive won't be redeveloped, but there's quite a bit of land to either side of these areas (Glenwood Place, Ramblewood, Computer Dr, etc) that is either undeveloped or is nearing the end of its viable lifespan. If the market remains strong after Soleil goes up, the area could see significant development.

It will be interesting to see how dense the proposal is for Kidd's Hill. The success of that project will drive development in the area also.

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There's about 10 acres undeveloped there along Crabtree Creek. If you throw the hotel in the mix, it's more like 15. I seem to remember seeing some of that land posted recently as build-to-suit.

You're probably right that the properties along Currituck and Lakestone Drive won't be redeveloped, but there's quite a bit of land to either side of these areas (Glenwood Place, Ramblewood, Computer Dr, etc) that is either undeveloped or is nearing the end of its viable lifespan. If the market remains strong after Soleil goes up, the area could see significant development.

It will be interesting to see how dense the proposal is for Kidd's Hill. The success of that project will drive development in the area also.

What/where is Kidd's Hill? Thanks.

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