300 East Main Street

[orulz]

Thought we already had a thread on this, but I guess not. There was a public meeting about the project (see the Herald-Sun article here: "East Man project angst aired"). There have been bunches of other articles about it.

This project will redevelop the shopping center that currently holds Cat's Cradle and Amante's Pizza. Right now it's a strip mall, but in a multi-phased approach that never leaves tenants without a home they want to replace it with a large-scale (well, large for Carrboro) urban development.

The first building will be five stories tall. It will be located next to the railroad tracks near Main Street, and will be constructed without demolishing the existing shopping center. Then over several years, they will relocate tenants as the current building is demolished, and put up a mixed-use development with a hotel, ground level retail, office space, residential, and a partially underground parking deck.

The five-story building is proving to be a lightning rod for criticism, but I don't see any reason why a well-designed five story building would have to destroy the atmosphere in Carrboro.

[dmccall]

Thanks SO much for posting this. I'm really intrigued by this plan. We went over to the Cradle on Thu night and I was thinking about the layout the whole time. It's different than I expected.

I agree that a well-done 5-story building wouldn't be too obtrusive and destroy the charm of the immediate area.

What will Frank Heath do with a clean palate (designing a new Cradle)? Hopefully he'll kind of draw on the layout of the Myrtle Beach House of Blues. Even just with the lower level the sitelines and acoustics are outstanding. He certainly doesn't have to dress it up so much. In fact I'd like to own a flat black paint business over there in about two years

[MR-2]

This is a well-designed project for Carrboro. It's going in the spot that needs redevelopment most. The town will feel a lot bigger when this is done, though it's already quite funky.

[DanRNC]

I hope Frank does improve the sound/acoustics-its been an ongoing problem in that building since they moved from Franklin Street when they were abruptly evicted in favor of BW-3.

[NCMike1981]

Sounds like a great project....I went to the Cats Cradle to see a group called "The Butchies" perform (overall a scary experience but not b/c of the place itself) back in May of 2001. I've always wanted to go back but I don't seem to get out to the Carrboro area as much as I'd like...

[orulz]

Looks like the developer has submitted for the first of several approvals needed to get this project going about 2 months ago. There was an article in the Herald-Sun, but it's not there anymore. Evidently they're submitting for two seperate approvals for their conditional-use permit, to get things rolling a bit more quickly. It's my understanding that the new Cats Cradle will be in the first phase.

[RaleighRob]

^Thanks for the update.

As much as we all love Carrboro, we don't see a lot of news from them here often.

[DanRNC]

Its good to see things rolling on this. I think the Cats Cradle and VisArt are in the 1st phase. I had heard that the Cats Cradle will stay put during this phase so I guess demo/construction will start at the opposite end of the strip.

[orulz]

From what I've heard, the first phase will be built entirely in the parking lot (the strip mall will not be demolished yet.) Then, Cat's Cradle and Arts Center will move in, then the west end of the shopping center will be demolished.

This is based on the old plan, so I'm not sure how things may have changed.

[ChiefJoJo]

That's really just perfect. I've always thought it was kinda of funny that arguably the most well known music club between ATL and DC is in a bland strip mall. The Cradle frankly deserves better, and it appears from the above site plan that it will be a much more urban redevelopment after it's all finished, and really improve the urban feel of the transition area (along with Greenbridge) between Carrboro and Chapel Hill.

[DanRNC]

I know originally the Cradle was going to move into Performance Bike Shop but that seemed weird because I had heard that store was doing very well. The plan here seems a lot more feasible as the Cradle won't have to spend a lot of time upfitting a space and Performance will remain open.

[Jones_]

Can someone remind me where Cradle was when it was in Chapel Hill? I saw the band L7 there when I was in High School but have no idea where I was exactly

[DanRNC]

Its had 3 locations before its current Carrboro location. It was last on Franklin St. (mid 80s to early 90s) where BW3 currently is. It used to be on West Franklin around where Ham's is. It started out on Rosemary where Skylight Exchange/Nightlight is currently.

[Nindec]

The Artscenter proposed to the Chapel Hill/Carrboro school board the inclusion of a magnet school for the arts in their 5-story building. Though the proposal sounded pretty vague, this would be fantastic if they pull it off -- bringing more kids downtown would bring more parents downtown, and provide some diversity we don't see too often in new developments.

For me, don't think we'll ever see urban environments appealing to all population sections until we get some urban schools in place. I actually can't think of any K-12 schools in North Carolina that are urban in both their location and their form. And I thought this development couldn't get any better...

That said, it seems like it might be a little pie-in-the-sky from the article. It sounds like this building will be in the first phase of construction, to start within the next year or so. If they don't even know what grades they'd be targetting, it seems like there would be a lot of work to do in a very short amount of time.

[orulz]

Great find Nindec. This is intriguing to say the least. The no athletic fields on-site thing could be a sticking point, but then again, there's a giant junkyard right behind the strip mall with no street connections to anything. If that can't be incorporated into this redevelopment, why not make it into a playing field?

For me, don't think we'll ever see urban environments appealing to all population sections until we get some urban schools in place. I actually can't think of any K-12 schools in North Carolina that are urban in both their location and their form.

[Nindec]

I don't know about that. I'd call Moore Square Middle quite urban in location, and I at least give it credit for trying as far as form (although I believe the front door along Person always stays locked. Safety concerns, no doubt.)

[RaleighRob]

I don't know about that. I'd call Moore Square Middle quite urban in location, and I at least give it credit for trying as far as form (although I believe the front door along Person always stays locked. Safety concerns, no doubt.)

[ChiefJoJo]

The Town of Carrboro approved the first phase of this project in the 200 block last night, which is just east of the RR tracks and west of Cat's Cradle. Location map here.

Overall, the proposal is to redevelop about 400,000 square feet of space along East Main Street. But Main Street Properties still must receive a permit to begin construction on the 300 block, where Cat's Cradle, The ArtsCenter, Amante Gourmet Pizza and VisArt Video are located.

In the 200 block, where Archer Graphics is located, the developer wants to put a five-story, multiple-use commercial building at 208 E. Main St. with associated parking at 200 E. Main St. Retail, restaurants and offices, among other uses, could go in the building.

[DanRNC]

I watched this on public access last night-its about friggin time this thing progressed. Everyone on the council and planning board gave this project rave reviews. Should catapult the Cats Cradle to even higher levels in its booking.

[orulz]

They've had a sign up in front of Archer Graphics with a rendering of the 5-story building for the last few months.

I agree, this looks like a great project.

[DanRNC]

From what I understand the Cradle will maintain 2 performance stages in the new building and the main performance area will be multi-tiered. The ArtsCenter will also be expanded but I don't about the expansion of their concert area.

[ChiefJoJo]

That site is very smallish for a 5-story structure isn't it? And it's got an irregular shape with the curve of the RR tracks back to the power plant. I'll be curious to see a rendering.

[sax184]

That site is very smallish for a 5-story structure isn't it?

[Jones_]

The carrboro vibe has always been great...I think this mid-rise compact growth is perfect.

[orulz]

Here's the rendering for the 5-story building on the Archer Graphics site. Took this with my camera this morning.

I believe the side we are seeing will be the side that faces Main. You can sort of see the curved side along the RR right-of-way to the right as well.