Clemmons Going Urban?

[twincity]

i had no idea about this project for Clemmons. anybody heard of Village Pointe? has it been in the paper? its sounds like an impressive concept and a move in the right direction of bringing some urban life to Clemmons...and make it somewhat pedestrian friendly. the plan calls for mixed-use buildings, high-density residential (townhomes/live-work/apartments/condos detached homes) and retail. this new "town center' would incorporate, narrow streets, a main street, decorative lighting and green space. the only disappointing requirement is the max height is 3 stories...still urban on street level though.

Im shocked to read some of the guidelines for this proposal. buildings must have a certain facade, must be close together to encourage pedestrian activity, must front the street hard. streets have to be narrow to encourage bikers and pedestrians... any thoughts?

link

[SouthJersey7]

I currently live in Clemmons. well actually I'm at college now but anyway, I don't expect much to come out of this. They've already developed a good little chuck of this land and it's NOT anything like that rendering! It's your typical sprawling suburban retail. Plus the fact that 100% of the population of Clemmons, me included, lives in totally suburban sprawling pod communities. Unfortunately there's really not much hope for this I fear. Now if they would just build the PART Light Rail system for the Triad they could maybe think about a transit village around the Clemmons stop. That's about the best scenario I can picture.

I hate Clemmons. It's just so boring and lifeless. I can't wait to finish school so I can move

[twincity]

thanks for the info. how long ago did they start building this? that pdf. made it sound like a nice sized life-style community. oh well, i thought clemmons was showing some potential.

[sax184]

I currently live in Clemmons. well actually I'm at college now but anyway, I don't expect much to come out of this. They've already developed a good little chuck of this land and it's NOT anything like that rendering! It's your typical sprawling suburban retail. Plus the fact that 100% of the population of Clemmons, me included, lives in totally suburban sprawling pod communities. Unfortunately there's really not much hope for this I fear. Now if they would just build the PART Light Rail system for the Triad they could maybe think about a transit village around the Clemmons stop. That's about the best scenario I can picture.

I hate Clemmons. It's just so boring and lifeless. I can't wait to finish school so I can move

Ahh, but your reaction to Clemmons shows that it has not defeated you! It's amazing how bad Clemmons does things when Lewisville next door is doing so much better. Unfortunately, there's only one local pol in Clemmons who gets it. Her name is Mary, and she has no help.

[SouthJersey7]

I'll take some pics of the area soon. I'll show you the area that's already been developed and the surrounding areas. Hopefully within a week or two.

[rjp212]

I find it interesting that nearly all the examples shown were buildings or communities in the Lake Norman area.

[ncbrian]

I live off Peacehaven south of 421 (or north of 1-40, take your pick) and I frequently go into Clemmons to shop primarily at Lowe's Foods and dine at a restaurant or two (Village House I highly recommend). Traffic on Lewisville-Clemmons road is becoming a nightmare. Cutting against traffic during rush hour is a dangerous game. Going from the KFC back to Peacehaven can entail a 10 minute wait as you wait for an opening.

Also, the stretch between 158 and I-40 is just plain ugly with strip malls and fast food joints. There are some real gems of stores and cafes (you have to visit Cherries Cafe) but really have to know where to look for them and then there is the problem of trying to get access to them.

Not a fan of Clemmons development.

[SouthJersey7]

^^ Agreed, there's a couple stores I really like and I make a point to shop there as much as possible. But the rest is just the same stuff you find at any I-40 interchange from Wilmington to Barstow.

[suburban george3]

Clemmons has "no soul" and is now trying to "create" one for itself. Let the good folks in Lewisville teach you how to run a community, you've earned an A+ on uncontrolled American Sprawl.

[Metropolitan's]

I think Clemmons is a mess, People in the town drive like crazy people trying to go nowhere, the town is just stopping the Southwest part of Winston-Salem form growing, I think, Winston needs to annex Clemmons or Lewisville does.

[SouthJersey7]

Clemmons has "no soul" and is now trying to "create" one for itself. Let the good folks in Lewisville teach you how to run a community, you've earned an A+ on uncontrolled American Sprawl.

Lewisville's pretty nice looking. They actually have decent infrastructure and what feels like a town center area. What they are totally lacking, however is appropriate zoning. There is no "main street" with shops lining the street. I know it sounds cliche and cheesy, but it's a really important part of a real town. Clemmons, OTOH has jack squat. Miles of collector roads, McMansions, fast food, gas stations and.. Kmart!

[Metropolitan's]

^ Your so right

[SouthJersey7]

So anyway here's a few pics of this area being developed.

Panera Bread is the big draw, with an ice cream place next door.

Looks decent at first...

...until you see the back

and the road it's on.

Final glimpse of a meadow and forest who'se days are numbered

[twincity]

update on Village Point:

a charlotte developer announced plans for a 450,000 sf shopping center with a 120,000 sf anchor and movie theater on Lewisville/Clemmons Rd. the project will be called Clemmons Town Center.

article

[JerseyBoy]

update on Village Point:

a charlotte developer announced plans for a 450,000 sf shopping center with a 120,000 sf anchor and movie theater on Lewisville/Clemmons Rd. the project will be called Clemmons Town Center.

article

Do you think the new Grand movie theater will go here?

[twincity]

possibly. i think ncbrian saw the news report from the grand opening and i think he said they were looking at building on the south side. not sure if he meant the south side of the county or Winston.

[NcSc74]

OK a village center right. Where is the street grid and how is someone supposed to cross that 4 lane road. NC needs to wake up and stop this pseudo new urban craze unless it is done right. I am sure most people have visited cites that have urban villages. All of these "new urban" town centers got it all wrong.

[suburban george3]

I wonder who the anchor would be?? Wal Mart would have three stores off 1-40 within 25 miles if it was them, not unheard of, could be a small format supercenter. Target?? Doubtful... I don't know who else would build that size store in Clemmons?? Maybe a B.J.'s club?? Interesting..

As far as the theater, I hope the Grand will come down Peter's Creek but with the growth in Clemmons and Davie Co., that would also be a desirable location.

[ncbrian]

As for the theatre part of this development, they mentioned in the journal article that it is a fourteen screen theatre so knowing the capacity of the theater implies that talks have developed to a significant degree. Can the south of the county sustain three multiplexes right now? I doubt it which makes me believe that the mentioned theatre is the Grand theatre for the south of Winston.

Where is the street grid and how is someone supposed to cross that 4 lane road. NC needs to wake up and stop this pseudo new urban craze unless it is done right. I am sure most people have visited cites that have urban villages. All of these "new urban" town centers got it all wrong.

In the journal article, there will be a light going in at that interection called Allegacy Way and Lewisville-Clemmons Road. Irrespective of that though, the amount of the traffic on that road is starting to approach gridlock during rush hours and weekends. There is too much commerical development on that single road from Peacehaven to Hwy 158. If some of that traffic can be offloaded onto this development, that may be a good thing as long as there are access points other than Lewisville Rd say on Peacehaven or Harpers Rd.

[twincity]

seems like they would have said Clemmons instead of the southside if thats where they are planning the 2nd theater. you could be right though. but still, keep in mind even with the new 18 screens, Forsyth County is extremely under served when it comes to movie theaters. Kernersville has 20,000 + residents with only 4 screens. Winston has only 40 screens that show first-run movies. so i wouldnt be suprised if one is still built somewhere in southern Winston.

[suburban george3]

Clemmons Town Center came up to the planning board. Here's a link with current site plans. I'm awful curious who the 125K SQFT anchor is....

Clemmons Town Center concerns and plans( a 3.79 MB file! )

[JerseyBoy]

I'm awful curious who the 125K SQFT anchor is....

Like you said, maybe it's BJ's? Or even maybe an HHGregg but their stores generally aren't over 100,000 SF. I'm guessing another warehouse club (BJ's) or Garden Ridge. I'm placing my money on either those two to come. It would be easier to guess who the anchor was if another retail powerhouse area wasn't so close (Hanes Mall Blvd.).

[suburban george3]

Like you said, maybe it's BJ's? Or even maybe an HHGregg but their stores generally aren't over 100,000 SF. I'm guessing another warehouse club (BJ's) or Garden Ridge. I'm placing my money on either those two to come. It would be easier to guess who the anchor was if another retail powerhouse area wasn't so close (Hanes Mall Blvd.).

A Garden Ridge would be nice and that would be a good place for it. We'll have to see what happens with the development since the planning board voted for denial. The county commisioners can still override that decision though.

[JerseyBoy]

A Garden Ridge would be nice and that would be a good place for it. We'll have to see what happens with the development since the planning board voted for denial. The county commisioners can still override that decision though.

From the planning map and renderings, it looked to be fairly nice and be somewhat of a great shopping experience despite the huge tracts of asphalt that lay behind the nice fake Main St. buildings.

[twincity]

A Garden Ridge would be nice and that would be a good place for it. We'll have to see what happens with the development since the planning board voted for denial. The county commisioners can still override that decision though.

Denial? I really dont understand the Planning Board.