Charlotte Restoration

[cinco]

we all know charlotte has a bad rap when it comes to protecting it's older structures. by letting this problem get out of hand we risk eroding or history even further. are there any buildings or structures you'd like to see restored to splendor or maybe recycled for other uses? here are a few i'd like to see saved.

this building is in wesley heights... strange building with unusual features. i would love to see the inside.

this is the old davis house located on the campus of JCSU. it is owned by the university and has been a hot button issue for them.... do they restore or not? i ask, do you value the history of your school?

the treolar house in uptown - on levine's property. we've all talked about this one.... can you imagine this house in it's heyday? with store front buildings connected to the side of it, i bet this was a beautiful street front. this house, truly is the last of it's kind in charlotte.

here are a group of buildings on morehead st. @ the exit of 77. i have always loved these buildings (i wish i had photographed a better angle). there had been various tenants in these spaces but seem to have fallen on hard times.

@ central ave. & hawthorne - this church has sat empty for a number of years now, while speculation of it's future has ranged from recording studio to condo's.

nothing super amazing here... this house is located right across from common market in plaza-midwood. it is currently occupied but it needs a little love. b/c of it's location and age - this is the kind of place that usually doesn't stand a chance in charlotte. i think she's worthy of restoration. also, sweet chimney.

i can't remember the name of this building, but she is on trade st. this building doesn't appear to be in major disrepair... but i get worried every time i pass this space and see it vacant. this is one of my favorite buildings uptown, and, IMO must be saved @ all costs. (i would love to see a cafe/restuarant or pub in one of these spaces). b/c this is on prime uptown real estate, it probably will be developed @ some point... if nothing else, i would like to see this building baked into a future project.

[appatone]

Wow, Cinco. I read your post and thought I could have written it myself. All of those buildings are ones I regularly admire and dream about seeing one day restored. Espeacially the one I refer to as the "Jesus Saves Building". I actaully went around and took some photos of some of these buildings with the thought of posting them in the Charlotte Arts thread as obvious possibilities for renovation for artistic uses. "Jesus Saves" would make such an excellent theatre. I would add another to your list, The Grand Theatre at 333 Beatties Ford Rd.

Here's some info on the theatre

The only picture I could find:

[sfmartin]

I've always thought this building on Belmont Ave had promise:

[voyager12]

I also think Jesus Saves in Wesley Heights has great potential. The way that neighborhood is booming it won't be long until that gets snapped up and redone. I just hope its put to public use. JCS wants to preserve the house but they simply don't have the money to restore it. Regarding the church on Ctrl/Hwth, converting churches into condos is all the rage these days, read a story in the NYT recently. Those other abandoned buildings are great candidates for the streetlevel retail and walkable districts that so many people in this town want. Lets get going already

[cinco]

hey appatone, that theatre IS great. i thought there was talk of it being restored by the guys who own 'mo grease barber shops? i, like you, would love to see it brought back to life.

sfmartin, i actually took a picture of that corner in the belmont neighborhood with the intentions of including it... but could not find the disc last night. there are a few examples of little pockets of storefront (this one being the best) in belmont... i hope they survive long enough to see that neighborhood's renissance.

guys, thanks for adding images.

[revitalize]

This is not in the center city area, but I always want to see these storefronts on Old Statesville Rd on the way to Huntersville restored and turned into something cool:

perhaps if the North Line commuter train gets up and running something will happen!

[atlrvr]

I've always thought this building on Belmont Ave had promise:

Absolutely.....it's probably the building in the city that I would love to get ahold of most.....it is much more captivating in person.

[Charlotte_native]

You posted a list of my favorite buildings in Charlotte! The Jesus Saves building has gotten plenty of attention -- the problem with it is the church that owns it won't ever commit to selling. I know people that have given them full price offers, they go to committee to "talk" about it and nothing ever happens.

The West Morehead buildings with the Tattoo sign are great -- I actually tried to buy those but they come with NO parking, like literlly none, and banks won't lend any money on them for that reason. There is someone trying to combine them with the warehouse space next door and "giving" some parking from the adjacent lot -- they are wonderful and i really hope they survive.

[dubone]

I'm worried about the North Tryon buildings between 7th and 9th.

Hall House

Tryon House

The old Funeral Home

They are great buildings, are the last section of Tryon that have old buildings almost in a row. Hall House and Tryon House are in danger, as they are in bad shape.

[Southernyank]

Lets all not forget the Carolina Theatre. I'd love to see that restored the most. hopefully all goes well with the tower plans and they will be able to incorporate that cool, carolina neon sign.

[Charlotte_native]

There is always talk about how converting old apartment buildings into condos pushes out the tenants -- and that is quite true, but it is also one of the best ways of preserving them. Take Tryon House as an example: right now a developer who might want to knock it down would have to work out the deal and negotiate with one owner. If it were condos, every owner and the liklihood of getting multiple owners to all agree (for a price that would make it economically viable) is virtually impossible.

[mallguy]

1) Eastland Mall

2) The McColl arts center on North Tryon in the burned-out church. I'd really much rather have that building restored and used as a church; seeing a shell of a church really bothers me.

[dubone]

Actually, you are only seeing the shell of the parsonage behind the church. The church building itself already is restored for the McColl center. Now, the modern art on the lawn is a whole other subject .

[turbocraig]

I'm not sure if this house has a name, per se, but I love the big old brick house at the T-intersection of Central and Briar Creek. It sits back from the road on a beautiful piece of land surrounded by lots of trees. It's not the best neighborhood, but it has so much potential. It looks as if someone important may have lived there at one time. I feel a tinge of sadness everytime I drive by and catch a glimpse of its boarded-up splendor.

[sfmartin]

I think Tuscan Development may already own this piece and is just waiting for the right time to put up multi-family residential of some sort. At one time it was to be included with the parcel (w/ an old house) across Central and rezoned - but TD pulled back and the rezoning petition on the smaller piece was retracted b/c of neighborhood resistance.

All that to say ... I think that house is toast

I'm not sure if this house has a name, per se, but I love the big old brick house at the T-intersection of Central and Briar Creek. It sits back from the road on a beautiful piece of land surrounded by lots of trees. It's not the best neighborhood, but it has so much potential. It looks as if someone important may have lived there at one time. I feel a tinge of sadness everytime I drive by and catch a glimpse of its boarded-up splendor.

[monsoon]

I'm not sure if this house has a name, per se, but I love the big old brick house at the T-intersection of Central and Briar Creek. It sits back from the road on a beautiful piece of land surrounded by lots of trees. It's not the best neighborhood, but it has so much potential. It looks as if someone important may have lived there at one time. I feel a tinge of sadness everytime I drive by and catch a glimpse of its boarded-up splendor.

That is a great house. About 10 years or so ago, the Observer did a story about that house and the people who once lived there. Unfortunately I don't remember the details now, but the family was fairly well known in Charlotte. When it was built, it was surrounded by pasture land, and over the decades the city grew around it. I have not been over there in years so I did not realize that it is boarded up now.

[MZT]

If you study the register of deeds, you'll see that the family that owned that house owned much of the adjoining land, including some parcels on the south side of Central ave.

The house on the SW corner of Briar Creek and Central is a nice looking country home on a large lot, too. It is still occupied.

[monsoon]

There are a number of modern and art deco buildings (I think) on W. Morehead between Freedom Drive to Wilkenson that are quite nice and should be rennovated or at least preserved. Maybe that section of Morehead will be eventually rennovated. That street probably has some of the best views of the skyline, anywhere in the city.

[sfmartin]

There are a number of modern and art deco buildings (I think) on W. Morehead between Freedom Drive to Wilkenson that are quite nice and should be rennovated or at least preserved. Maybe that section of Morehead will be eventually rennovated. That street probably has some of the best views of the skyline, anywhere in the city.

Eventually could be pretty soon. I read not long ago that Crosland/Merrifield is redeveloping the Radiator Specialty site in a big way. The site backs up to the park and I think improvements are in the work for it as well.

[Charlotte_native]

Eventually could be pretty soon. I read not long ago that Crosland/Merrifield is redeveloping the Radiator Specialty site in a big way. The site backs up to the park and I think improvements are in the work for it as well.

Combine that with the recent transfer of 29 acres that currently is the Westwood Apartments off Berryhill Road, the residents there have been given notice to vacate in September. There is also a rezoning notice on the part of Morehead between Wilkinson and Freedom by the Camp Greene neighborhood on a tract with impeccable views.

[krazeeboi]

Does the city give incentives to developers for historic restoration/adaptive reuse?

[atlrvr]

Yes....depending on the neighborhood. There are also state and federal tax credits that can be earned, depending on the sincerety of the renovatiion.

[Charlotte_native]

Yes....depending on the neighborhood. There are also state and federal tax credits that can be earned, depending on the sincerety of the renovatiion.

Actually only sort-of. The city can give what they call "facade grants" which cover costs of approved exterior work. I don't know of other city funds -- if there are other sources please share! The city departments that inspect and approve construction are just as hard or sometimes harder on older properties from my personal experience.

Federal and State tax credits are great, but you are very confined as to how you restore the property.

[atlrvr]

The facade grant is one, the other would be infrastucture grants (granted this applies to new and rehab properties). It is limited to the same developmenet zones, and the city will not let developers double-dip (i.e. facade or infrastucture but not both).

There are also grants for brownfield remediation and brownfield property tax credits.

[Miesian Corners]

The old "Daddy Grace" temple in Wesley Heights is in terrible shape inside. There are trees growing in it. Even so, it is a cool building. And even though I'm not the most religious person around, I'd love to see the "Jesus Saves" in neon again.

Metro was right about some mid-century mod and art deco buildings that are also in danger. There's a really cool old branch bank at the intersection of West Morehead and Freedom Drive I'd love to see renovated. Tragically, the 1940s modern floral distribution building that was next door got demolished in 2002.