Elizabeth Projects (7th St, Elizabeth Ave, etc)

[southslider]

Conditional plan after conditional plan, or just the way Elizabeth likes it.

[Urban Cowboy]

It may be because I live in Elizabeth - but I like the direction this is heading. This corner needs to be lined with retail and restaurants along both Caswell and 7th. Hopefully the office component means higher quality materials than stick built apartments that won’t age well. And to echo some concerns - this corner doesn’t NEED apartments (and I promise I’m not a nimby). It needs street level retail and restaurants. 

Say what you will about the ECA, and I agree that they slow down and even torpedo projects at times. But I’m ok with a slow approach here and ECA having a voice. All of the retail mentioned across the street has been great for the community vibrancy - and if Asana is definitely on board I think this corner could become a greater asset to our neighborhood.

Also - @atlrvr sandwich max is incredible!! No punch line there. The dollar general is fair game

Edited March 30, 2019 by Urban Cowboy

[KJHburg]

couple of photos while stopping and driving through edge of Elizabeth today.  

sorry for the dirty windshield I guess people can tell when I don't Autobell.   what is the crane atop the main Novant hospital for? 

[southslider]

On 3/30/2019 at 6:43 AM, Urban Cowboy said:

Say what you will about the ECA, and I agree that they slow down and even torpedo projects at times. But I’m ok with a slow approach here and ECA having a voice. 

Elizabeth follows the conditional rezoning approach, while Plaza Central follows a by-right zoning approach. Both have strong markets for urban redevelopment, but each have very different planning approaches. Former Councilwoman and Elizabeth resident killed the plan-based overlay for her petition-loving area.

[archiham04]

On 3/30/2019 at 6:43 AM, Urban Cowboy said:

It may be because I live in Elizabeth - but I like the direction this is heading. This corner needs to be lined with retail and restaurants along both Caswell and 7th. Hopefully the office component means higher quality materials than stick built apartments that won’t age well. And to echo some concerns - this corner doesn’t NEED apartments (and I promise I’m not a nimby). It needs street level retail and restaurants. 

Say what you will about the ECA, and I agree that they slow down and even torpedo projects at times. But I’m ok with a slow approach here and ECA having a voice. All of the retail mentioned across the street has been great for the community vibrancy - and if Asana is definitely on board I think this corner could become a greater asset to our neighborhood.

Also - @atlrvr sandwich max is incredible!! No punch line there. The dollar general is fair game

In PM a lot of folks seem to be leaning toward a different mindset on the apartments issues.  Don't get me wrong, there are LOTS of folks that think we have too many apartments/traffic etc. , but I think there are a fair number of us that realize that in order to have the healthy mix of retail and neighborhood services at street level, without the blight of giant parking lots and garages: walkable, (apartment generated) density is necessary.  If you don't let in the apartments, then to support the retail you are going to have to rely on thousands of daily "local tourists" to come park in your neighborhood.  

[KJHburg]

Drove by CPCC yesterday and saw this big demo project.   Evidently a couple of buildings are coming down (plus they had asbestos) and a larger building will be built in its place. 

http://www.cpcc.edu/facilitiesservices/hard-hat-updates/terrell-lrc-pease-project-update/central-high-annexes-terrell-lrc-pease-abatement-and-demolition

I was surprised to see this.

 

[SgtCampsalot]

2 hours ago, KJHburg said:

Drove by CPCC yesterday and saw this big demo project.   Evidently a couple of buildings are coming down (plus they had asbestos) and a larger building will be built in its place. 

http://www.cpcc.edu/facilitiesservices/hard-hat-updates/terrell-lrc-pease-project-update/central-high-annexes-terrell-lrc-pease-abatement-and-demolition

I was surprised to see this.

Isn't that the ding dang diddly library?

[J-Rob]

Anybody attend the meeting last night? Does anyone have additional renderings or details?  It would be great if they could still incorporate some sort of flatiron feature similar to what Faison proposed.  Would Crescent build this on Spec?  I hope this moves forward.  I would much rather see this than a fenced-off dirt lot.  I think it is a great office location.  I think the views from the top floor will be phenomenal. 

Edited April 10, 2019 by J-Rob

[CLTProductions]

It is going to incorporate a flatiron feature. I’ve seen extensive renderings of this and it’s really incredible. 

[NYtoCLT]

43 minutes ago, J-Rob said:

Anybody attend the meeting last night? Does anyone have additional renderings or details?  It would be great if they could still incorporate some sort of flatiron feature similar to what Faison proposed.  Would Crescent build this on Spec?  I hope this moves forward.  I would much rather see this than a fenced-off dirt lot.  I think it is a great office location.  I think the views from the top floor will be phenomenal. 

They said the plan is to build on spec, ideally with construction beginning before the end of the year.  They have a curved flatiron feature at the corner of 7th and Caswell.  The renderings looked great.

[sakami]

Here is a picture of a picture. Hoping more info comes out today. 

[Urban Cowboy]

Does anyone have an update on the CPCC 7th Street Parking Deck? (Student deck 3). It's been closed since late 2017 for structural repairs. Based on what I can find, Rodgers was the contractor and there are concerns with welding and grouting (not saying Rodgers is to blame). Allegedly, another deck owned by the city (CATS) and built by the same group had similar issues. Considering this was publicly funded and built on Mecklenburg County land, it would be nice to know the project status and the financial remedy. There was a deck in Cherokee that had the same faulty construction, and there was a partial collapse. The Cherokee Nation ended up suing Metromont and some others for $4 million. Hopefully Mecklenburg Co or CPCC (who leases the deck) is getting some sort of payment for loss of use.

Construction partners:

https://www.rodgersbuilders.com/projects/central-piedmont-community-college-5/

http://www.metromont.com/projects/central-piedmont-community-college-student-parking-deck

http://neighboringconcepts.com/project/cpcc-student-deck-iii/

News:

https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/cpcc-parking-deck-off-limits-because-new-parts-needed/715516793

https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/cats-parking-garage-closed-due-to-safety-could-be-connected-to-another/533588964

[KJHburg]

Hmmm and who was the contractor for the Levine garage that is still not opened anyone know?  I am telling you I really dont like this precast preformed garages snapped together and even Tryon Place is like that.  But not the huge Lincoln Harris mega garage though. 

[Nathan2]

 

 

 

56 minutes ago, sakami said:

Here is a picture of a picture. Hoping more info comes out today. 

Getting in and out of this place on pecan is going to be a nightmare. I just hate how much valuable space these parking garages are taking up in our community. 

[tozmervo]

10 hours ago, Urban Cowboy said:

Does anyone have an update on the CPCC 7th Street Parking Deck? (Student deck 3). It's been closed since late 2017 for structural repairs. Based on what I can find, Rodgers was the contractor and there are concerns with welding and grouting (not saying Rodgers is to blame). Allegedly, another deck owned by the city (CATS) and built by the same group had similar issues. Considering this was publicly funded and built on Mecklenburg County land, it would be nice to know the project status and the financial remedy. There was a deck in Cherokee that had the same faulty construction, and there was a partial collapse. The Cherokee Nation ended up suing Metromont and some others for $4 million. Hopefully Mecklenburg Co or CPCC (who leases the deck) is getting some sort of payment for loss of use.

So this is second hand information, take with a grain of salt. 

The fabricator of the precast put up decks with the same design in lots of places, including the two you mentioned. They are all having the same problem with planks deflecting and separating. Lots of lawsuits, etc, but I've heard the cpcc deck is actively being fixed and should be open soon.

I didn't hear anything about monetary damages and whatnot. 

(Super thankful I wasn't involved with any of them)

[sakami]

15 minutes ago, tozmervo said:

So this is second hand information, take with a grain of salt. 

The fabricator of the precast put up decks with the same design in lots of places, including the two you mentioned. They are all having the same problem with planks deflecting and separating. Lots of lawsuits, etc, but I've heard the cpcc deck is actively being fixed and should be open soon.

I didn't hear anything about monetary damages and whatnot. 

(Super thankful I wasn't involved with any of them)

I *just* noticed a sign that said something like Construction Zone on a door on 7th Street I swear wasn’t there 3 days ago. Maybe it really is getting fixed. 

[Bat'leth]

12 hours ago, J-Rob said:

Anybody attend the meeting last night? Does anyone have additional renderings or details?  It would be great if they could still incorporate some sort of flatiron feature similar to what Faison proposed.  Would Crescent build this on Spec?  I hope this moves forward.  I would much rather see this than a fenced-off dirt lot.  I think it is a great office location.  I think the views from the top floor will be phenomenal. 

I was at the meeting. They are doing what they call a flatiron at the corner, but I wasn't impressed. With more work, it could look good, but does not right now. 

[JacksonH]

15 hours ago, Bat'leth said:

I was at the meeting. They are doing what they call a flatiron at the corner, but I wasn't impressed. With more work, it could look good, but does not right now. 

If it looks anything like the image J-Rob posted from Danielle Chentob, this is hugely disappointing.  What Faison had proposed building looked classy and fit the character of the neighborhood like a glove, but this image looks like some bland boilerplate office design a building in a suburban office park.  And as I said before, I think the neighborhood made a huge mistake, not only by tossing out Faison's beautiful design, but in assuming an office building will mean less traffic than apartments.  People occupy more square footage in living space than they do in work space.  1000 square feet of residential equals one or two residents, but 1000 square feet of office means about ten or more workers.  Were this to have been an apartment building, many tenants would be choosing to live there for jobs uptown that they could reach via the Gold Line or by walking (i.e., not driving).  But the hundreds more people that will be occupying that property as workers more than likely will not live in the neighborhood and will be commuting there by automobile.  So weekdays may be a traffic nightmare, but then nights and weekends when those workers are back in their far-flung homes, that property will mostly be deserted.  Apartment tenants, on the other hand, would have been enjoying the restaurants and retail in the neighborhood in the evenings and on weekends.  So not only have the brought in an inferior design and more traffic, but they have sucked out the potential for better street life.  Sorry, I don't see any upside here other than filling up an empty lot.

For what it's worth, here's an article from The Charlotte Five on this proposal:  https://www.charlottefive.com/jackalope-jacks-site-in-elizabeth/

[KJHburg]

CPCC building at corner of Charlottetown and 4th and new Novant Medical building today. 

[SydneyCarton]

CPCC has some beautiful buildings.  Didn’t Mr. Levine donate a lot of money to the college?

[tozmervo]

1 hour ago, KJHburg said:

CPCC building at corner of Charlottetown and 4th and new Novant Medical building today. 

Not like we need more posts complaining about power lines, but jeeze. You know it's a problem when they start causing artifacting errors in your picture.

Edited April 20, 2019 by tozmervo

[KJHburg]

2 minutes ago, tozmervo said:

Not like we need more posts complaining about power lines, but jeeze. You know it's a problem when they start causing artifacting errors in your picture.

this was my phone camera I left home today with my point and shoot camera. LOL 

[SpiritOf76]

Took a stroll on campus yesterday 

[Carolina Ron]

It was inevitable.  The pool supply company at the corner of Hawthorne and Central is relocating, and the majority of the block is being considered for renovation.  At risk are at least 5 1930’s bungalows owned by the developer.

[KJHburg]

These Draper apartments look really good along Randolph.   and the Novant medical office building today.