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

[Vitamin_N]

On ‎12‎/‎15‎/‎2018 at 4:01 PM, sakami said:

The entire campus is already under contract and will close in early 2019. No further details were shared. 

Any guesses on who would buy the land? (Hopefully not Grubb...) 

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, Vitamin_N said:

Any guesses on who would buy the land? (Hopefully not Grubb...) 

Grubb is no longer part of the vision for Novant Health's land, so I'd be more worried about Novant Health than Grubb.

Edited December 17, 2018 by Guest

[Prodev]

There's a very high probability it's Novant.

[SgtCampsalot]

On 10/23/2018 at 3:16 PM, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

 

What needs to happen politically for Novant to stop buying land around there.

Hospital districts are death, and it's even more of a shame on idyllic, perfect-urban-form Elizabeth Ave

Edited December 17, 2018 by SgtCampsalot

[teeg]

1 hour ago, SgtCampsalot said:

What needs to happen politically for Novant to stop buying land around there.

Hospital districts are death, and it's even more of a shame on idyllic, perfect-urban-form Elizabeth Ave

Simple solution: a developer that is willing to pay more than Novant.  But it seems like there are two problems there. 

(1) As we know, Novant is land banking, and they are playing a really long game.  

(2) The neighborhood association fights everything.  

So who do we know that would be willing to come in to out-bid Novant (which is thinking speculatively about projects it might want to build in 20 or 30 years), then have the neighborhood association nit-pick the rezoning, then probably get sued by the neighborhood association after that, and to build what? Something that they could build in Plaza Midwood or South End right now, without serious opposition, where the only real risk is that people like us would complain about the paint color and lack of ground floor retail?  

I am not super optimistic about Elizabeth Avenue, or at least not as excited about its prospects as I was 10 years ago, but I am a little hopeful that once Novant's new garage opens at 4th and Queens, they will feel like they can let go of some of the land that they are using for surface parking  on Elizabeth and 5th.  Or if they are going to keep it, turn it into a temporary park, or at least pave and landscape around it so that it stops looking like first ward.  

[pathb]

2 hours ago, teeg said:

(2) The neighborhood association fights everything.  

This is definitely true.  I have friends in Elizabeth who are pretty fed up with the neighborhood association.  Sounds like it's mostly older/wealthy/retired folks who are active on the ECA, and the young people who live in the neighborhood are too busy with families/work/other things to have time to push back against the entrenched anti-development attitudes in that neighborhood.  It's also ironic to see their newsletter/hear complaints about automobile traffic when their demands typically result in more auto-oriented development...

[tozmervo]

11 minutes ago, pathb said:

This is definitely true.  I have friends in Elizabeth who are pretty fed up with the neighborhood association.  Sounds like it's mostly older/wealthy/retired folks who are active on the ECA, and the young people who live in the neighborhood are too busy with families/work/other things to have time to push back against the entrenched anti-development attitudes in that neighborhood.  It's also ironic to see their newsletter/hear complaints about automobile traffic when their demands typically result in more auto-oriented development...

Unfortunately, that's a dynamic not specific to the ECA. I think that's typical of most associations. 

[SgtCampsalot]

2 hours ago, teeg said:

(2) The neighborhood association fights everything.  

9 minutes ago, pathb said:

This is definitely true.  I have friends in Elizabeth who are pretty fed up with the neighborhood association.  Sounds like it's mostly older/wealthy/retired folks who are active on the ECA, and the young people who live in the neighborhood are too busy with families/work/other things to have time to push back against the entrenched anti-development attitudes in that neighborhood.  It's also ironic to see their newsletter/hear complaints about automobile traffic when their demands typically result in more auto-oriented development...

 

 

2 minutes ago, tozmervo said:

Unfortunately, that's a dynamic not specific to the ECA. I think that's typical of most associations. 

Including the very constant complaint that everything will ruin the single-family nature of the neighborhood, when it was multifamily that built these neighborhoods.

[KJHburg]

Several cranes in Elizabeth one at Novant Hospital and one at their medical office building.  Today.   Steel is rising at the MOB too. 

[sakami]

Nothing But Noodles closed on Elizabeth Ave in December. The story going through the neighborhood is the building owner raised the rent. Since Grubb owns this building what are the odds it stays empty for another 10 years? 

[KJHburg]

2 cranes at the Novant Cancer center building under way.  Today. 

[sakami]

In disappointingly unsurprising news there is now paid public parking available on the site of the old Philosopher’s Stone (corner of 7th and Caswell).

[Sigma]

37 minutes ago, sakami said:

In disappointingly unsurprising news there is now paid public parking available on the site of the old Philosopher’s Stone (corner of 7th and Caswell).

This is pretty disappointing, however, I place blame on the Elizabeth community.  Correct me if I'm wrong, they protested nearly all proposals for this site until it was no longer economically feasible.  Maybe this is a lesson to be learned?

[videtur quam contuor]

I drove through this part of Elizabeth this weekend and noticed that with the freezing of Faison and Pulte (Martha Washington Homes) projects the neighborhood lost many residents, of more diverse economic status, and also smaller local retail. Both items high on the wish list for inner affluent neighborhoods . And for what? Dirt.

[sakami]

10 minutes ago, tarhoosier said:

I drove through this part of Elizabeth this weekend and noticed that with the freezing of Faison and Pulte (Martha Washington Homes) projects the neighborhood lost many residents, of more diverse economic status, and also smaller local retail. Both items high on the wish list for inner affluent neighborhoods . And for what? Dirt.

The Pulte project is definitely not frozen. There are probably 50 dump trucks a day cycling through that property. Many of us in of the neighborhood wanted Martha Washington to stay but it was already zoned for multi-family so there was no way to stop the demo and eventual new build. The ECA did try to decrease the unit count fronting Dotger and tried to save more of the trees within the property and along the stream but otherwise they had little power or influence over the finished project. They used the deed restriction law suit as a way to try and get wider townhomes on the Dotger side.  Pulte said from the start they would be building these in phases so it will be years before the construction is completed. 

[ertley]

I first posted this in the "Creating Culture" thread, but as it's specific to Elizabeth, I'm re-posting it here...

[Speaking of murals] One specific idea I've had for a while involves murals and/or installation pieces for Elizabeth, specifically. To not only 'brand' the neighborhood, but introduce art and provide a (teensy) bit of cultural and historical knowledge--with a feminist bent. A series of murals/installations of famous Elizabeths throughout the Elizabeth neighborhood could be tourist draws, and liven up the relentless red brickness-of the CPCC and Novant/Presbyterian areas, while demarcating where the (commercial) boundaries of the neighborhood are.

From English history: Elizabeth I (who was queen when North Carolina was first settled) and Elizabeth II (obvs presently the queen)--at significant entrance points--Charlotte is the Queen City, and making the connection to those two continues that larger theme... 
From American popular culture: Elizabeth Taylor (and maybe Liza Minnelli and/or Elizabeth Montgomery?)--perhaps coming from/seen from the Metropolitan area
From Medicine/history (re: Novant/Presbyterian): Elizabeth Blackwell 
National politics/history/medicine (as early breast cancer advocate): Betty Ford--both of the preceding by Novant/Presbyterian 
From North Carolina/Politics: Elizabeth Dole (and Elizabeth Edwards, or too problematic?)
From National politics/history: Elizabeth Cady Stanton--these two/three in the CPCC area??

There are others that can/should be added--these are just off the top of my head.

If done well enough, and bold enough, and positioned properly, these murals could be Instagram and Snapchat et al. backdrops for thousands of people in CLT, and really help the city's image in the digital sphere...

Some of these could not only be painted as large murals on sides of buildings, but I also think commissioning artists to create pieces that are three dimensional or two dimensional (multimedia, stained glass) on their own platforms would be great, to also make it have an artsy feel. I agree--on the Elizabeth thread (maybe I'll copy this over there) that the area would be great for expanded walkable retail. 

(I also think neighboring Cherry should have a similar effort, with actual cherry trees planted as well as a cherry motif on streetlights, etc.)

Edited February 8, 2019 by ertley
another idea

[tozmervo]

29 minutes ago, ertley said:

(I also think neighboring Cherry should have a similar effort, with actual cherry trees planted as well as a cherry motif on streetlights, etc.)

You're almost there already. All of the street name signs have a cherry on them.

[NYtoCLT]

53 minutes ago, ertley said:

I first posted this in the "Creating Culture" thread, but as it's specific to Elizabeth, I'm re-posting it here...

[Speaking of murals] One specific idea I've had for a while involves murals and/or installation pieces for Elizabeth, specifically. To not only 'brand' the neighborhood, but introduce art and provide a (teensy) bit of cultural and historical knowledge--with a feminist bent. A series of murals/installations of famous Elizabeths throughout the Elizabeth neighborhood could be tourist draws, and liven up the relentless red brickness-of the CPCC and Novant/Presbyterian areas, while demarcating where the (commercial) boundaries of the neighborhood are.

From English history: Elizabeth I (who was queen when North Carolina was first settled) and Elizabeth II (obvs presently the queen)--at significant entrance points--Charlotte is the Queen City, and making the connection to those two continues that larger theme... 
From American popular culture: Elizabeth Taylor (and maybe Liza Minnelli and/or Elizabeth Montgomery?)--perhaps coming from/seen from the Metropolitan area
From Medicine/history (re: Novant/Presbyterian): Elizabeth Blackwell 
National politics/history/medicine (as early breast cancer advocate): Betty Ford--both of the preceding by Novant/Presbyterian 
From North Carolina/Politics: Elizabeth Dole (and Elizabeth Edwards, or too problematic?)
From National politics/history: Elizabeth Cady Stanton--these two/three in the CPCC area??

There are others that can/should be added--these are just off the top of my head.

If done well enough, and bold enough, and positioned properly, these murals could be Instagram and Snapchat et al. backdrops for thousands of people in CLT, and really help the city's image in the digital sphere...

Some of these could not only be painted as large murals on sides of buildings, but I also think commissioning artists to create pieces that are three dimensional or two dimensional (multimedia, stained glass) on their own platforms would be great, to also make it have an artsy feel. I agree--on the Elizabeth thread (maybe I'll copy this over there) that the area would be great for expanded walkable retail. 

(I also think neighboring Cherry should have a similar effort, with actual cherry trees planted as well as a cherry motif on streetlights, etc.)

I think this could be a great idea.  Reach out to the Elizabeth Community Association.  And/or reach out to the people at Talking Walls.  They put on the mural exhibit where they invite different street artists to put up murals around the city.  It could be interesting if different artists all did different takes on different Elizabeths.

In LA people line up to take a pic in front of a wall with wings, why not snap a pic with a random Elizabeth.

[cltcane]

2 hours ago, NYtoCLT said:

I think this could be a great idea.  Reach out to the Elizabeth Community Association.  And/or reach out to the people at Talking Walls.  They put on the mural exhibit where they invite different street artists to put up murals around the city.  It could be interesting if different artists all did different takes on different Elizabeths.

In LA people line up to take a pic in front of a wall with wings, why not snap a pic with a random Elizabeth.

Not Elizabeth-specific, but I think something like the Wroclaw, Poland (one of our sister cities) dwarfs would be cool here, only with mini Queen Charlotte statues, of course.  Many of these are paid for by businesses in order to generate more foot traffic. Win-win.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrocław's_dwarfs

[KJHburg]

Story about the new Novant buildings including the new 7 story one at Hawthorne and 4th.  

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2019/02/11/update-on-novant-healths-166m-medical-plaza-in.html?ana=e_ae_set1&s=article_du&ed=2019-02-11&u=oAaDx%2B74FoP4qOJ%2By4AU6dhJPpc&t=1549917470&j=86602611

[JacksonH]

This mixed-use Faison project (condos and street-level retail), proposed for the corner of N. Caswell and 7th St. in Elizabeth,  was one that I was most looking forward to.  It reminds me of some of the grand old structures in some of the vibrant Victorian-era neighborhoods in DC.    I read on one of these threads that it had been put on hold or canceled due to objections from the neighborhood association with worries about traffic.  I don't get that.  First of all, a couple blocks from here will be a new Gold Line station.  I would assume many of the new residents that would be living here would be choosing the neighborhood because they work in Uptown, and possible also due to the proximity of the Gold Line station.  So many of those new residents would be using transit to get to work, not putting extra cars on the road.  Also, some of the existing Elizabeth residents will also be using the Gold Line.  Furthermore, the additional retail would be one more reason for Elizabeth residents NOT to get into their cars as there would be more walkable retail available to them.  And finally, this area has so many access points to Uptown, and also onto Independence Blvd./Hwy 74.  So it's not like there would be traffic jams.  And for once, this is a really beautiful, classy design that, architecturally, would fit so well into this neighborhood and would truly enhance it and likely raise property values.  Canceling this particular project seems incredibly short-sighted to me.

Edited February 19, 2019 by JacksonH

[sakami]

27 minutes ago, JacksonH said:

This mixed-use Faison project (condos and street-level retail), proposed for the corner of N. Caswell and 7th St. in Elizabeth,  was one that I was most looking forward to.  It reminds me of some of the grand old structures in some of the vibrant Victorian-era neighborhoods in DC.    I read on one of these threads that it had been put on hold or canceled due to objections from the neighborhood association with worries about traffic.  I don't get that.  First of all, a couple blocks from here will be a new Gold Line station.  I would assume many of the new residents that would be living here would be choosing the neighborhood because they work in Uptown, and possible also due to the proximity of the Gold Line station.  So many of those new residents would be using transit to get to work, not putting extra cars on the road.  Also, some of the existing Elizabeth residents will also be using the Gold Line.  Furthermore, the additional retail would be one more reason for Elizabeth residents NOT to get into their cars as there would be more walkable retail available to them.  And finally, this area has so many access points to Uptown, and also onto Independence Blvd./Hwy 74.  So it's not like there would be traffic jams.  And for once, this is a really beautiful, classy design that, architecturally, would fit so well into this neighborhood and would truly enhance it and likely raise property values.  Canceling this particular project seems incredibly short-sighted to me.

It wasn’t directly cancelled due to neighborhood objections. It took a while to come to an agreement with the neighborhood over things like where the parking would dump out onto Caswell, how many buildings it would be/look like, number of units, etc. Faison indicated it was ready to go and then said that the builder they had lined up was no longer doing multi-family and they would have to start all over. From what I understand this project is running through their foundation and not the regular business so that added to a lot of delays as well.  Many in the neighborhood were thrilled at the aspect of new restaurant options. 

Edited February 19, 2019 by sakami
Spelling

[CLTProductions]

Sit tight and stay tuned on this one. News soon. 

[NYtoCLT]

16 minutes ago, Jayvee said:

Sit tight and stay tuned on this one. News soon. 

I am waiting with baited breath for this news.  With The Stanley and The Crunkleton, this intersection has become even better.  Turning this vacant lot into something good would be huge for the neighborhood.  

[JacksonH]

45 minutes ago, sakami said:

It wasn’t directly cancelled due to neighborhood objections. It took a while to come to an agreement with the neighborhood over things like where the parking would dump out onto Caswell, how many buildings it would be/look like, number of units, etc. Faison indicated it was ready to go and then said that the builder they had lined up was no longer doing multi-family and they would have to start all over. From what I understand this project is running through their foundation and not the regular business so that added to a lot of delays as well.  Many in the neighborhood were thrilled at the aspect of new restaurant options. 

Thank you.  I feel much better after reading your comment.