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11 minutes ago, Desert Power said:

Are there plans for that?

Nope. Men's shelter is run rather unethically. But UMC is legit, and have a very solid purpose and mission for providing a continuum of care to actually get people off the streets. If it went anywhere else it would only be moving the view of homeless elsewhere, and limit their ability to provide that continuum of care, which would worsen the situation for the whole city.

It stinks for N Tryon, but the only reasonable compromise would be to find another uptown location for UMC, and that's just not going to happen. Give Brightwalk, the Hercules Industrial Park redevelopment, First Ward, and Optimist Park time to thrive independently and I think N Tryon will end up just fine. Maybe just slower than many want.

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2 hours ago, Desert Power said:

I do the walk between NoDa and Uptown quite frequently.  I'm always amazed by the transformation and come back with different properties I want to look up the plans for.  Brevard between Parkwood and Jordan is really where things should blow up.  It looks like they're finally starting on demo for the mill at Jordan, but none of the other projects seem to have started.  There are two light rail stops really close to each other, and the bridge over to 25th to Davidson (when is that scheduled) will be key.

I agree that light rail might promote enough infill to make that walk and those neighborhoods pretty interesting.  Not if it just turns into a ton of 5 story apartment buildings built on top of parking podiums though.

I walked back via Tryon and the area around the shelter is certainly blighted and the city appears to never clean it up either which of course leads to people not caring and the cycle gets worse... Plus I saw 2 drug deals take place as I walked through there (and lots of hard stares). It doesn't scare me off but I sure would not walk through there with my wife. It's the only place in Charlotte I've felt that way so far and it is RIGHT outside prime downtown which is terrible. Maybe some police presence is in order??? It just seems like a mens shelter could co-exist with development if run properly. I for one don't want to just run those people off as it makes sense they're in an urban setting. That said, it was the same near the Denver shelter in LoDo. Although there at least there were plenty of other people and police around so at least it felt safe(r).

Also, it appears there will not be very good connectivity to the train from Tryon north of 277? No flyover walkways or sidewalks being added to cross streets etc. to get across amtrak and then LRT line to a station. That seems like a missed opportunity if true.

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3 minutes ago, elrodvt said:

I agree that light rail might promote enough infill to make that walk and those neighborhoods pretty interesting.  Not if it just turns into a ton of 5 story apartment buildings built on top of parking podiums though.

I walked back via Tryon and the area around the shelter is certainly blighted and the city appears to never clean it up either which of course leads to people not caring and the cycle gets worse... Plus I saw 2 drug deals take place as I walked through there (and lots of hard stares). It doesn't scare me off but I sure would not walk through there with my wife. It's the only place in Charlotte I've felt that way so far and it is RIGHT outside prime downtown which is terrible. Maybe some police presence is in order??? It just seems like a mens shelter could co-exist with development if run properly. I for one don't want to just run those people off as it makes sense they're in an urban setting. That said, it was the same near the Denver shelter in LoDo. Although there at least there were plenty of other people and police around so at least it felt safe(r).

Also, it appears there will not be very good connectivity to the train from Tryon north of 277? No flyover walkways or sidewalks being added to cross streets etc. to get across amtrak and then LRT line to a station. That seems like a missed opportunity if true.

Witnessed a sell/buy at the Kangaroo on 3d/Charlottetowne just the other day. Budget for policing has to be cut in some areas. 

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19 minutes ago, elrodvt said:

I agree that light rail might promote enough infill to make that walk and those neighborhoods pretty interesting.  Not if it just turns into a ton of 5 story apartment buildings built on top of parking podiums though.

I walked back via Tryon and the area around the shelter is certainly blighted and the city appears to never clean it up either which of course leads to people not caring and the cycle gets worse... Plus I saw 2 drug deals take place as I walked through there (and lots of hard stares). It doesn't scare me off but I sure would not walk through there with my wife. It's the only place in Charlotte I've felt that way so far and it is RIGHT outside prime downtown which is terrible. Maybe some police presence is in order??? It just seems like a mens shelter could co-exist with development if run properly. I for one don't want to just run those people off as it makes sense they're in an urban setting. That said, it was the same near the Denver shelter in LoDo. Although there at least there were plenty of other people and police around so at least it felt safe(r).

Also, it appears there will not be very good connectivity to the train from Tryon north of 277? No flyover walkways or sidewalks being added to cross streets etc. to get across amtrak and then LRT line to a station. That seems like a missed opportunity if true.

Well eventually there will be better connectivity to whatever replaces the Red Line Plan, which was due to have a station at Hercules Industrial.

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Police are reactionary (and necessary for surprise events), but drug dealing is a product of poverty and desperation. Fix the economics and housing! Otherwise the same stuff will just start occurring in the suburbs. Look at Paris' banlieue suburb districts. Different in that it's largely government housing projects, but still people being priced out of the urban areas.

And I gotta plug it now: Check out the French film La Haine about life and crime in those suburbs in the 90s. Reminds one of current day American social issues (and is kinda cool as an urbanist to see one way a great walkable inner-city can go).

Edited by SgtCampsalot
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1 hour ago, elrodvt said:

I agree that light rail might promote enough infill to make that walk and those neighborhoods pretty interesting.  Not if it just turns into a ton of 5 story apartment buildings built on top of parking podiums though.

I walked back via Tryon and the area around the shelter is certainly blighted and the city appears to never clean it up either which of course leads to people not caring and the cycle gets worse... Plus I saw 2 drug deals take place as I walked through there (and lots of hard stares). It doesn't scare me off but I sure would not walk through there with my wife. It's the only place in Charlotte I've felt that way so far and it is RIGHT outside prime downtown which is terrible. Maybe some police presence is in order??? It just seems like a mens shelter could co-exist with development if run properly. I for one don't want to just run those people off as it makes sense they're in an urban setting. That said, it was the same near the Denver shelter in LoDo. Although there at least there were plenty of other people and police around so at least it felt safe(r).

Also, it appears there will not be very good connectivity to the train from Tryon north of 277? No flyover walkways or sidewalks being added to cross streets etc. to get across amtrak and then LRT line to a station. That seems like a missed opportunity if true.

Yeah.  Tryon is rough and there is pretty bad connectivity to the light rail.  Really only three crossings between uptown and 36th street (12th, 16th, and Parkwood).  That relative isolation is going to be a boon for higher end development east of the BLE, but it will be a really stark contrast until there are better ways for growth to spill over.  More potentional in that 30th to Craighead stretch, but Uptown to 30th is going to flounder for a LONG time. 

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1 minute ago, Desert Power said:

Yeah.  Tryon is rough and there is pretty bad connectivity to the light rail.  Really only three crossings between uptown and 36th street (12th, 16th, and Parkwood).  That relative isolation is going to be a boon for higher end development east of the BLE, but it will be a really stark contrast until there are better ways for growth to spill over.  More potentional in that 30th to Craighead stretch, but Uptown to 30th is going to flounder for a LONG time. 

Do you suppose there would be better connectivity planned if there were affluent areas to the west? 

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3 hours ago, SgtCampsalot said:

Nope. Men's shelter is run rather unethically. But UMC is legit, and have a very solid purpose and mission for providing a continuum of care to actually get people off the streets. If it went anywhere else it would only be moving the view of homeless elsewhere, and limit their ability to provide that continuum of care, which would worsen the situation for the whole city.

It stinks for N Tryon, but the only reasonable compromise would be to find another uptown location for UMC, and that's just not going to happen. Give Brightwalk, the Hercules Industrial Park redevelopment, First Ward, and Optimist Park time to thrive independently and I think N Tryon will end up just fine. Maybe just slower than many want.

The actual Urban Ministries location is so isolated it probably will never be much else.  That whole stretch from 9th to 16th has a lot of services that cater to homeless/low income population.  Will be interesting to see the Publix at Skyhouse right next to it, but a lot of those services are unlikely to move.

Edited by Desert Power
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57 minutes ago, Desert Power said:

I'd say that is a damn good bet.  Practically though, it isn't easy to build a connection over all of those rail lines.

I'd say the expense of grade separated crossings are a much greater factor.  Most grade separated crossings are paid for and maintained by the State, affluent neighborhood or not.  Matheson is a pretty big city owned bridge.

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7 hours ago, elrodvt said:

I agree that light rail might promote enough infill to make that walk and those neighborhoods pretty interesting.  Not if it just turns into a ton of 5 story apartment buildings built on top of parking podiums though.

I walked back via Tryon and the area around the shelter is certainly blighted and the city appears to never clean it up either which of course leads to people not caring and the cycle gets worse... Plus I saw 2 drug deals take place as I walked through there (and lots of hard stares). It doesn't scare me off but I sure would not walk through there with my wife. It's the only place in Charlotte I've felt that way so far and it is RIGHT outside prime downtown which is terrible. Maybe some police presence is in order??? It just seems like a mens shelter could co-exist with development if run properly. I for one don't want to just run those people off as it makes sense they're in an urban setting. That said, it was the same near the Denver shelter in LoDo. Although there at least there were plenty of other people and police around so at least it felt safe(r).

Also, it appears there will not be very good connectivity to the train from Tryon north of 277? No flyover walkways or sidewalks being added to cross streets etc. to get across amtrak and then LRT line to a station. That seems like a missed opportunity if true.

http://atlanta.curbed.com/2016/9/9/12855680/peachtree-pine-shelter-atlanta-closing-november

This has been a huge problem in Atlanta in a much denser area with much more going on right around the corner. Needs to move first. 

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18 hours ago, SgtCampsalot said:

Police are reactionary (and necessary for surprise events), but drug dealing is a product of poverty and desperation. Fix the economics and housing!

Not sure I fully agree with this.  Yes, some drug dealing is a product of poverty and desperation.  But some is a product of demand and opportunity.  I am also not sure economics and housing will cure fully the drug issue as it's not just poor people who buy and sell drugs. 

NC will be one of the last States to legalize it I think but I think the legalization of marijuana will go a long way.  Then you need to look at things like the prescription drug epidemic, driven by drug companies and the issue of folks with serious pain management issues..it's pretty bleak.  Doesn't help when they drop the hammer on something like Kratom, which I have read in combination with marijuana, is very effective in chronic pain management.  

Edited by cjd5050
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18 hours ago, elrodvt said:

Do you suppose there would be better connectivity planned if there were affluent areas to the west? 

 

17 hours ago, Desert Power said:

I'd say that is a damn good bet.  Practically though, it isn't easy to build a connection over all of those rail lines.

 

I don't think affluence has anything to do with it. Connectivity is an issue that is fairly complex and extremely contextual, but the universal constant is that people love the idea as long as it doesn't affect them. 

The rail yard is a massive barrier both in terms of physical size and cost to go over (in terms of money) or around (in terms of time). If you look at the Applied Innovation Corridor / Smart District plan, and the North Tryon Area Plan, the are lots of connectivity proposals out there. At this point is has more to do with funding them.

 

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7 minutes ago, Spartan said:

 

 

I don't think affluence has anything to do with it. Connectivity is an issue that is fairly complex and extremely contextual, but the universal constant is that people love the idea as long as it doesn't affect them. 

The rail yard is a massive barrier both in terms of physical size and cost to go over (in terms of money) or around (in terms of time). If you look at the Applied Innovation Corridor / Smart District plan, and the North Tryon Area Plan, the are lots of connectivity proposals out there. At this point is has more to do with funding them.

 

Here are the current infrastructure plans in the area. Note the Red Line Station, I'm sure the new LRT line to the north will have a similar alignment helping the area immensely.

AICFundingTable.jpg

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28 minutes ago, Matthew.Brendan said:

I'd love to know this also. I didn't see it on the plan linked above ^^^

The linework is there, but it's almost grayed out like it's a project outside of the scope of AIC (which may be true, I'm not sure what pot of money it's coming from). As far as I know that project is still on.

Similarly, they only show Matheson improvements down to Yadkin Avenue, but that is supposed to happen all the way to the Plaza. I will be an unhappy taxpayer if that is getting shortchanged for some reason.

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8 minutes ago, grodney said:

In other Misc Uptown stuff, the Builders Building is getting a huge new awning(?):

20170223_112339_zpsn9wanjqg.jpg

Nah just preparing us all for its eventual slow demise as it falls apart. Now we won't get smashed when it falls apart, it'll just land on this.

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1 hour ago, tozmervo said:

The linework is there, but it's almost grayed out like it's a project outside of the scope of AIC (which may be true, I'm not sure what pot of money it's coming from). As far as I know that project is still on.

Similarly, they only show Matheson improvements down to Yadkin Avenue, but that is supposed to happen all the way to the Plaza. I will be an unhappy taxpayer if that is getting shortchanged for some reason.

1) The N Tryon/Church project still on. It's not a part of the AIC in terms of funding only because it's a separately funded CIP project. 

2) The map  RDF posted was made prior to the Parkwood road diet study. It's worth noting, however, that the project remains unfunded at this point.

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Re: Builders Building

Absolutely disgusting, although not at all surprising, that we will literally let the few remaining examples of nearly century old architecture crumble away before our eyes. 

Who owns this building? Who paid for the scaffolding? The owner, the city? 

Edited by Matthew.Brendan
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