SouthEnd Midrise Projects

[InitialD]

Southend Flats (Church St): http://www.mytownhome.com/cgi-bin/detail2....amp;allphotos=1

Southend Towns (Next to Trolley Museum): http://www.mytownhome.com/cgi-bin/detail2....amp;allphotos=1

I must admit I am deeply skeptical of the latter from those renderings. Its the house-over-garage syndrome, and the garages would appear to be facing toward the lot next to Bland St Station. With the right site design, it might work okay.

I'm still not sure - are they tearing down the brick building where the Canine Cafe is located, or is it going to be squeezed between that building and the trolley museum?

[Guest]

I'm still not sure - are they tearing down the brick building where the Canine Cafe is located, or is it going to be squeezed between that building and the trolley museum?

They'll be squeezed in from what I understand. It'll be nice to get some new residential amongst what hopefully will become a great stroll district. I feel like this area really could use some love, and it could really prove quite successful in the future.

[lewy2000]

Usually I'm not one of those "where's the retail" guys, but in this case why wouldn't you include it? Across the street you have that great strip of Niche, Black Sheep, American Apparel and Common Market.

Wasted opportunity to do something similar on the other side of the street, imo.

[JBGB]

I wish some of these new townhomes would have better outdoor living space. Is it to much to have a nice, huge rooftop deck? Or even some of the condos could have bigger decks off of them instead of a 1 or 2 person deck.

[CharlotteSteve]

I mentioned this last week in the Southend Living forum but there is a Grand Opening for these 2 new developments (Towns and Flats) today (Wed July 22nd) from 430-7 near Bland St. Station. It'll be nice to get some new information.

[voyager12]

The back of the current issue of Creative Loafing has renderings of the flats and the towns. I think the latter looks ok. Not particularly eyecatching but I don't think any of the projects in Southend are really outstanding.

[krazeeboi]

The back of the current issue of Creative Loafing has renderings of the flats and the towns. I think the latter looks ok. Not particularly eyecatching but I don't think any of the projects in Southend are really outstanding.

Really? I think Ashton is pretty schnazzy.

[voyager12]

I don't know....they are all eye-pleasing generally but just tend to blend together into one amorphous brown and gray mass to me.

But hey, I am a big fan of the The Arlington's hue. Which seems to be sacrilege in this town. We are known for being wildly conformist after all.

Edited July 23, 2009 by voyager12

[monsoon]

These comments remind me that I am really of the opinion the city ought to change its approach to allowable development and make changes to favor land subdivision to small lots so that individuals can develop them as they see fit. There would be a lot more diversity this way. It's the way that it is done in many cities outside the USA.

[tozmervo]

Really? I think Ashton is pretty schnazzy.

I think Ashton qualifies as "Schnazzy bland." IE, it is done well but lacks the boldness to stand out in a crowd. Wasn't there some new South Park project where many of the comments were "looks like the Ashton"? Therein lies the situation.

I don't know....they are all eye-pleasing generally but just tend to blend together into one amorphous brown and gray mass to me.

But hey, I am a big fan of the The Arlington's hue. Which seems to be sacrilege in this town. We are known for being wildly conformist after all.

To that I would just point out that the Arlington only stands out against a background of amorphous blob. If they were all that visually iconic, none of them would be.

[voyager12]

Well, I think we do need more color in these projects. Unfortunately complexes that do try and differentiate like Central27 on the East Side have been executed poorly and that scares off more innovation. Southend in particular seems to locked into the same palette over and over again.

[southslider]

Usually I'm not one of those "where's the retail" guys, but in this case why wouldn't you include it? Across the street you have that great strip of Niche, Black Sheep, American Apparel and Common Market. Wasted opportunity to do something similar on the other side of the street, imo.

Not only will the Towns lack retail, but they will also place a driveway directly opposite from those storefronts.

I wish some of these new townhomes would have better outdoor living space. Is it to much to have a nice, huge rooftop deck? Or even some of the condos could have bigger decks off of them instead of a 1 or 2 person deck.

Yep, townhomes here in the heart of "South End's downtown" results in six small decks instead of one shared terrace. Townhomes here also means six garage doors (as seen in the for-sale-listing renderings) instead of a shared parking deck.

Someone may say, well at least they're alley-loaded. Sure, but this "alley" (really a private driveway, albeit shared) will be dead-end, only serve these six townhouses, and worst of all, create an awkward driveway right on Camden Road near its unique intersection with Summit and Tryon Streets.

IMHO, the parking lot between this site and Canine Cafe should have been incorporated as well for a deck-loaded, vertically integrated project. Townhouses are better suited for where South End blends into Wilmore and Dilworth, not within the heart of its business district. Oh well.

[hokiehigh]

This is crazy. Why would you not put retail in this space and rent or sell everything above the first floor? I am confused though. Do these townhouses face Camden or are they perpendicular? Please tell them they at least face Camden. I wonder if some of these developers have ever lived in a bigger city.

[southslider]

^They're perpendicular, facing the pedestrian path alongside the Trolley Museum. Camden Road has a similar "side" elevation as the LYNX line, except that the "alley" dead-ends on the LYNX side, while the Camden Road "side" gets its own driveway separate from the parking lot next to Canine Cafe.

[nonillogical]

yep, i'm pretty disappointed about the Towns. i'm pretty used to projects here missing the opportunity for creating urbanity, but to have projects in already successfully urban nodes miss the point is not encouraging.

so, yay for small-scale infill, boo for everything else about it. though truthfully i'd still live there in a heartbeat if i could.

[Charlotte_native]

They've already sold half of these, towns and flats.

[atlrvr]

I really like the towns.....if I was in the market, I would definetly consider them.

[tozmervo]

Went to check out a couple of units at the very-recently opened Spectrum. Of all the new apartments in Southend, they definitely win on windows. Great big operable windows with screens, very nice. They also have ceiling fans included, which is a really undervalued amenity. I also wanted to comment that the courtyards - the ones that look absurdly tiny in the earlier aerial photos - are actually quite nice. The proportions feel more European from the inside. I'd say the material/construction quality falls somewhere between Ashton and Circle, but closer to the Ashton in the units themselves. (The hallways are very spartan, which is fine by me.) This only leaves Millennium left to debut, but it looks like that will be another three-four months out.

[atlrvr]

This only leaves Millennium left to debut, but it looks like that will be another three-four months out.

And 1225 S. Church, where framing is nearly complete, though it is probably 8-9 months from opening.

Anyone have a sense of how full fast these new apartments are leasing?

[InitialD]

Went to check out a couple of units at the very-recently opened Spectrum. Of all the new apartments in Southend, they definitely win on windows. Great big operable windows with screens, very nice. They also have ceiling fans included, which is a really undervalued amenity. I also wanted to comment that the courtyards - the ones that look absurdly tiny in the earlier aerial photos - are actually quite nice. The proportions feel more European from the inside. I'd say the material/construction quality falls somewhere between Ashton and Circle, but closer to the Ashton in the units themselves. (The hallways are very spartan, which is fine by me.) This only leaves Millennium left to debut, but it looks like that will be another three-four months out.

I was recently riding my bike down the trail next to the light rail and I noticed several holes in the windows of Spectrum. It looks as if someone had thrown some of the rocks from the light rail bed.

[krazeeboi]

I really wouldn't mind living in any of these new complexes in South End, but I just can't see myself dishing out a grand a month for an apartment, even if I could afford it.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

I know the Greenhawk project is 'on hold', but while I was browsing about I found this PDF with a 'rendering'..

http://www.cherokeefund.com/trans/Southline.pdf

Now that I see the plans for the area, the Spectrum makes much more sense.

It will be fascinating this next decade to see what huge projects develop on this line. I think we'll end up with some nice urban clusters like the one's in the DC metro area.

Edited August 12, 2009 by moonshield

[Guest]

Anyone know how many of the Southend Flats are left? My fianc

[dubone]

MOD NOTE: I have merged the SouthEnd threads back together to avoid confusion now that many of the apartment projects are nearing completion, and many of the condo projects have been put on hold. Other than large high rise projects like that at Simpson lighting, all SouthEnd projects can be discussed here.

[tozmervo]

The *almost* complete sidewalk between the Circle and Bland Street Station.