Northside Developments

[westsider28]

City Council will vote tonight on a development agreement with Equity Plus, LLC for the replacement of Norris Ridge with a new development at Midtowne Heights.  You can read the full agreement in the meeting agenda here.  It also mentions the intent to develop workforce housing on Phase 2, and to redevelop the current Norris Ridge in accordance with the Highland Transformation Plan.

One thing that concerns me is the new site plan for Midtowne Heights (below).  There's also a Planning Commission meeting on May 7 about the new site plan.  It appears an additional parcel has been acquired, but the development as a whole has gotten much less dense.  It now takes up all of the land west of Thompson Street.  I appears that there's an extra drainage pond (side note: why do we have drainage ponds in urban settings?!) and the roads through the property are more convoluted.  And I don't understand why there isn't an attempt to realign Thompson with Farley (a pretty well-traveled street) which would result in a clean intersection where you could put a light or 4-way stop.

Seems like a big step backward.  I really wish this was within the Urban Code boundaries.  We need to expand those ASAP, IMO.

Old site plan:

Edited April 27, 2020 by westsider28

[Historyguy]

On 4/27/2020 at 1:12 PM, westsider28 said:

(side note: why do we have drainage ponds in urban settings?!)

 

I presume for stormwater management - rather than have the water all go into the storm drains, detention ponds hold runoff from impervious surfaces to let it gradually disperse into the ground rather than running off somewhere...  I have no idea what triggers a detention pond vs. letting water go into storm drains.  I've found one of the common objections to citizens to any zoning change - though not the most common - is stormwater runoff.  

I've got to go back and see what in this project has changed since Planning Commission approved it several months ago - and certainly will ask why the changes have taken place.  

[westsider28]

7 minutes ago, Historyguy said:

I presume for stormwater management - rather than have the water all go into the storm drains, detention ponds hold runoff from impervious surfaces to let it gradually disperse into the ground rather than running off somewhere...  I have no idea what triggers a detention pond vs. letting water go into storm drains.  I've found one of the common objections to citizens to any zoning change - though not the most common - is stormwater runoff.  

I've got to go back and see what in this project has changed since Planning Commission approved it several months ago - and certainly will ask why the changes have taken place.  

Thanks.  I just feel like large stormwater ponds are incompatible with urban form.  They don't exist in urban areas in other cities.  There must be alternatives.  Increased sewer capacity, bioswales, permeable paving ... something.

Edited April 29, 2020 by westsider28

[Historyguy]

I know sometimes these things can be buried - I presume in the urban core in the central part of downtown that there's not as much impervious surface (parking lots) but this is a lot larger acreage area so that probably makes it necessary...  I realize buildings and sidewalks are impervious - I just have to admit I don't know what triggers it, how many square feet of impervious or what type of impervious...

[westsider28]

At a Zoom DRB meeting tonight, the Village at Creekside was given final approval.  The only change was the interior parking was slightly tweaked again.  Looking forward to this one getting underway.

Also, the Ellington (affordable senior apartments on Magnolia) came back before the DRB to ask to have a hipped roof (instead of a flat roof).  This is for up-front cost reasons, as well as future maintenance and replacement reasons.  It's a shame from an urban design standpoint, but understandable considering this type of project.  The DRB approved, and the developer said they hope to start construction in June/July.

[Spartan]

On 4/27/2020 at 1:12 PM, westsider28 said:

City Council will vote tonight on a development agreement with Equity Plus, LLC for the replacement of Norris Ridge with a new development at Midtowne Heights.  You can read the full agreement in the meeting agenda here.  It also mentions the intent to develop workforce housing on Phase 2, and to redevelop the current Norris Ridge in accordance with the Highland Transformation Plan.

One thing that concerns me is the new site plan for Midtowne Heights (below).  There's also a Planning Commission meeting on May 7 about the new site plan.  It appears an additional parcel has been acquired, but the development as a whole has gotten much less dense.  It now takes up all of the land west of Thompson Street.  I appears that there's an extra drainage pond (side note: why do we have drainage ponds in urban settings?!) and the roads through the property are more convoluted.  And I don't understand why there isn't an attempt to realign Thompson with Farley (a pretty well-traveled street) which would result in a clean intersection where you could put a light or 4-way stop.

Seems like a big step backward.  I really wish this was within the Urban Code boundaries.  We need to expand those ASAP, IMO.

Old site plan:

 

The lack of connectivity and generally extension of the streets on the north side to the south is very dissapointing.

[westsider28]

I tuned into the Planning Commission meeting late (Zoom issues), but from what I understand, the additional retention pond was requested/required by the railroad (CSX?)  Anyway, considering this is affordable housing and the site is currently empty, I can live with the site plan, even if not ideal.  Wofford Street will at least be nice with all those units fronting it.  Anyway, PC approved the site plan.

This is the first time I've seen the project called "Robert Smalls Apartments".  While he doesn't really have a Spartanburg connection, he's certainly a worthy namesake, if that's what they choose.

[westsider28]

The Northside is definitely where the action is right now.  At Monday's City Council meeting, they will vote on a development agreement with Montgomery Development that would result in 135 townhomes (44 in the current project + the remainder following in 2 phases on the adjacent 2 blocks - see map below).  Under the agreement, the first phase would be done within 3 years, and the total within 5 years.  Importantly, 25% of the townhomes would be affordable units for renters making at or below 80% of median income.  These units would be identical to the market-rate units and mixed among them.

And here's an example of what the townhomes are planned to look like:

[westsider28]

Construction on the Tapestry at Bon Haven apartments has begun.  Arlington Properties officially acquired the site on April 28 for $2.4 million.  This will be 150 units.  Site clearance is currently underway.  Below is a rendering from the architect's FB page (Charlan - Brock).  Not sure if the site plan has changed or not from the original plan.  Anyway, great to see this one starting!

 

[westsider28]

Here's an awesome aerial photo of TK Gregg from Hub City Bees.  They also have a video on their FB page.

Opening date for the center is still uncertain due to COVID-19.

[roads-scholar]

On 5/13/2020 at 8:29 PM, westsider28 said:

Construction on the Tapestry at Bon Haven apartments has begun.  Arlington Properties officially acquired the site on April 28 for $2.4 million.  This will be 150 units.  Site clearance is currently underway.  Below is a rendering from the architect's FB page (Charlan - Brock).  Not sure if the site plan has changed or not from the original plan.  Anyway, great to see this one starting!

 

Wow!  I drove by this site today and the transformation is amazing.  Can't wait to see this project take form.  

 

[westsider28]

Here's a pretty comprehensive article about the Bon Haven apartments.  It says 160 units (up from 150 that was previously reported), and a remaining tea house will be preserved.  The apartments are pretty suburban in character, but the Church Street / Asheville Highway corner seems like it will have a solid presence.  It also mentions how the City is putting the tax revenue from this project toward affordable housing, which is cool.  Expected completion is Summer 2021.  Below is an updated site plan (not much change from before).  The red arrow shows the perspective of the previously-posted rendering.

Here's some site clearance progress from this past weekend:

Edited June 10, 2020 by westsider28

[westsider28]

The City just posted a round-up of Northside projects in-progress.  Most we know and have discussed, but there was also this interesting nugget:

"...preliminary work continues on a pair of potential projects that could bring significant new retail and restaurant space to the area. A pair of Greenville-based developers, independent of another, are seeking to redevelop the site of the former Sunshine Inn on Church Street and the Aden Street railroad warehouses. The pandemic has slowed things down, but work continues and optimism remains that these promising projects will proceed."

Hope we will hear more about these projects relatively soon.  The Northside is definitely the most exciting part of town right now!

[westsider28]

Looks like site clearance for the Bon Haven apartments is basically done.  I presume grading is next.  You can see that they are preserving the "tea house" on the site (number 2 on the site plan a few posts above) and several adjacent trees.

Here's the rear of the Lofts at Northside Station.  Judging by the parking lot, apartment move-ins haven't happened quite yet.  I know a few of the office users on the ground floor (like NDG) have moved in, but COVID-19 has limited their function.  Foundation work on 500 Northside Station across the street looks like it could begin any day.  There's been a lot of prep work, and they just put the first coat of asphalt on the parking lot.

[westsider28]

Retaining wall at Tapestry at Bon Haven. Site prep continues.

Site clearance for The Ellington has begun.

Star Mill windows are in and parking lot prep is beginning.

Stormwater infrastructure work underway at Creekside site.

Retaining walls / foundation for 500 Northside Station is finally underway.

Howard Street has been repaved in front of The Lofts building.

    

And bonus photos of the beautiful DuPre house.

Edited August 2, 2020 by westsider28

[westsider28]

Phase 1 of the Northside townhomes received final approval at last night's DRB meeting.  There will be 44 units (all 1,771 sq ft; 3BR, 3.5ba) across seven 3-story buildings, most have garages accessed by alley, and 25% are affordable.  The linked H-J article says ~$1,057/mo for the affordable units, and $1,800/mo for the market-rate units.  The townhomes facing Howard Street will be nearly all brick and echo the design of the current mixed-use building next door (since Howard is a more major street).  The remaining townhomes will be have more siding and be more "residential" in character.  I think these look amazing.  John Montgomery says they could begin in 30-45 days, so he's wasting no time.

Site plan:

Howard Street townhomes:

Non-Howard townhomes:

Edited August 5, 2020 by westsider28

[westsider28]

I was Googling and found an RFQ for Northside Gateway Art (PDF) on the Americans for the Arts website.  This is a commission for an iconic outdoor artwork for the new gateway plaza of the under-construction 500 Northside Station (corner of Howard and College).  There's a budget of $455,000 for the artwork.  Artist selection and community engagement will happen over the next several months, and the artwork should be completed and installed by Spring 2022.  You can read the document for all the details.  I'm really excited about this.  More public art around town is always welcome; particularly sculptures, IMO.  Can't wait to see the final product!

[westsider28]

Here are a couple photos from the past week.  Tapestry at Bon Haven is moving along.  Below is the corner building site (photo from last Sunday) where today they were installing plumbing/utility lines.  I think the concrete slab could be poured pretty soon.

Retaining walls look complete at 500 Northside Station.

Railroad side of Star Mill.  Anyone know what the ghost sign might say?

[westsider28]

Found this interesting plan today.  First Baptist is planning a tiny-home community for homeless women called BridgeWay Village on land next to The Bridge at Green Street church.  This would be "a transitional housing program specifically for single women to assist them as they transition out of homelessness or a temporary shelter and into their own home or apartment."  You can find more info at the website.  Seems like a great project/program.  Here are some images of the plan:

[westsider28]

Saw in the paper this morning that a mixed-use project at the former Days Inn site (578 N Church) will go before the DRB for preliminary approval at their October 6 meeting.  This is a key gateway site for the Northside.  I hope it is a high-quality project (all Northside stuff has been so far), hopefully with retail/restaurant space since it has high-visibility along heavily traveled Church Street, and it's right across from Wofford.  Can't wait to see what's planned!

Also, here are some photos of various Northside projects from this past weekend:

Tapestry at Bon Haven apartments (concrete pad will likely be poured very soon)

The Ellington affordable senior apartments (from Ridge Street, grading underway)

500 Northside Station affordable apartments (closer to viewer, concrete retaining walls done)

[westsider28]

On 9/21/2020 at 9:08 PM, westsider28 said:

Saw in the paper this morning that a mixed-use project at the former Days Inn site (578 N Church) will go before the DRB for preliminary approval at their October 6 meeting.  This is a key gateway site for the Northside.  I hope it is a high-quality project (all Northside stuff has been so far), hopefully with retail/restaurant space since it has high-visibility along heavily traveled Church Street, and it's right across from Wofford.  Can't wait to see what's planned!

This project actually ended up coming before the DRB for informational purposes, with no vote tonight.  The site plan is below.  I believe the developer mentioned the Westone project on Stone Avenue in Greenville (that they developed) as a model (though that was adaptive reuse vs new-build here).

As seems to be the case so often, this is a very complicated site.  The site to the south has an easement on the site that requires 10 parking spaces for them.  Also, SCDOT is requiring the Church Street car exits to be on the extremes of the site.  And prospective tenants (supposedly) need the current parking (60 spaces).  The site faces 2 streets, making it challenging to determine the "primary frontage".  And the City just wrangled SCDOT to get them to allow on-street spaces for The Ellington to the west, with the expectation that treatment would continue down Magnolia.  Also the building is only 1-story (plus mezzanine) when the Urban Code requires 2 minimum here in DT-5.

So here we sit, up against essentially an existential question about what we want our built environment to be versus the reality of current customer behavior, tenant requirements, DOT requirements, etc.  Parking is clearly wagging the dog here.  And every exception the DRB grants further erodes the intent of the Code through establishing new precedents.  It's a very difficult situation.  Thoughts?

[roads-scholar]

1 hour ago, westsider28 said:

This project actually ended up coming before the DRB for informational purposes, with no vote tonight.  The site plan is below.  I believe the developer mentioned the Westone project on Stone Avenue in Greenville (that they developed) as a model (though that was adaptive reuse vs new-build here).

As seems to be the case so often, this is a very complicated site.  The site to the south has an easement on the site that requires 10 parking spaces for them.  Also, SCDOT is requiring the Church Street car exits to be on the extremes of the site.  And prospective tenants (supposedly) need the current parking (60 spaces).  The site faces 2 streets, making it challenging to determine the "primary frontage".  And the City just wrangled SCDOT to get them to allow on-street spaces for The Ellington to the west, with the expectation that treatment would continue down Magnolia.  Also the building is only 1-story (plus mezzanine) when the Urban Code requires 2 minimum here in DT-5.

So here we sit, up against essentially an existential question about what we want our built environment to be versus the reality of current customer behavior, tenant requirements, DOT requirements, etc.  Parking is clearly wagging the dog here.  And every exception the DRB grants further erodes the intent of the Code through establishing new precedents.  It's a very difficult situation.  

1 hour ago, westsider28 said:

This project actually ended up coming before the DRB for informational purposes, with no vote tonight.  The site plan is below.  I believe the developer mentioned the Westone project on Stone Avenue in Greenville (that they developed) as a model (though that was adaptive reuse vs new-build here).

As seems to be the case so often, this is a very complicated site.  The site to the south has an easement on the site that requires 10 parking spaces for them.  Also, SCDOT is requiring the Church Street car exits to be on the extremes of the site.  And prospective tenants (supposedly) need the current parking (60 spaces).  The site faces 2 streets, making it challenging to determine the "primary frontage".  And the City just wrangled SCDOT to get them to allow on-street spaces for The Ellington to the west, with the expectation that treatment would continue down Magnolia.  Also the building is only 1-story (plus mezzanine) when the Urban Code requires 2 minimum here in DT-5.

So here we sit, up against essentially an existential question about what we want our built environment to be versus the reality of current customer behavior, tenant requirements, DOT requirements, etc.  Parking is clearly wagging the dog here.  And every exception the DRB grants further erodes the intent of the Code through establishing new precedents.  It's a very difficult situation.  Thoughts?

Still early in the approval process but from what I see so far is a project that doesn't seem to be as high quality as we want for this location.  

[westsider28]

There was a notice in the paper today about the City applying for CDBG funds for infrastructure at the Village at Creekside.  So it will be a little while longer before that starts.  Maybe end of the year or early next year?

Tapestry at Bon Haven apartments have gone vertical! (at least the corner building):

Curbing is in for The Ellington parking lot, and the building footprint is staked-out:

The last house on Milan Street was demolished to make way for Phase 1 of the Northside Townhomes (new webpage here):

And at 500 Northside Station, utilities are almost done, so the concrete pad should be poured soon:

[westsider28]

Here are some great drone photos by Marcos Gomez (dellfrio on Instagram) of the Howard & College corner on the Northside from this weekend.

Also saw in the paper that the commercial project at 578 N Church will be back for Preliminary Approval at the Nov. 3 DRB meeting.  Wonder if it will be improved.  Hopefully the DRB will be willing to reject if not.

[westsider28]

Framing is already well underway at 500 NS Station.  It's going up very fast; they just started on Monday.

It also looks like site clearance has begun for the Robert Smalls apartments on Wofford Street (Norris Ridge replacement).  Lots of trees coming down.