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First Ward Urban Village / North Tryon Vision Plan


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2 hours ago, Third Strike said:

I know First Ward is a bit barren right now because of the Levine blocks, but what was it like before urban renewal? I couldn’t really find much history on this area, only info on Second Ward/Brooklyn came up. 

See pages 10-14:  https://www.historysouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/THE-CENTER-CITY.pdf

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3 hours ago, Bikeguy said:

edf8fa2c-6aba-4f12-ab87-7145e0edb95c.jpg

 

Can somebody orient me here?  Is this 7th going to the upper right and... Caldwell?  How long ago were these demolished?  I remember them redeveloping that area in the mid-90s  when they built First Ward Apartments and creating that garden district and I think I remember something like these around there.  IIRC they rehab'd several complexes along with the new construction and it was part of some Hugh McColl-led rehabilitation project for lower income housing.  I think that's right.  Unless it's wrong.

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49 minutes ago, tarhoosier said:

Earle Village became one of those neighborhoods that I would never enter during the 80's and early 90's, along with Keyway homes on Oaklawn and Piedmont Courts at Seigle and Central. A concentration of poverty, violence, and despair. Is there such a neighborhood today?  LaSalle Street, maybe.

 

Piedmont Courts was probably the most notorious.  It was in the news all the time back in the '80s, not for good reasons.  Everyone knew about it and everybody also knew to avoid it.

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17 hours ago, tarhoosier said:

Earle Village was public housing for Brooklyn residents displaced by the Redevelopment Commission. The photo is from the 1970's when it was still a new area but by the 1980's, with the influx of crack and other drugs it became a haven for some of the worst problems of Charlotte. By the early 1990's NCNB (Bank of America) worked with the housing commission, and the city to demolish most of the buildings and build what you see today. Hugh McColl was embarrassed to have this in his downtown area. If one goes through that area today it will be apparent which are newer built and which are renovated from 50+ years ago to blend with the 1990's version.

Earle Village became one of those neighborhoods that I would never enter during the 80's and early 90's, along with Keyway homes on Oaklawn and Piedmont Courts at Seigle and Central. A concentration of poverty, violence, and despair. Is there such a neighborhood today?  LaSalle Street, maybe.

 

FAQ City: What Happened To Charlotte's Earle Village? | WFAE 90.7 - Charlotte's NPR News Source 

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For general information, and not directly related to Earle Village but for certain connected to it:

https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/charlotte/news/2019/10/22/comparing-charlotte-crime-rates--1993-vs--2019

In 1993 Charlotte had a population of 452,000 and 123 murders. Jamaican gangs and Jamaican-related gangs were part of this tragic number. 

Some of the public decisions about changing the desperate conditions in public housing were driven by these events. It is not to be forgotten that some people came from outside those neighborhoods to buy their drugs. There are enough fingers to point in every appropriate direction. It was a time of fear, and as I said above there were neighborhoods that I would not drive through, period.

Edit: I should make a point of reference that the reputation of the Jamaican gangs was that they were equally killers as much as drug businesspeople. There was a clear distinction between them and the rest of the groups fighting for credibility, power, control and money. Jamaican gangs committed ritualized murder, police killings; it was a different world. Google can take you there should you wish.

Edited by tarhoosier
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  • 4 weeks later...
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From the Charlotte O today above some new wedding and event venues and I guess we have a name for it:  First Ward Field wonder how many years in advance you can book it???

LEVINE FIELDS FOR RENT

The field being used by Actor’s Theatre is part of the McAlpine Campus off of Monroe Road in Charlotte. (GPS directions to 8300 Monroe Road is the closest, but it’s actually a block off of Monroe Road on McAlpine Park Drive. This Google Maps link will get you there. Look for the silo.) Levine office park McAlpines Center, the Levine-owned office park next to the field, is currently undergoing a $2.5 million makeover, including common areas, signage and landscaping.

Another outdoor Levine property is also being booked for fall events: First Ward Field on 7th Street, Brannon said.

At First Ward Field, a nonprofit fundraiser for 500 people has been booked in October — Brannon said this annual event is typically black tie and will be more casual this year.

Hot sauce fans, mark your calendar: First Ward Field will host the inaugural NC Hot Sauce Expo on Oct. 9 and 10. Owner of PuckerButt Pepper Company and Guinness World Record Holder for the hottest pepper, “Smokin’” Ed Currie, will be a featured guest.

 
 

 

Edited by KJHburg
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1 hour ago, CharlotteWkndBuzz said:

Pardon my french but it's effing tragic the way he's holding first ward hostage.  

I’m not even sure what his endgame is. Waiting for someone to make an offer for his parcels? Content with making profit from his parking lots? Or just plain incompetence?

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3 hours ago, KJHburg said:

From the Charlotte O today above some new wedding and event venues and I guess we have a name for it:  First Ward Field wonder how many years in advance you can book it???

LEVINE FIELDS FOR RENT

The field being used by Actor’s Theatre is part of the McAlpine Campus off of Monroe Road in Charlotte. (GPS directions to 8300 Monroe Road is the closest, but it’s actually a block off of Monroe Road on McAlpine Park Drive. This Google Maps link will get you there. Look for the silo.) Levine office park McAlpines Center, the Levine-owned office park next to the field, is currently undergoing a $2.5 million makeover, including common areas, signage and landscaping.

Another outdoor Levine property is also being booked for fall events: First Ward Field on 7th Street, Brannon said.

At First Ward Field, a nonprofit fundraiser for 500 people has been booked in October — Brannon said this annual event is typically black tie and will be more casual this year.

Hot sauce fans, mark your calendar: First Ward Field will host the inaugural NC Hot Sauce Expo on Oct. 9 and 10. Owner of PuckerButt Pepper Company and Guinness World Record Holder for the hottest pepper, “Smokin’” Ed Currie, will be a featured guest.

 
 

 

Wait - is this for real?  All that vacant space in 4th ward will now be an open space venue for outdoor events for years to come?  

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  • 2 weeks later...
1 hour ago, Urban Cowboy said:

I'm confident the residents of first ward would appreciate better connectivity and dining options. Filling in the parking lots between first ward park and the residences of first ward should be a priority for the city. The arena is right there, too. We're talking about entertainment districts, etc but why not build around the arena which hosts WAY more events than BofA Stadium. 

How many BofA and Truist employees use the lots by the Arena and in First Ward.  I wonder if there's an understanding that those surface lots will remain for a bit until perhaps the Spirit Square parking structures are completed?  

I wish there was some way to make carlessness "cool" or at least "adventurous."  Or maybe even "car holidays."  So many more land use options might result.  Something like "sexy, fit, planet-friendly people walk, run, and cycle for their mobility."

Alas, unlikely in our lifetimes I suppose.

Edited by RANYC
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