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Westside Retail Development

DigitalSky

By DigitalSky
in Charlotte Coffee House

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StevenRocks City

StevenRocks

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It's not ugly, it's just over the op. Architecture is about order. You can make a building less monolithic but still continue a cohesive theme. This Wal-Mart design is overkill.

I do applaud their effort to think outside the 'big box' ans it is a boon for the neighborhood, ehich has been neglected for a long time, but still, this design is cartoonish and will become dated very quickly.

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dubone Megalopolis

dubone

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yeah, i can see your point.

i drove down freedom and wilkinson today. just comparing the kmart on freedom to this walmart.... freedom appeared blighted because of the drab and lifeless kmart... wilkinson looked alive and booming because of all the colors and trees.

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dubone Megalopolis

dubone

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ironically, the industrial section of freedom looks fairly nice. the buildings are well designed and well maintained. but the commercial section west of camp greene is ugly and blighted.

When the county starts filling in the freedom mall, i think it will help... but i'm not sure if they plan to do many outside improvements, such as trees in the parking lot or facade changes. Kmart is one of the major reasons it looks blighted, and they are still in business. I don't know how much it would cost, but getting rid of a sampling of parking spaces and planting trees would go a long way. They also need to do something about the facade...perhaps a more interesting paint job.

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DigitalSky City

DigitalSky

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the thing that slays me is that 5000 people applied for 400 low-wage jobs. that is incredible, and really reveals the economic hardships on that side of town. i sure hope the multiplier effect can help employ some of the others.

yeah that's sad about 5,000. I hope you're right about the multiplier effect

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dubone Megalopolis

dubone

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but it often has a very positive effect on their productivity. If people feel like they are better paid compared to their other opportunities, and feel lucky to have won the job compared the other applicants... then they will often be happier, more productive, and more friendly to customers.

that might make the experience of shopping at that walmart superior to the downright miserable experience of shopping at most other walmarts. nothing like a bitter and nasty person grumbling at you for no reason with a massive smiley pin on their vest.

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/business/13007199.htm

the fact that the parking lot and aisles of this store were full says a lot! this is wilkinson boulevard and a massive store. while many people joke about how there is no way myers park people will go to wilkinson walmart... i'm sure they are drawing many middle class folks from all sorts of areas in south charlotte that otherwise do not have an alternative big box general store.... but are people who like the savings that [whatever else] that comes with shopping at walmart. drawing those people will infuse cash and investments on the west side.

they will definitely need to pay close attention to security, though. there was an armed robbery a few nights ago at the texaco across the street. i have personally wondered if i were to go to that store whether my car would be safe in the parking lot. and i'm usually dismissive of security risks.

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dubone Megalopolis

dubone

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i went to this walmart today, just for fun. it was definitely a westside population... old old white ladies, ladies with tight revealing dresses and bright red and bright blonde wigs, and lots of black families out for a saturday afternoon errand.

it actually wasn't too bad. inside, it was the nicest walmart i've seen, although i haven't been to one in about five years. it has stained concrete floors and many many skylights for natural light, so it has a classier feel. It was organized fairly well, and the people were friendly, both of which were a shock.

there were police in the parking lot and police by the checkout counters, so it felt pretty secure.

i must say, though, that it wasn't very crowded considering it was the opening week saturday of a walmart supercenter. but perhaps that will grow if there are no news incidents, and as word spreads.

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MZT Burg

MZT

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I checked it out too. It's 7 miles from me, about the same distance as the one at 485/Tryon.

They'll need to keep an eye out for food that's been dropped and moved around. I was noticing that already, as well as trash in the parking lot. It will look "ghetto" here real fast, if there isn't enough staff to keep after things.

The cashiers are still learning the ropes handling inventory exceptions. I got in two different lines that became blocked, b/c of some problem ringing up an item.

But, I will admit, most things are way cheap. Some of the food, like bakery goods, is about 1/2 what HT charges. Oddly, the milk was kinda expensive... $4.75 a gallon... I can get it cheaper at my corner Citgo station.

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dubone Megalopolis

dubone

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when i was there, a kid dropped something and the mom told him to pick it up. the kid said "they'll do it". i was horrified... but luckily the mom said 'pick that up right now".

there is a risk that people won't respect the store... and end up messing it up. frankly, that is one reason i typically do not like shopping at walmart is that they tend to look and smell like crud.

as far as the prices... it is the same story, i think. much of the stuff is the same price as everywhere... but then noticeable items on the isles are shockingly cheap, which leaves an impression.

i'm guessing the milk is one of the few items that doesn't benefit from walmart's massive global sourcing and distribution network... as it must come from regional sources...

anyway, for me, i'll have to consider carefully whether i want to continue investing in this store as a customer. I quit walmart five years ago because of crappy store layout, dirtiness, smelliness, and molasses slow checkout lines. Since then, i've chosen not to go back because of low wages, which leave many employees on welfare. this store is quite nice in layout and design, and the wages are a boost to what is otherwise available on the westside.

I'll probably end up being an occassional shopper there, but i'll keep spending my grocery money at the teet and a lot of the rest at cvs.

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  • 4 months later...
DigitalSky City

DigitalSky

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I drove by Freedom Mall today after not seeing it in YEARS... i had forgotton how that mall really IS "The land that time forgot".... It is stuck in the 60s/70s... it's got so much of that character to it. Unfortunately my camera died and i lost my battery charger so I couldn't get pics.

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dubone Megalopolis

dubone

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It isn't dead, it is just experiencing adaptive reuse. It is now owned by Mecklenburg County, and they are relocating many of their offices that that require interaction with consituents as customers. It should make it easier for people in the county to get stuff done with the county, rather than finding the random office somewhere uptown.

They are not terminating any leases, though. So they basically convert retail to county offices as leases run out.

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dubone Megalopolis

dubone

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Well, no, it is the county. I sure hope channel 9 isn't saying the city is doing that right when the city is doing a tax raise. Why is the county doing that? Because they now own the building and plan to use it for office space. I assume channel 9 didn't include those facts, either.

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