mfowler12

I recently got a parking spot in the Tryon Place site - they said the development is still 6 months out from breaking ground.

Couldn't the Brooklyn Village plan be pushed with this type of idea in mind..outdoor retail component built from scratch.. I would think there's more than enough land for it and it might be the last frontier of what's needed inside the 277 loop. Conformity??

Does anyone know if there will be any screening built for the apartment tower's view of the exisitng Mint Museum roof and all utlitities located on it? I was looking at the progress today from my office and noticed those first floor apartement units basically look directly out onto the Mint rooftop. I'd hate to be staring down at large heating and air condenser fans spinning all day.

Is there a uptown retail thread somewhere? - my Captain obvious two cents on uptown retail. Option 1 - Current State - It seems the trend is to build new apartments, condos, mixed use office and the hope is to mandate retail on the ground floor. If we get the retail - maybe a restaurant, definitely a dry cleaners and possibly a subway chain. All useful options but not in the sense they create a retail destination or even contribute to the idea of retail being uptown. The cost of acquiring land, building, etc makes it difficult or near impossible forboutiques and other diverse retailers to join in. National retailers, unless they are food, will most likely not go it alone and open a standalone. Conclusion: Even with great zoning requirements and developers buying in with design, i just don't think this option is going to get us there. Option 2 - Uptown Mall - in my mind, building retail in uptown may not be achievable through organic piecemail projects. Our building stock just simply isn't available, which means it would be new construction and back to the rent cost issue noted previously. It will take national retail chains. Levine missed this more than anything with all his land over in first ward as he had the space available to make a real multi block walkable retail mall. Any other available land where someone could do this? 2nd Ward? Option 3 - County/City participation - to avoid those high construction costs, is there some city/county land that could be leased or sold at below market rates to help a developer bring this uptown? this goes back to my premise that retail has to come in a huge chunk. Municipalities give land away to sports teams all the time (which i'm ok with it), but this could help local businesses start and locate in a retail hub in uptown and bring the destination and diverse retail options we want. PSA - option 3 is not meant to stoke a political argument over the government use of land. :)

If you're looking for a santized version of CM, the Rhino Market is perfect.

I noticed what appeared to be tracks being placed along 5th street (across from Arena). I notice this construction for the past few months, but had no idea there was a plan to put down streetcar tracks here. Anyone have an idea what these are for?

FYI - construction fencing is being assembled at the Dixie's tavern surface lot today. Almost looked complete as of 8:30 AM.

Golf courses are able to sell beer before noon so i know it's possible. I was told it was 10 am was their cut off.

Would anyone consider Baxter Village a seperate ring city/town or simply part of Fort Mill?

They seem to be doing some related road work on West 4th related to this project. Is it too much to dream they are making a median and cutting lanes down to 2? I could be wrong and it is just some utility type work tied to Gateway West.

I noticed some activity at the Grinnell site this week on west Morehead. Mainly earth movers, but maybe a sign this project might pick back up?

Does anyone have a view of the 4th street elevation for this project?

Dunkin Donuts is making some progress at Freedom and Morehead - they installed signage this week, but without any real exterior rehab to the building. I wish i had more info on a projected opening date. Glad to have walkable coffee for us Wesley Heights residents, but we'll still have to navigate the drag race crossing created by the Freedom drive exit from 277.

I think a great example of this opportunity is what Columbus, OH did with their cap of a similar innercity interstate I670. They placed a retail strip cap on both sides of their downtown mainstreet (High Street) to connect downtown proper with a growing, young, and very residential area referred to as Short North. Google the pictures to get a sense. I see so many similarities between Tryon connecting uptown and Southend. Why does this have to be completely public investment. Couldn't the city potentialy sell the development rights to the cap similar to developers selling Air Rights?

Exposed cinder block is high impact too, but looks bad. It looks to just be on top of the structure. I'm hoping it's not used throughout. All you have to do is go to the Epicenter to see what that stuff looks like after 3-4 years.

I could have been wrong and hope I was, but appeared that part of the stadium was being finished with some type Stucco/EIFS like product.

Pretty cool to take this picture and compare it to the rendering. The stadium seating is pretty much done at this point.

What is the timline for the Left Field building/hotel? Is that intended to be finished at the same time as the ballpark itself?

We can always ask QuikTrip to sponsor the park if they decide to move forward with their plans across the street. It may be a good community improvement program their PR guys can highlight.

WBTV ran a story regarding a 2-3MM facelift of Bryant Park. The proposed plan showed a lot of promise with one large disclaimer - it would take private funding of 30-40% to get it off the ground. Has anyone here had any experience in raising these funds for something similar. It seems like a lot of money without some major corp sponsorship or something.

Noticed some activity going on at the Dunkin Donuts location (across from Pinkey's). It appears this retrofit is underway. Glad to have a coffee shop on this side of town.

From the conversations I had 1v1 with the Quiktrip representatives, they said it was unlikely they would seek any zoning changes without community support - which they gathered from the meeting would NOT occur. They specifically said there recommendation to their corporate HQ would be to proceed with a PED guideline design. As I will continue to state and think, i'll believe it all when i see it and will keep a close watch for any Rezoning hearing notices posted in the area.

I attended the meeting last night to learn more. I will say i went in with the approach that i was against a gas station, moreso because of what I thought the design would look like than anything else. Here's what i took away from the meeting. -QT can and will most likely move forward with this location in its current zoning. -They do have a design to meet the PED overlay guidelines. Although unofficial and not final, it showed the convenience store basically perpendicular but up against Freedom Drive. The pumps are definitely visible from the street, but they have a decent amout of landscape screeing in the concept drawing. -QT at least postured at a willingness to work with the neighborhood on the design. They cited davidson and harrisburg and baxter as an example of where they worked to meet local resident standards. I maintain my initial feeling that i'll believe it when i see it. -I think there is some opportunity to extract many benefits including infrastructure improvements, sidewalks, greenway as well as requesting an additional traffic light/crosswalk at the woodruff intersectio to allow Wesley Heights residents an additional crossing on freedom and to potentially calm traffic. I think IF done right, it can and will be a good addition to the neighborhood.

As it relates to th QT project. They plan on speaking a the Wesley Heights association meeting tomorrow night. There is an organized group of residents working to object to the proposal. Below is some of the information included in a sign/flyer being circulated in the area. I guess i'll wait to hear at the meeting tomorrow, but from previous posts, it seems like it will be difficult to fight this. Perhaps the best way is to work with QT and hope for a better design? i live in the area and i'm completely against this project in any form. Any suggestions from the group on best ways to oppose this are kindly accepted. From what i've been told, Pinky's is in favor of the project due to being given additional parking. That is unsubstianted information, but surprised they would be in favor of this for any reason. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A proposal is under way to destroy the historic buildings behind Pinky’s to build a massive 3 acre QuikTrip gas station with 10 gas pumps, 40-50 parking spaces and entrances on both Morehead and Freedom. Not a pedestrian friendly, urban design Endless traffic 24/7 – Cars and pedestrians cutting through Wesley Heights all hours of the day and night Negative impact on home property values Eyesore – Lights, Trash, Noise, Crime Negative impact on further area development Destruction of historic buildings Environmental concerns – Parking lot run-off and underground tanks in floodplain Voice your concerns directly to QuikTrip! Wesley Heights Neighborhood Meeting Tuesday, March 26, 6:30pm Wallace Pruitt Rec Center 440 Tuckaseegee Rd Also contact Mike Thronbrugh (918) 615-7937; [email protected]

I agree that any new development is a welcome addition and have been wanting a coffee shop - is there any DOT plans to add a light or other traffc calming ideas to the "Freedom Drive Expressway" - aka the exit/entrance ramp portion of Freedom Drive to 77/277. Even with all the crosswalks and pedestrian islands built at Freedom and Morehead - it's still a dangerous intersection to navigate as a pedestrian. Not too relaxing to sit outside D&D patio sipping on coffee while cars whizz by at 50 MPH. Perhaps this is something D&D can work towards with the city?