commREacq

http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte...06/daily10.html I guess Cantina on East is moving in 18 months when their lease ends. It's upsetting to constantly see the announcements of great places leaving that add to the irreplaceable character of East. Even though Cantina wants to stay in Dilworth, losing their current spot to CMC...well, it sucks.

That block is becoming restaurant row, huh? It's too bad there is no foot traffic and parking is a big issue. When EBBG goes in, parking is going to be an even bigger issue than it already is and will probably have a negative affect accross the board (or block).

Reading the article in the CBJ this morning about TreHouse reminded me that I saw one of the two houses Centro owns on that property on Craigslist for rent again as it was months ago. It is still being offered month to month only, which seems optimistic to me, but maybe Furman thinks the project can get started within the next year?

I agree with the grocery store idea - and a Fresh Market concept, possibly a whole foods would work great in my opinion As far as the crime, I think we're in for an unfortunate upswing all across the board. With unemployment rising drastically, that alone signals a rise in crime, but what doesn't get accounted for there is that the workers "off the books" with a high concentration being in the building industry which is non-existent right now. They can't find work and don't qualify for unemployment for obvious reasons. They still have families to feed, and when times get desperate, this is what happens unfortunately. I think we are fortunate in comparison to states like Florida, where this will have a much more severe effect than in Charlotte or the Carolina region.

The Bi-Lo box and the strip center have seperate ownership. I also believe Bi-Lo did a sale leaseback of their box so they no longer own it. I would assume that they will either go dark or finish out their lease and vacate b/c they can't compete with Harris Teeter in the Dilworth market, especially now the Ideal Way and most of Sedgefield have become high value properties. I don't think that location has high enough traffic #s to support retail, so I'd assume that the Bi-Lo site will eventually become residental. I'm interested to see sketch ups of any proposals for that site. The only one I've seen has been from a study done by the city, calling for higher densities and increasing the height restrictions to 5 or 6 stories and the redevelopment of the entire block incorporating all uses (office, retail, multi-family). In my opinion, Sperry Van Ness who owns one of the shopping centers on the block already, should try and buy up the rest of the block for a long term redevelopment. With East Blvd losing some of it's charm and shops/restaurants, there's an opportunity for a new area in Dilworth to offer street-front restaurants/shops and offices. It would be great to be able to put all of the unique boutiques and restaurants into one walkable site. In the wake of all the recent news, this would be VERY long term, but seems reasonable to do in phases and would definitely bring Dilworth full circle as this seems to be the last piece of the puzzle.