morecowbell

I think the no culs-de-sac movement (thanks sakami) is a response to one completed development and one rumored. The completed one is Park at Mattie Rose, the flowery euphemism that Grandfather Homes attached to their cul-de-sac development on Mecklenburg Ave that turned one home into seven homes on a new "street." Before After The future is more egregious - the redevelopment of the Barnhardt-Cramer estate. The rumor on Facebook (which was posted a few pages back) was of a site plan with a single entrance off of Country Club Lane that led to ~35 houses on multiple culs-de-sac, with their backyards facing Country Club and the already-somewhat-disconnected Fort Street. I am not sure if that development is still planned. I understand the developer's thought process - why build 20 homes on new city blocks when I can legally build twice as many? But it's a jackbag move nonetheless.

Saw some activity at this long-vacant storefront at the corner of 4th and Torrance today. I called American Billiard Company to get the scoop - this is going to be a Domino's Pizza. Specifically the franchise that lost their lease over on Kings Drive. Rumor is that they have a twenty year lease. Not as good as a local business going in, but at least the 90 year old building is intact.

The PNC Bank is no better or worse than I expected. It's a waste of a corner, taken out of its context...but its context is "between the Bojangles and Krispy Kreme, and across from Jack in the Box and a Shell station." I think there's a lot of land nearby that intersection where developers have a chance to get it right, but if the longevity of the businesses at Fairview and Sharon are any indicator, the intersection of Sharon Amity and Randolph is locked into generic anonymity for the foreseeable future.

I think I have a solution - The Lynx White Line Obviously this line cannot connect to the Blue Line or Uptown because reasons, but Lynx Premium Car Service will be available for a modest fee to shuttle riders to select office towers. (disclaimer for the humorless: sarcasm.) I drive through the heart of Southpark every day as well; can't say it's much fun. Despite there being no easy answer to infill congestion vs. sprawl, I'll take the congestion 10 times out of 10.

Adjectives used on arcadiastudentliving.com: enchanting, epic, mythical, magical, legendary. And what does that complex resemble? Hogwarts. Or at least Hogwarts cross-bred with a 2.5-star resort in Snowshoe, West Virginia. Welcome to the first Charlotte apartment complex marketed to the Harry Potter generation.

Nacht in der Königinstadt by kenhagerdotcom, on Flickr

Astounding. Quick & Dirty comparison, courtesy of Google Maps:

The graveyard at Steele Creek Presbyterian - a lot of revolutionary war veterans here. the Old Charlotte Terminal, office space since 1982. here's what it looked like in its heyday a shot from the observation area...excellent free entertainment for your kids, as long as they're focused on the airplanes, and not their neighbors The WBT transmitter station. According to Wikipedia: In 1925, the original owners sold WBT to Charlotte Buick dealer C.C. Coddington, who promoted both the radio station and his auto dealership with the slogan "Watch BuicksTravel." Coddington built a transmitter at a farm property he owned on Nations Ford Road in south Charlotte, where it remains today. This one is behind two rows of fencing, so couldn't get a decent shot.

after more than a year of lurking, i was finally motivated to register an account by how far off the rails this thread has gone. contributing a poor-resolution camera-phone picture in an attempt to catalyze some on-topic posts. taken from the 8th floor of Presbyterian.