wagwa2001l

I grew up in Winston and had "nothing" to do... I would have loved some sort of Concert series for teenagers at the time... but there was (and may still well be) something wrong with this crowd... typical teenager stuff is one thing... but this was gettign out of hand... The Drop really stemmed from last year towards the end of the year there were sevearl issues with the Jazz on 4th concert... large groups of teenagers, refusing to disburse after the concert... I was up there one night and watched what could only be described as a mini-riot... This year here comes the drop... I don;t know that moving the location is going to fix the problems... but I also don;t know that cancelling the event will solve the problesm either.. at least the event is (ideally) a safe controlled area for teens to hang out at. The shooting and the assaults have generally not happened at the Drop...

Look up the new Courthouse in Mecklenburg... obviously Forsyth County does not need anything that big... but that is what a Court House is Supposed to look like.... independant, strong, imposing, balanced... looking at the Phillips building my question is... who is the insider pushing this idea and how is he connected... The Phillips building would be an ill suited embarassment of a Court House...

New Developments Bazaar - new multi-purpuse venue... live music and dancing above Downtown Deli... being opened by Owners of Ziggys (which is not closing)... I dfo hope that this turn into a real dance club in downtown winston... enough with the damn Jazz and Blues... not that I have anything against Jazz or Blues... but how about something more lively downtown... I want a place for the ladies to dance. Ohh and the Tap at West End - (formerly West End Taproom) is Open and nicely done... 100% improvement.

I previously Listed this awhile back... though I would relist here... with some updates - any more or other news? Current Projects in downtown Winston-Salem that I am aware of... old Old Salem Foreign Car building - becoming several small shops (Doo Wop shops) - under renovation Holly Place (on Holly Ave.) 9 condos - 7 finished construction - 3 sold Holly Village - 6 Live/Work units - Completed - 5 currently sold. Westend Village Phase 1 - under construction - some townhoses occupies - condos nearing completion Phase 2 - Land Cleared Phase 3 - sign up - no work Downtown Ball Park - permitting and final lanning in progress - project approved. One Vista - land cleared - Under Construction Trader's Row - mixed use Trade Street Project - Under Construction Nissen Building Apartments - Completed - 90%+ occupancy Quizno's moving into one of street level retail spaces Whistling Women - FOR SALE mast General Store - speculative Rumors - no location or confirmation Skippy's (Hotdog Place on 4th) - OPEN 1st Presbyterian Church Expansion - OPEN Marshal Street Town homes - Under Construction Gallery Lofts - Under Construction - Model Unit Open Mellow Muchroom - Open and thriving Hookah Bar - Open Recreation Billiards - Open RJR Tobacco Lounge - Under Renovation 4th & Cherry Restaurant (at 4th and Marshall) - sign in window, no other progress Contempo Casual - Restaurant Renovation - Failed Project... Contempo will remain in business Finnegan's Wake (Irish Pub) - Open Russell Agency - Construction nearing Completion Research Park Expansion Approved by all necessary - no actual construction Southeast Gateway YWCA - Under Construction Gateway Residential Condos - construction has commenced Happy Hill (included here because without this complete and impressive redo no amount of work at the gateway would be worthwhile - no one would buy next to crime central) - Under Construction Tar Branch Towers - Completed Meridian (fine Dining Restaurant) - UOPEN - (And AWESOME) Old Salem - New private residence - nearing Completion Bruegers(sp) Bagels - Under renovartion Goler Manor - Unde construction Goler Enrichment Center - Under Construction THE District - proposed (no othe info on this... but there is a nice picture in DWSP's window Seventh and liberty (not sure but this could be same project as The District) Liberty Place - proposed - I don;t have a lot of info on this one XIA - rencently expanded 2nd street Tavern- new bar constructed with almost no attention - OPEN (located directly beside WEV) - Not downtown but worth mentionng - West End Tap room - renovated - now The Tap - Open

I for one really wish that the NC Legislature really took to NC rail transit and invested heavily... NC is such a great state for this... several large metro areas... beach, mountains... I can imagine a train service more like the ones in eurpoe where you could head down to the station... purcahse a ticket at the window... leave a half hour later and be in charlotte, raleigh, greensboro, winston, wilmington or asheville a little while later... no driving... NC has so much to offer if you take the state as a whole and if there was a convenient way to get from one place to another I really think that this would push NC onto a new level as far as competing for business and industry. The services now are simply not convenient... Amtrac is obviously a P.O.S.... I would just love to see NC do it for itself and not rely on the feds to help... the rail system in the US is terrible... just build a two track system... obviously costly.. but I think the long term payoff would be huge.

I saw that too.. the not closing information though is not a feeling... Contempo is Not Closing.... not unless the prospective purcahser comes up with more $... other than that they will stay in business.. Contempo has some nice stuff and was one of the first businesses to move downtown again.. but I kind of wish it would close ... just look at that space and tell me that a furniture store is the best use of it... resturant...b ar... club.. something exciting for people and open at night..... that what I would like to see there.....

The Bike Shop is closing... Contempo is not. They said thery were closing and even had a story written about it in the paper... the reason behind the reason... they were selling the Building to a venture who planned on redoing the space into a resturant. Rumor has it that the deal fell apart and Contempo ... Rumor (from a very good source...) Contempo will remain in business... so much for the parking spaces... The parking thing kills me anyway... Winston downtown is incredibly easy to park in for an urban area... 9 of 10 times you can find empty on street parking in front of the Courthouse during business hours... try to find that in any other Urban area in the state... The Contempo space really would have made an excellent resturant space... the building inside is great... dining on that 2nd floor... there is also a basement... perfectly located in the dead blocks between 4th and trade... there really needs to be stuff open there at night to tie the areas together... Contempo is located in the right spot to help with that... thus why someone was buying the building to put a resturant in... really too bad that is not happening anymore.

There is no doubt that downtown Winston seems to be exploding. The ballpark is a huge... It extends almost all the way to Westend Village. The most important thing that project does thow is cause the bulldozing of a very High Crime blighted neighborhood right beside downtown. The area that will be under the project had been known for years as a drug area and looking at the existing structures there is nothing in the area wort renovation... (very small houses or houses in such bad shape that they are not worth repair).

Current Projects in downtown Winston-Salem that I am aware of... old Old Salem Foreign Car building - becoming several small shops (Doo Wop shops) - under renovation Holly Place (on Holly Ave.) 9 condos Holly Village - 6 Live/Work units - Completed - 5 curently sold. Westend Village Phase 1 - under construction - model of Townhome Unit Open Phase 2 - Land Cleared Phase 3 - planned no work comenced Downtown Ball Park City Finance Committee recomended project Final City Counsel and County Board Votes on incentives are still to come in Earl January Publice Comment on Project - Jan 3rd. One Vista - land cleared - Under Construction Trader's Row - mixed use Trade Street Project - Under Construction Nissen Building Apartments - Completed - 90%+ occupancy Quizno's moving into one of street level retail spaces Whistling Women - Under Renovation no idea what is going in there but I have heard rumors of a wine bar. mast General Store - speculative Rumors - no location or confirmation Skippy's (Hotdog Place on 4th) - Under Renovation 1st Presbeterian Church Expansion - Under Construction Marshal Street Townhomes - Land Cleared for Construction Gallery Lofts - Under Construction - Model Unit Open Hookah Bar - Open Recreation Billiards Renovation - Open RJR Tobacco Luunge - Under Renovation 4th & Cherry Resturant (at 4th and Marshall) - sign in window, no other progress Contempo Casual - Resturant Renovation - Failed Project... Contempo will remain in business Finnegan's Wake (Irish Pub) - Open Russel Agency - Construction nearing Completion Research Park Expansion Approved by all necessary - no actual construction Southeast Gateway YWCA - Under Construction Residential Condos - Ground cleared for construction Happy Hill (included here because without this complete and impressive redo no amount of work at the gateway would be worrthwhile - no one would buy next to crime central) - Under Construction Tar Branch Towers - Completed Meridian (fine Dining Resturant) - Under Construction Old Salem - New private residence - nearing Completion I'm sure i missed some....

The new business opening in downtown in the last few months are additng a lot. The wine bar/cafe on 6th street and the addition of Foothills Brewing Co. on 4th present actual options for a good place to go out and have a beer/wine etc. downtown. Its good to have a non-jazz/blues place downtown to go to. I think that this summer will be the true turnaround for downtown Winston... add up the opening of the Nissen Building and more importantly, the Mellow Mushroom on 4th with the new establishments and the downtown music series and you get the resemblence of a nightlife... Another place is slated to open on Cherry right at 4th street, not sure what is supposed to go in it... Anyone know for sure?