cityboi

New bar/restaurant opening on N. Greene Street with Asian cuisine. https://www.yokaigso.com/

Greensboro's high end hotels. With talk of the Westin Greensboro being built downtown, Greensboro already has some very nice hotels. Grandover Resort & Spa, A Wyndham Grand Hotel Greensboro's most luxurious hotel which carries the Wyndham Grand flag, is one of nine in the United States. The marriage between Grandover and Wyndham is no accident. The hotel resort has been the host hotel for the PGA Wyndham Championship in nearby Sedgefield Country Club. Built by Joseph Koury in 1997, it overlooks I-85 as you enter Greensboro. Officials with Grandover and Wyndham want to carry out Joe Koury's vision for the property. They are talking about expanding the hotel with new 12 story wings. The hotel was designed for that expansion which would boost the number of rooms from 295 to 900. The resort has two championship golf courses as well as a conference center. Joe Koury also built the Four Seasons Town Centre complex which includes the 1,000 room Sheraton Four Seasons / Joseph S Koury Convention Center. The sketch is crude but this is what the expansion with 900 guest rooms is suppose to look like with 3 more wings based on the rendering I saw years ago. I can't find it anywhere on the internet. The new wings are symmetrical with the existing hotel which forms an X shaped hotel. The Proximity Hotel Greensboro's most "urban" luxurious hotel. Located in midtown Greensboro. It was named after the Proximity Mill in Greensboro. The O'Henry Hotel Located near the Proximity Hotel is the O'Henry which was Named after the hotel that was demolished in downtown that in the early 80s. Here is the original O'Henry Hotel which was downtown. The hotel was named after famous American short story writer William Sydney Porter who was from Greensboro. His pen name was O'Henry and some of his famous works include "The Gift of the Magi"

Greensboro 2030 State of the community. A monorail system in Greensboro/Triad was brought up again at the GSO2030 state of the community. Currently there is a bill in the state for a feasibility study for regional/commuter rail in the Triad. As the region sees more and more job growth, the area will start seriously looking at Triad rail as a transportation option whether its in the form of commuter rail or a monorail. https://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2023/08/23/greensboro-chamber-commerce-economic-future.html

NC A&T begins construction on food processing plant and creamery. While the news itself isn't a big deal, the design of NC A&T's buildings here lately have been amazing. I really would like to see urban design such as this downtown. https://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2023/08/23/ncat-to-build-13m-food-processing-creamery-complex.html Future food processing center and creamery Also the Future innovation center at NC A&T

As usual great photos KJHburg! We all made a lot of great observations about downtown Greensboro, the great things that have happened and the things that need improvement. There was a lot of human activity along Elm Street Saturday but Downtown Greensboro is about a square mile in size. The challenge is to expand that activity all throughout downtown. There is so much potential with all of the vacant parking lots and areas of downtown that are virtually dead. We are seeing some progress around the ballpark area and the future development at the News and Record property is really going to activate the eastern side of downtown. The western side of downtown and in particularly the south west quadrant needs the most improvement. How do we improve the connectivity between that part of downtown and Elm Street? I do think turning those multilane one way streets into two way pedestrian streets is a start. Identifying properties for residential development, retail and also educational facilities being that the west side borders Greensboro College and UNCG. With more residential the city should consider building large park or public plaza on the west side of downtown Greensboro. We've seen how parks contribute to attracting people to downtown Greensboro.

Great shots! It was good to meet all of you yesterday.

That building looks huge from I-73

I enjoyed meeting you, the urbanplanet Charlotte posters as well as the tour of downtown Greensboro. The city manager even dropped a hint about a big development that he couldn't talk about coming downtown so it was a very informative tour and you've definitely done your research on Greensboro. Next time you guys head up to the Triad, We should definitely check out downtown Winston-Salem.

More on the music hall/amphitheater and soccer stadium. I'm actually surprised that the seating for the music hall has increased to such a large number of seats. Almost comparable to the Tanger Center. Hopefully they'll choose a downtown location for the soccer stadium which will host a soccer franchise one level under Major League Soccer which is equivalent to AAA baseball. "The document says that plans are being developed for a downtown music hall and soccer stadium. The music hall could seat as many as 2,000 with a future phase for a 4,500-seat amphitheater. The proposed plan for the soccer stadium is a 6,000-seat arena either on the Coliseum complex or in downtown that would host a USL League One franchise" https://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2023/08/15/greensboro-rfps-coliseum-tanger-center.html Here is am example of an urban 6,000 seat downtown soccer stadium with development built around it

I've already signed up! :)

The city of Greensboro has issued an RFP for a private company to run the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. But what is interesting is what is included in the RFP. The discussed proposed downtown music hall and amphitheater and a soccer stadium. Several sites are being looked at for a downtown soccer stadium but there is a possibility it could be built at the coliseum. Hopefully they pursue a downtown stadium. https://www.rhinotimes.com/news/city-issues-rfp-for-private-company-to-run-coliseum-complex/

As a resident of downtown, I've used the downtown trolley several times. There are four in service and one of the stops is about a block away from my apartment. I use it when I make frequent trips to Deep Roots which also has a stop nearby. I really love how I can commute around downtown without getting in my car and its free. I talked with one of the drivers and while this is currently a pilot program which runs until the end of the year he said the city will likely continue it and keep it free. Every time I get on it, there are plenty of other passengers so there will be demand to keep it after the pilot program ends. Its pretty cool. The trolley website has a tracker on it which shows on the map where every trolley is located. There is a computer voice on each trolley which tells you all the intersections you cross. The air condition feels so good on those trolleys....better than in my car. I think eventually they will expand the service with an east to west loop connecting to UNCG and NC A&T most likely running on weekend evenings/nights when the college students most frequently hit the bars, nightclubs and restaurants. Downtown office workers also love it because they have time to go to any restaurant downtown on lunch without leaving their parking space and trying to find parking at a restaurant on the opposite end of downtown. Downtown Greensboro has reached a critical mass where it can have these kind of transportation services downtown, something that would not have been possible 20 years ago.

100 apartment units planned for Downtown Winston-Salem for residents 55 years of age or older. The project will have street level retail and restaurants with interior parking. "4th & Green" is being developed by Brown Investment Properties of Greensboro and Commercial Realty Advisors of Winston-Salem. https://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2023/08/11/green-apartments-winston-salem-develop.html

Its a very very odd location out in the middle of nowhere. Building a casino resort on that site would be like a developer trying to get land in downtown Greensboro rezoned for farm land. Its crazy. At least the one in Virginia is within the city limits of Danville and not out in the rural county. These casinos would be more profitable being built in the urban cities. The one proposed in Anson County should be in Charlotte. The one in Rockingham County should be in Greensboro and the one planned for Nash County should be in Raleigh. Yes the proposed sites are fairly close to those cities but it just makes more sense for them to be built closer to major airports and within cities with hotels, restaurants and other attractions. I agree the locations have more to do about politics than where they should be built. But the Rockingham County location just has me scratching my head because the only nearby major highway is 220 or the incomplete I-73 which will dead end as an interstate at the Virginia state line for years to come. Not to mention the people there don't want it.

The deck is scheduled to be completed December 26. Jesus...I guess that means construction won't start on the hotel until the end of the year. https://www.rhinotimes.com/news/february-one-parking-deck-completion-scheduled-for-december/

Cone Health will lose its monopoly in Greensboro. The state has approved Wake Forest Baptist Health in building a small hospital in Greensboro. Currently Greensboro is the only major city in NC served by one healthcare system. I think the move is good to bring in competition to help bring down healthcare costs in Greensboro. https://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2023/08/09/cone-health-appeal-ahwfb-greensboro-hospital.html

Electric Battery component maker considering Forsyth County https://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2023/08/02/battery-component-maker-considering-forsyth-county.html

Really moving along!

The current owners of the News and Record property need to just demolish the buildings on the site and grade the land. A woman was found dead from a gunshot wound in one of the buildings. There are homeless campsites there. Visible human waste around the property and trash everywhere and even bundles of Newspapers from 2019 laying around the property. Not a good look for downtown and its a major safety and health concern. But the city needs to get to the root of the problem and do something about the homeless situation. Get some of them mental help and help get them back on their feet and find work because its not just on that property. Its throughout downtown particularly near the parks and parking decks. Something needs to be done with the property before the Ryan Companies considering buying the land for their project. I know there are some laws that the city could use that could make the owners tear down the buildings. https://myfox8.com/news/north-carolina/greensboro/former-greensboro-news-record-building-where-woman-found-dead-littered-with-trash-human-waste/?utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=facebook.com&fbclid=IwAR3MhDVpp_42a26s9RQMGhcTkYDnwVRSA3azeOSf7LabXAkF48Y_4EkHRxc

Its puzzling as to why it would take so long with all the business going on there. I know there were delays because the city had to gain control of the old depot which was privately owned.

Great news! Amtrak and passenger rail service coming to Winston-Salem https://www.wxii12.com/article/winston-salem-leaders-ncdot-passenger-rail-forsyth-county-amtrak/44693955?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&fbclid=IwAR0znwWuAU81Ro5DJEM3Tbon8vFJwhX9Qplr0AcoSyhqIAhikWHWzJ2bbjE

USA Today ranks Greensboro based Biscuitville as best fast food breakfast in the United States. https://myfox8.com/news/food/biscuitville-named-best-fast-food-breakfast-best-regional-fast-food-in-the-united-states-by-usa-today/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=socialflow

Here is more news about the current Lidl contract being terminated bit the grocery store on the site is not dead. https://www.rhinotimes.com/news/termination-of-contract-doesnt-mean-no-downtown-lidl/