SouthEnd "Gold District"

[videtur quam contuor]

An example of an historic property that was renovated in a sensitive and creative way is a home on Kingston Avenue in Dilworth. It is a corner property. The owner wanted more living space but the historic property status, as well as historic district limited him to interior changes that were not sufficient to enlarge the living space. He had a garage designed that had an opening on the side street and was in the same manner and style as the home. The second level of the garage was finished with all living requirements. It became a home office and guest bedroom. The roof was a modern slate look-alike material that satisfied the authority and all the rest of the exterior details were of similar style to the home. The exterior stairway to the second floor was at the rear of the garage concealed from the aspect from either street view. It certainly would not have been part of the property 115 years ago but modern times allow for some adjustment. 

Another home on Kingston, circa 1895, had an extensive renovation. A new master bedroom was not allowed to disturb the footprint. The owners had a design with the second floor primary bedroom lifted above the ground on posts, free to walk under,  thus an unchanged footprint. With enough money answers may be found.

[KJHburg]

These Spectrum apartments really look good the Prospect.  Other 2 apartment complexes rising in the Gold District today. 

[KJHburg]

Forgot about this one the Aspen Heights high rise on W Morehead.  so the whole block of little one story buildings is not all coming down.  Notice where the construction is behind the fence.

I forgot about this one rising.

https://www.multihousingnews.com/aspen-heights-breaks-ground-in-charlotte/

[KJHburg]

the 3 apartment complexes underway in the Gold District and some other shots.  This area is about to get a lot busier with residents. 

I love that Kask building renovation.    This area need a QT urban format store to provide basic supplies (no gas) like the one in Atlanta's Midtown.  (and I have good sources they have been looking in the area) 

[kayman]

6 hours ago, KJHburg said:

the 3 apartment complexes underway in the Gold District and some other shots.  This area is about to get a lot busier with residents. 

I love that Kask building renovation.    This area need a QT urban format store to provide basic supplies (no gas) like the one in Atlanta's Midtown.  (and I have good sources they have been looking in the area) 

@QuikTrip on Twitter and I bet they'll respond

[lit]

10 hours ago, KJHburg said:

the 3 apartment complexes underway in the Gold District and some other shots.  This area is about to get a lot busier with residents. 

I love that Kask building renovation.    This area need a QT urban format store to provide basic supplies (no gas) like the one in Atlanta's Midtown.  (and I have good sources they have been looking in the area) 

Why does that Kask building look like the place we used to get our radiators fixed for our hot rods? I think it was over on Summit(?)

[wilmore]

On 6/29/2022 at 3:43 AM, lit said:

Why does that Kask building look like the place we used to get our radiators fixed for our hot rods? I think it was over on Summit(?)

Kask is on Summit 

[videtur quam contuor]

Dale's Radiator shop was at the corner of Summit, Tryon and Camden, where Dimensional is now.  For years they had a sign that said "best place in town to take a leak". The Kask building was for many years the local Diamond REO repair and parts facility. Diamond REO large trucks went out of business in 2012-2013.

Edit: Cask to KASK. (Casco/Casque is a helmet in Spanish or French)

edit: typo

Edited July 1, 2022 by tarhoosier

[atlrvr]

Are you sure on Diamond REO?  I believe it was in fact Hovis Radiator.

[videtur quam contuor]

Well, my memory is that the Diamond REO shop was on that block and side of the street. Arch roof building. Could it have been before Hovis Radiator? I am talking 50 years ago now.

Am I sure? I am sure of little.

[KJHburg]

I love history and I can not lie.  Here is why this area of Southend is called the Gold District.  

January 1, 1825
1825 - Charlotte, Mining Town
Samuel McComb finds gold at Irwin Creek, near what will be the intersection of West Morehead and Graham streets one day. He is the first to follow a deposit called a vein of gold. Other Charlotteans are now hunting in streams and hillsides for the precious metal, hurrying through their daily chores so they can devote hours to a pastime that will make some of them rich.

January 1, 1830
1830 - Gold is Big Business
Gold mined in Mecklenburg County must travel hundreds of miles to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to be minted into coins. Roads are bad and each dangerous trip takes four months. Charlotteans ask Congress for a North Carolina branch of the U.S. Mint. But legislators resist the plan. They think Charlotte is too small. The idea will be discussed for five years before the Charlotte Mint comes into being.

January 1, 1830
1830 - Gold Fever
The gold rush attracts mining experts to Charlotte. Humphrey Bissell invests in the mines, and helps develop machines that drill for gold, then crush and compact it. Count Chevalier Vincent de Rivafinoli brings European workers to help increase the yield from the mines. Within just one, short three-month period, laborers will coax 3,800 ounces of gold from Charlotte's mines.

January 1, 1832
1832 - St. Catherine Mine
Columbia professor James Renwick travels from New York to study Count Rivafinoli's operation of Charlotte's St. Catherine gold mine. Workers are using a method of extracting the pure gold from rocks that allows some of the precious metal to be washed away and lost. Renwick reports that St. Catherine will fail. A few years later he will be proved right. The mine will close during economic hard times, called a depression, in 1836-37.   (this mine was on Louise Ave in the Belmont community) 

January 1, 1835
1835 - Nuggets to Coins
March 3, 1835Charlotte is becoming the gold mining capital of the U.S. President Andrew Jackson signs the law authorizing Charlotte as a site for a branch of the U.S. Mint, so coins can be made here without transporting the gold to a Mint far away. Congress will allow $50,000 to be spent for the site, building and machinery. Architect William Strickland will design the Classically-styled building on West Trade Street. Gold is now valued at $20 per ounce. It will be worth nearly $1600 per ounce, 80 times more, by the 2010s. 

January 1, 1836
1836 - Boomtown
January 8, 1836 - More than 50 gold mines now operate in North Carolina, and more are in Mecklenburg than in any other county. Some mines are named for places or their owners: Alexander, McComb, Davidson Hill. Others have more exotic names, like the Queen of Sheba and the King Solomon mines. As the cornerstone is laid today at Charlotte's Mint building on West Trade Street, the Queen City prepares to produce coins for the first time.

January 1, 1837
1837 - US Mint in Charlotte
 January 19, 1837 - President Andrew Jackson appoints John Wheeler Hill the first manager, or superintendent, of the Charlotte branch of the U.S. Mint. Men hired to make coins attend special training at the Mint in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When the Charlotte Mint opens, the superintendent's salary will be $2,000 per year. The chief coiner will earn $1,500 per year. The men who melt, refine and analyze, or assay, the gold will earn $1,000 per year.Gold Coin

January 1, 1838
1838 - C is for Charlotte
March 27, 1838 - For the first time, coins are manufactured from Mecklenburg gold at the Charlotte Mint. A half-eagle is worth $5.00; a quarter-eagle is worth $2.50. Each gold piece is stamped with a C to show it was minted at Charlotte. In this one year, over $100,000 worth of gold blocks, called bullion, will be received at the Mint on West Trade Street.

and the area's gold rush all started in Cabarrus County where a 17 lb nugget was used as a door stop

January 1, 1845
1845 - Rags to Riches
The man who sold a $3,000 gold nugget for $3.50 in 1802 dies. John Reed had lived to become one the richest men in North Carolina. It all began in 1799 when his son, Conrad, found an unusual rock on the family's property 25 miles northeast of Charlotte. The rock contained nearly eight ounces of gold, and it was only the first of many. The Reed gold mine will change hands again and again in years to come. Eventually, it will be designated a North Carolina historic site. 

January 1, 1845
1845 - Rebuilding the Mint
March 3, 1845 - The U.S. Congress agrees to set aside, or appropriate, money to rebuild the Charlotte Mint. The facility, which made coins from gold mined in North Carolina, was destroyed by a fire last July. Congress will allow $35,000 to be spent on the project.

and then California stole our thunder

January 1, 1849
1849 - California, Here I Come!
Gold, discovered one year ago in California, entices fortune seekers from all over the U.S. to flock to the western territory in a gold rush. These hopeful prospectors are called forty-niners. Even President James K. Polk, a Mecklenburg County native, tells Congress he believes the California gold rush will lead to great wealth. No longer is North Carolina the only place to look for gold.

[utcltjay]

Got to participate in a walking tour of the Link Apartments yesterday. Definitely impressed with how it's turning out. Didn't get many pictures in the apartments but they're going to be very nice with top of the line, smart appliances and all energy efficient as well, including air-conditioning with variable speed fans. Views are pretty spectacular! Also noticed that the Charlotte Knife and Saw building is officially for sale, with "Renovations coming" on the sign. Curious what they have in mind for the lot. 

[videtur quam contuor]

Since the Charlotte Saw property may be a short-timer I will re-up this experience.  (?30?) years ago I took some household saws to be sharpened. Kind receptionist said it may be a month because the sharpener cut off a finger. No complaint from me about the delay, then. 

[Windsurfer]

19 hours ago, tarhoosier said:

 

Edited July 9, 2022 by Windsurfer
Trying to delete

[KJHburg]

showing my niece around town today.  Various apartment complexes in the Gold District. 

[AltNative]

An 8 Story development is NOT coming to Wilmore....The Rudisill Development on the corner of mint/summit is dead in the water as it is currently designed. The HDC held their monthly meeting last night and squashed this project like a bug saying it was too tall and too massive for Wilmore. Will be interesting to see if they come back in 3 months with a completely new, smaller design or if the entire deal is dead with land values being so high.

Here's the original axios article https://charlotte.axios.com/298559/an-8-story-development-is-coming-to-wilmore/

 

[DMann]

Too bad!

[Blue_Devil]

13 minutes ago, AltNative said:

An 8 Story development is NOT coming to Wilmore....The Rudisill Development on the corner of mint/summit is dead in the water as it is currently designed. The HDC held their monthly meeting last night and squashed this project like a bug saying it was too tall and too massive for Wilmore. Will be interesting to see if they come back in 3 months with a completely new, smaller design or if the entire deal is dead with land values being so high.

Here's the original axios article https://charlotte.axios.com/298559/an-8-story-development-is-coming-to-wilmore/

 

Can Wilmore completely shut this down? Or just put a hold on it?

[15895]

That is crazy that it was rejected. In that area that close to Charlotte’s uptown & SouthEnd.

This entire area in red should be going for as much density as possible. Missing middle housing, quad & duplex housing etc. should also be going up like wild fire in the single-family areas. (I realize Myers Park never would go for that. I think Dilworth would go for more quads, row homes, etc. if the designs fit the character of the hood. Maybe. Too optimistic?)

Edited July 14, 2022 by AirNostrumMAD

[Blue_Devil]

59 minutes ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

That is crazy that it was rejected. In that area that close to Charlotte’s uptown & SouthEnd.

This entire area in red should be going for as much density as possible. Missing middle housing, quad & duplex housing etc. should also be going up like wild fire in the single-family areas. (I realize Myers Park never would go for that. I think Dilworth would go for more quads, row homes, etc. if the designs fit the character of the hood. Maybe. Too optimistic?)

Now yes, I also think Dilworth is embracing taller buildings on their doorstep. Wilmore hasn’t had to do that yet. But they are going to have to soon

[wilmore]

2 hours ago, AltNative said:

An 8 Story development is NOT coming to Wilmore....The Rudisill Development on the corner of mint/summit is dead in the water as it is currently designed. The HDC held their monthly meeting last night and squashed this project like a bug saying it was too tall and too massive for Wilmore. Will be interesting to see if they come back in 3 months with a completely new, smaller design or if the entire deal is dead with land values being so high.

Here's the original axios article https://charlotte.axios.com/298559/an-8-story-development-is-coming-to-wilmore/

 

Well, that sucks. 

Summit is the edge of the historic district, correct? 

[RANYC]

good grief.  I liked this project and hope a similar concept isn't totally dead.  So many other lots in the Gold District that look terrible would be great candidates for this project.  That particular corner doesn't really look so bad.

[Reverie39]

2 hours ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

That is crazy that it was rejected. In that area that close to Charlotte’s uptown & SouthEnd.

This entire area in red should be going for as much density as possible. Missing middle housing, quad & duplex housing etc. should also be going up like wild fire in the single-family areas. (I realize Myers Park never would go for that. I think Dilworth would go for more quads, row homes, etc. if the designs fit the character of the hood. Maybe. Too optimistic?)

Row homes in Dilworth would be awesome.

[wilmore]

2 hours ago, RANYC said:

good grief.  I liked this project and hope a similar concept isn't totally dead.  So many other lots in the Gold District that look terrible would be great candidates for this project.  That particular corner doesn't really look so bad.

Yes, the junkyard really needs to be turned into a large project. 

The current tenant has really been driving in massive crowds to 1501 Mint; while some of the racist neighbors are less enthused, they have entirely changed the feel of those blocks in a mostly positive way. 

[AltNative]

a geotech team was taking core samples monday and tuesday at the corner of Mint and Summit. Guess the developer of The Rudisill IS charging ahead with another, shorter scheme after their HDC denial.  Can't wait to see what they come up with.

edited for clarity

Edited July 28, 2022 by AltNative