Dilworth Projects (Kenilworth, Morehead, East)

[videtur quam contuor]

I see that it is a concrete building. Is it because it is a narrow structure and not a "doughnut" or other similar design?

edit: page break issue. This comment regards Campbell Greenhouse project, the last post and photo previous page.

Edited September 25, 2023 by videtur quam contuor

[CLT Development]

11 minutes ago, videtur quam contuor said:

I see that it is a concrete building. Is it because it is a narrow structure and not a "doughnut" or other similar design?

edit: page break issue. This comment regards Campbell Greenhouse project, the last post and photo previous page.

it's concrete because it's taller (12 floors) than you can build with lumber (5 floors) 

Edited September 25, 2023 by CLT Development

[Reverie39]

On 6/20/2023 at 12:04 PM, Blue_Devil said:

You all should take a look at this: https://www.dilworthonline.org/land-use

 

a ton of rezoning approvals. 720 E. Morehead is a huge one. 450 apartments across from the retirement apartments being built, with 15000 ft of retail.

Wow. I had no idea we could build towers 15000 ft tall 

[QCxpat]

Today 9:00 a.m.

Edited September 26, 2023 by QCxpat

[kermit]

Campbell’s Nursery

 

[SydneyCarton]

[DJ8hep]

Up close today! 

[SydneyCarton]

Last Saturday, I saw a homeless guy urinating on someone’s lawn on East Boulevard.  The homeless situation is out of control.  I expect it Uptown but not in Dilworth.  The city must address it.  The same is happening in Chapel Hill.

Even more concerning is that anyone who will expose  himself on a very busy road is probably a sexual predator.  Moms and kids not only shouldn’t have to see this, but people like this could endanger them.

Unfortunately, with all of the anti-police sentiment at the moment, cops are afraid to deal with people like this, as scores of people will videotape their every move and post it on social media.

Edited October 4, 2023 by SydneyCarton

[RANYC]

30 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Last Saturday, I saw a homeless guy urinating on someone’s lawn on East Boulevard.  The homeless situation is out of control.  I expect it Uptown but not in Dilworth.  The city must address it.  The same is happening in Chapel Hill.

Several weeks back, I saw what appeared to be a homeless guy open his pants in broad daylight to urinate on the wall of the jimmy johns at college and 6th street in uptown.  A family with 2 small daughters were approaching the intersection in front of the holiday inn and the parents quickly proceeded to shield the eyes of their daughters.  Unclear to me how rampant the problem is but I’ve heard enough anecdotes to know it deserves some focused attention from a combo of city council, city staff, law enforcement, and nonprofit services.  I believe reinstatement of criminal penalties is forthcoming, but of course, the police can’t be everywhere.  Not sure if it’s drugs or severe mental illness, but we do have folks on the streets who’ve seemingly lost all sense of civility and are living feral lives in our urban core and its adjacent districts and I seem to never hear of such feral existences in South Park or down Providence.

[15895]

1 hour ago, RANYC said:

Several weeks back, I saw what appeared to be a homeless guy open his pants in broad daylight to urinate on the wall of the jimmy johns at college and 6th street in uptown.  A family with 2 small daughters were approaching the intersection in front of the holiday inn and the parents quickly proceeded to shield the eyes of their daughters.  Unclear to me how rampant the problem is but I’ve heard enough anecdotes to know it deserves some focused attention from a combo of city council, city staff, law enforcement, and nonprofit services.  I believe reinstatement of criminal penalties is forthcoming, but of course, the police can’t be everywhere.  Not sure if it’s drugs or severe mental illness, but we do have folks on the streets who’ve seemingly lost all sense of civility and are living feral lives in our urban core and its adjacent districts and I seem to never hear of such feral existences in South Park or down Providence.

This is something I’ve been thinking of lately. 

 

Thinking of places I’ve visited like Barcelona, Santiago Chile, London, Paris, Salvador Brasil, NY.  It wouldn’t surprise me to see the homeless and the above mentioned behaviors. I sort of expect that in any city around the world. Many cities in the US were destroyed and rebuilt primarily due to those these behaviors. 

More current-day suburban built cities don’t have less crime. They don’t have less mental illness. But it seems, certain neighborhoods are shielded from crime due to mobility, access, etc. and people can ignore them. 

Think of some major corridors. Sugar Creek off of I85. Freedom Drive. Graham Street from 85 towards uptown. They have the same sort of persons, people urinating on the street, some mentally ill individuals who may be prone to violence, etc. That’s ignoring all the other inner city areas of Charlotte or even out closer towards North Lake. 
 

The way we (USA) tore down our cities. At the time, it was revolutionary. It was forward thinking & the future of urbanity. The suburbs were safer. You’re shielded by highways and mobility issues and being spread out and away. It was less crime. More space. Safer. Better schools (on purpose).
 

DC for example was *extremely* close to undergoing the same urban renewal most American cities went through. The red highways were extremely close and was considered gold standard for urbanity back then. 

Those highways would’ve permanently decimated hundreds of thousands of residents (and god knows how much tax revenue) and so many amazing structures. The below shows a neighborhood that easily has 100,000 people (then and now) and what was supposed to replace it (fields and parking lots…):

 

That, apparently, was good urban planning back then. That was the height of good urban planning for its time period. Something I think no one would agree with now. 
 

The reason I mention this is. How do we combat homelessness and those social problems that seemingly comes with the territory of denser and urban cities since seemingly the beginning of time? The typical American solution seems to be: suburbanization. Several cities did not have that urban renewal and those are the ones people point to being problematic. But maybe because those are places where you actually have to be around the greater society whereas say in Charlotte. It’s as if certain areas don’t even exist. 
 

It’s interesting to me. How do we balance urban problems (crime, mental illness, etc) in a way that doesn’t destroy our cities. Even in Charlotte some want 277 removed - but why did we ever built it? We look at what was tore down in Charlotte and other places and some feel like it’s a shame stuff was torn down; but at the time, it wasn’t a shame. It was progress. How do we tackle our problems without creating an entirely new set of problems (suburbanization / segregation / pushing crime to certain areas and ignore it)?  And is it even tackling an issue if we just push crime to certain areas of the city (the lower income areas) and pretend it doesn’t exist so long as uptown and the wedge are fine? 
 

 

I think the solution to a stronger area  is equity, mobility, access to education. We need to crack down on crime, but in a way that makes sense and neighborhoods west and north of uptown deserve more investment. We need safe neighborhoods Not for some, but for all. We need more busing, stop the abuse of how school districts are drawn, stop red-lining, stop allowing segregation via NIMBYism which is mostly just modern day segregation wrapped in a veil of community charm. 
 

Anyway, I have no idea the answer but that’s why I’m fascinated by it. 

Edited October 4, 2023 by AirNostrumMAD

[DownEast]

^I literally cannot fathom a Florida/U st/Florida freeway crashing into Kalorama. Independence and Constitution... jeez.  Neat map.

[RANYC]

On 10/4/2023 at 1:24 PM, AirNostrumMAD said:

This is something I’ve been thinking of lately. 

 

Thinking of places I’ve visited like Barcelona, Santiago Chile, London, Paris, Salvador Brasil, NY.  It wouldn’t surprise me to see the homeless and the above mentioned behaviors. I sort of expect that in any city around the world. Many cities in the US were destroyed and rebuilt primarily due to those these behaviors. 

More current-day suburban built cities don’t have less crime. They don’t have less mental illness. But it seems, certain neighborhoods are shielded from crime due to mobility, access, etc. and people can ignore them. 

Think of some major corridors. Sugar Creek off of I85. Freedom Drive. Graham Street from 85 towards uptown. They have the same sort of persons, people urinating on the street, some mentally ill individuals who may be prone to violence, etc. That’s ignoring all the other inner city areas of Charlotte or even out closer towards North Lake. 
 

The way we (USA) tore down our cities. At the time, it was revolutionary. It was forward thinking & the future of urbanity. The suburbs were safer. You’re shielded by highways and mobility issues and being spread out and away. It was less crime. More space. Safer. Better schools (on purpose).
 

DC for example was *extremely* close to undergoing the same urban renewal most American cities went through. The red highways were extremely close and was considered gold standard for urbanity back then. 

Those highways would’ve permanently decimated hundreds of thousands of residents (and god knows how much tax revenue) and so many amazing structures. The below shows a neighborhood that easily has 100,000 people (then and now) and what was supposed to replace it (fields and parking lots…):

 

That, apparently, was good urban planning back then. That was the height of good urban planning for its time period. Something I think no one would agree with now. 
 

The reason I mention this is. How do we combat homelessness and those social problems that seemingly comes with the territory of denser and urban cities since seemingly the beginning of time? The typical American solution seems to be: suburbanization. Several cities did not have that urban renewal and those are the ones people point to being problematic. But maybe because those are places where you actually have to be around the greater society whereas say in Charlotte. It’s as if certain areas don’t even exist. 
 

It’s interesting to me. How do we balance urban problems (crime, mental illness, etc) in a way that doesn’t destroy our cities. Even in Charlotte some want 277 removed - but why did we ever built it? We look at what was tore down in Charlotte and other places and some feel like it’s a shame stuff was torn down; but at the time, it wasn’t a shame. It was progress. How do we tackle our problems without creating an entirely new set of problems (suburbanization / segregation / pushing crime to certain areas and ignore it)?  And is it even tackling an issue if we just push crime to certain areas of the city (the lower income areas) and pretend it doesn’t exist so long as uptown and the wedge are fine? 
 

 

I think the solution to a stronger area  is equity, mobility, access to education. We need to crack down on crime, but in a way that makes sense and neighborhoods west and north of uptown deserve more investment. We need safe neighborhoods Not for some, but for all. We need more busing, stop the abuse of how school districts are drawn, stop red-lining, stop allowing segregation via NIMBYism which is mostly just modern day segregation wrapped in a veil of community charm. 
 

Anyway, I have no idea the answer but that’s why I’m fascinated by it. 

I respect the spirit of your comments, but equity, mobility, and access aren't really "solutions," but rather concepts that are being thrown around a ton here in Charlotte and in many other places without corresponding detailed prerequisites and implementation plans.  And the reason it's tough to come by such workable plans is that, as you admitted, most folks and authorities still don't really have the answers.  

I really was just giving an observation but wasn't expecting an answer from these threads.  I think the lack of a high-confidence and workable solution is never a reason for the city not to try and obviate the impact of such horrible observations.  In other words, there should be a multi-lateral grind toward addressing the root causes of these horrible things we see, but in the interim, we must patch-up the symptoms and do what we can to limit the spaces within which these things can be done and to implement deterrents to these acts wherever we can. 

The reality is that in the same way I recognize limits to understanding the root causes of why MAGA extremists think what they may think about persons of color voting, there are limits to understanding and certainly fixing the root causes of why desperate street-crawlers do what they do on the streets of Charlotte and other big cities.  There are many reasons why folks are on the streets behaving like animals - some of those folks are there because they've been victims or suffer from mental illness or the disease of addiction, and others are there because they're savage and revolting reprobates.

  

Edited October 6, 2023 by RANYC

[Take2]

4 hours ago, RANYC said:

 there are limits to understanding and certainly fixing the root causes of why desperate street-crawlers do what they do on the streets of Charlotte and other big cities.  There are many reasons why folks are on the streets behaving like animals - some of those folks are there because they've been victims or suffer from mental illness or the disease of addiction, and others are there because they're savage and revolting reprobates.

  

The best way to find out is to ask them???? 

Your comments regarding the issue of homelessness and behavior inconsistent with your approval drips with ugly. 

 I'm cool knowing that enough homeless men have peed in public and pissed off some folks. Perhaps the city will start working towards solutions.

These residents of our city matter and want to be seen and respected not "dealt with"

[RANYC]

3 hours ago, Take2 said:

The best way to find out is to ask them???? 

Your comments regarding the issue of homelessness and behavior inconsistent with your approval drips with ugly. 

 I'm cool knowing that enough homeless men have peed in public and pissed off some folks. Perhaps the city will start working towards solutions.

These residents of our city matter and want to be seen and respected not "dealt with"

What's "dripping with ugly" is public urination and public defecation in front of approaching children, irrespective of what's motivating the conduct.  I thought the conduct was inconsistent with basic standards that we all accept but if you take exception to the universality of that standard then I'll make a note.  In every way it's an ugly situation, but if you want to make the "ugliness" just about my commentary on the complexity of the ghastliness of what we're dealing with then so be it but ultimately that's not important. 

Edited October 6, 2023 by RANYC

[SpiritOf76]

5 hours ago, Take2 said:

The best way to find out is to ask them???? 

Your comments regarding the issue of homelessness and behavior inconsistent with your approval drips with ugly. 

 I'm cool knowing that enough homeless men have peed in public and pissed off some folks. Perhaps the city will start working towards solutions.

These residents of our city matter and want to be seen and respected not "dealt with"

"I'm cool knowing that enough homeless men have peed in public and pissed off some folks"?

[SydneyCarton]

3 hours ago, RANYC said:

What's "dripping with ugly" is public urination and public defecation in front of approaching children, irrespective of what's motivating the conduct.  I thought the conduct was inconsistent with basic standards that we all accept but if you take exception to the universality of that standard then I'll make a note.  In every way it's an ugly situation, but if you want to make the "ugliness" just about my commentary on the complexity of the ghastliness of what we're dealing with then so be it but ultimately that's not important. 

Edited October 6, 2023 by SydneyCarton

[carolinaboy]

13 hours ago, RANYC said:

What's "dripping with ugly" is public urination and public defecation in front of approaching children, irrespective of what's motivating the conduct.  I thought the conduct was inconsistent with basic standards that we all accept but if you take exception to the universality of that standard then I'll make a note.  In every way it's an ugly situation, but if you want to make the "ugliness" just about my commentary on the complexity of the ghastliness of what we're dealing with then so be it but ultimately that's not important. 

Nah, peeing or pooping or exposing yourself in public, especially in front of children, isn't bad. You thinking it's bad is bad. Don't you know that by now?

[15895]

There’s a lot of MAGA-like language being used here. 
 

We can discuss homeless peoples, the issues of homelessness in Charlotte (including those with mental illness, prone to violence, people with addiction) without diminishing the severity of the situation while not using MAGA language. I’ve never known MAGA rhetoric to be a good tool to solve many issues. 

[QCxpat]

Today 9:45 a.m.

Edited October 9, 2023 by QCxpat

[RANYC]

1 hour ago, QCxpat said:

Today 9:45 a.m.

What would any of the civil engineers on here say to the idea of extending Euclid Ave over the Belk to connect with Davidson in Uptown?  Feasible?  Impactful?

[Prodev]

15 hours ago, RANYC said:

What would any of the civil engineers on here say to the idea of extending Euclid Ave over the Belk to connect with Davidson in Uptown?  Feasible?  Impactful?

There's a Duke substation that would need to move or go away, so probably not feasible. Otherwise, it would be feasible, although you'd likely get a lot of pushback from the Dilworth residents because it would likely funnel a lot more traffic from uptown through Dilworth via Euclid to East Blvd. 

[RANYC]

3 hours ago, Prodev said:

There's a Duke substation that would need to move or go away, so probably not feasible. Otherwise, it would be feasible, although you'd likely get a lot of pushback from the Dilworth residents because it would likely funnel a lot more traffic from uptown through Dilworth via Euclid to East Blvd. 

fair point.  All this density on Morehead is screaming for connectivity to uptown and perhaps a pedestrian/bicycle bridge could be in order.  Would be a powerful means of connection although I suppose the rail trail bridge might be close enough to accomplish such connectivity - assuming it will be built.  It’s in the interminable design phase.

[kermit]

On 10/10/2023 at 12:09 PM, RANYC said:

fair point.  All this density on Morehead is screaming for connectivity to uptown and perhaps a pedestrian/bicycle bridge could be in order.  Would be a powerful means of connection although I suppose the rail trail bridge might be close enough to accomplish such connectivity - assuming it will be built.  It’s in the interminable design phase.

It hasn't occurred to me before your post but, it is criminally incompetent that the city has failed to build branches off the rail trail. Something like the Indianapolis Cultural Trail would be easy enough (but take some space from cars, oh my...). The rail trail desperately needed to be part of a much larger -contiguous- network a decade ago.

Branches off to Wesley Heights / West Morehead (almost a complete network but big gaps remain), the Medical School and Atrium, Latta and Freedom Park (again, almost complete), Southside Park (there is a half-assed bike lane), and Park Rd Shopping Center seem like the minimal improvements that a sensible person would make.

Edited October 11, 2023 by kermit

[CLTranspo]

4 hours ago, kermit said:

criminally incompetent 

 

Unfortunately I feel like this describes most of the city of Charlotte's actions lol 

[Reverie39]

23 hours ago, RANYC said:

fair point.  All this density on Morehead is screaming for connectivity to uptown and perhaps a pedestrian/bicycle bridge could be in order.  Would be a powerful means of connection although I suppose the rail trail bridge might be close enough to accomplish such connectivity - assuming it will be built.  It’s in the interminable design phase.

There definitely needs to be a major focus on Morehead given all the development on it. Connecting pedestrians and bikers from it to other parts of the urban core is critical, and I have also continued to vouch for some sort of streetcar to run across Morehead's length, connecting to Blue and Silver lines. I think investments like that will make the street and area a major hub for Charlotte.