Downtown Greensboro Developments

[gman430]

Not a single tower crane up in downtown Greensboro or Greenville. Sad times.  

[cityboi]

4 hours ago, gman430 said:

Not a single tower crane up in downtown Greensboro or Greenville. Sad times.  

In Greensboro there will be at least two within the next 6 months or so with the completion of the Westin Greensboro on top of the deck and the start of construction of the AC Hotel.

Edited July 23, 2023 by cityboi

[cityboi]

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

Edited August 3, 2023 by cityboi

[P.SAUNDERS]

I agree that that those buildings on that lot does need to be torn down and the land cleared ASAP!!!

[gman430]

On 7/23/2023 at 2:51 PM, cityboi said:

In Greensboro there will be at least two within the next 6 months or so with the completion of the Westin Greensboro on top of the deck and the start of construction of the AC Hotel.

It’s just sad. Charlotte took them all.

[cityboi]

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.

Edited August 13, 2023 by cityboi

[cityboi]

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/

 

Edited August 14, 2023 by cityboi

[KJHburg]

The Charlotte Urbanists and UP are planning a tour of downtown Greensboro this Saturday when about 25 people come up via Amtrak to Greensboro and the walking tour will start at noon on Saturday at the Amtrak station.  Mainly historical but will cover the new additions to downtown Greensboro join us if you like.  Start at the station then to S Elm then up Elm to the downtown parks over the baseball stadium then loop back down Greene St.  If you are interested message me or just show up but once the train from Charlotte gets there it's on!  The number of people already committed means it will be very interesting and would love some local insights.  They are excited about coming up to the Gate City.  

Edited August 15, 2023 by KJHburg

[cityboi]

10 hours ago, KJHburg said:

The Charlotte Urbanists and UP are planning a tour of downtown Greensboro this Saturday when about 25 people come up via Amtrak to Greensboro and the walking tour will start at noon on Saturday at the Amtrak station.  Mainly historical but will cover the new additions to downtown Greensboro join us if you like.  Start at the station then to S Elm then up Elm to the downtown parks over the baseball stadium then loop back down Greene St.  If you are interested message me or just show up but once the train from Charlotte gets there it's on!  The number of people already committed means it will be very interesting and would love some local insights.  They are excited about coming up to the Gate City.  

I've already signed up! :)

[cityboi]

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

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by cityboi

[cityboi]

On 8/14/2023 at 8:23 PM, KJHburg said:

The Charlotte Urbanists and UP are planning a tour of downtown Greensboro this Saturday when about 25 people come up via Amtrak to Greensboro and the walking tour will start at noon on Saturday at the Amtrak station.  Mainly historical but will cover the new additions to downtown Greensboro join us if you like.  Start at the station then to S Elm then up Elm to the downtown parks over the baseball stadium then loop back down Greene St.  If you are interested message me or just show up but once the train from Charlotte gets there it's on!  The number of people already committed means it will be very interesting and would love some local insights.  They are excited about coming up to the Gate City.  

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.

Edited August 19, 2023 by cityboi

[KJHburg]

Yes about 20 plus people rode the train up from Charlotte to downtown Greensboro. They enjoyed the city some had been here, some a long time ago and some never.  You have a lot of good things going on and a great city manager in Taiwo  Jaiyeoba  (who used to be the planning director in Charlotte)  He did hint at some big plans.  The group from the Queen City loved your historical buildings along S Elm and your Jefferson Standard Lincoln Financial building, your 2 downtown parks with cafes, your streetside dining in the parking spaces, your social district.  I will post some photos of the group later I took these before the tour.  Oh yeah your intermodal center with Amtrak, buses both local city and regional buses.  This is something Charlotte is working on it and has been for years.    Great trip from the QC to the Gate City! 

Taiwo mentioned downtown Greensboro is 38% surface parking vs Charlotte being 28% of total land as parking.  He wants more development downtown. 

[cityboi]

14 hours ago, KJHburg said:

Yes about 20 plus people rode the train up from Charlotte to downtown Greensboro. They enjoyed the city some had been here, some a long time ago and some never.  You have a lot of good things going on and a great city manager in Taiwo  Jaiyeoba  (who used to be the planning director in Charlotte)  He did hint at some big plans.  The group from the Queen City loved your historical buildings along S Elm and your Jefferson Standard Lincoln Financial building, your 2 downtown parks with cafes, your streetside dining in the parking spaces, your social district.  I will post some photos of the group later I took these before the tour.  Oh yeah your intermodal center with Amtrak, buses both local city and regional buses.  This is something Charlotte is working on it and has been for years.    Great trip from the QC to the Gate City! 

Taiwo mentioned downtown Greensboro is 38% surface parking vs Charlotte being 28% of total land as parking.  He wants more development downtown. 

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.

Edited August 20, 2023 by cityboi

[cityboi]

New bar/restaurant opening on N. Greene Street with Asian cuisine.

https://www.yokaigso.com/

 

Edited September 1, 2023 by cityboi

[cityboi]

Natty Greene's building brewing facility next to its brewery/restaurant downtown. Will also include a beer garden and another bar area.

Video 

https://myfox8.com/news/north-carolina/greensboro/natty-greenes-in-greensboro-gets-ready-for-game-changing-expansion/

https://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2023/09/07/natty-greenes-plans-new-brewing-facility.html

Edited September 7, 2023 by cityboi

[Poo Diddy]

When I first saw the plans for this building I was shocked.  It is such a cool little structure and wildly modern looking.  It will be a fantastic compliment to Greensboro's historic downtown building stock.

[cityboi]

NC A&T reveals autonomous shuttle route in downtown Greensboro. Self driving shuttles are coming to downtown.

 

https://www.ncat.edu/news/2023/09/dtgso-aggie-auto.php

 

Edited September 18, 2023 by cityboi

[cityboi]

Construction on the final leg of the downtown greenway will begin in a few months now that funding is in place. It will be complete this time next year. The final leg is on the western side of downtown between Spring Garden Street and Battleground Ave. It will be the most elaborate leg of the greenway costing $14 million.

https://myfox8.com/news/north-carolina/greensboro/greensboro-city-council-approves-additional-funds-towards-greenway-project/amp/

 

Edited September 20, 2023 by cityboi

[AlmaPinnix]

On 10/26/2022 at 11:21 PM, AlmaPinnix said:

Starbucks will construct a new location on the corner of Edgeworth and Market, where the old eyesore abandoned Hardee's used to be. I think this is a good use of that space and will possibly attract other corporate chains to do business downtown too (which is something Greensboro doesn't have much of).

The Downtown Starbucks at Edgeworth and Market is now Open!

[cityboi]

4 hours ago, AlmaPinnix said:

The Downtown Starbucks at Edgeworth and Market is now Open!

Coffee lovers will love this!

While this isn't a development, here is a rendering I drew of a redeveloped Gateway Plaza tower. They really need to do something about that god awful building. A conversation similar to the Wachovia Building / Center Pointe 

Edited September 27, 2023 by cityboi

[cityboi]

New restaurant to open in Wells Fargo tower.

[AlmaPinnix]

I wish Koury Corporation would do more developmental work in Greensboro, specifically downtown.

[cityboi]

4 hours ago, AlmaPinnix said:

I wish Koury Corporation would do more developmental work in Greensboro, specifically downtown.

Koury Corporation is one of the most successful development companies in Greensboro and has never done anything downtown. Joe Koury was a man of the "suburbs". Just think where downtown would be today if they had invested as much in downtown Greensboro as they have in other parts of the city. After Joe Koury died the company lost its vision for the city and today mainly builds small industrial sites and owns a lot of commercial properties. They haven't been involved with grand projects for the city since Joe Koury died. Roy Carroll is the Joe Koury of today's generation. The difference is he has invested heavily in downtown as well as in other areas of the city.

Edited September 30, 2023 by cityboi

[AlmaPinnix]

19 hours ago, cityboi said:

Koury Corporation is one of the most successful development companies in Greensboro and has never done anything downtown. Joe Koury was a man of the "suburbs". Just think where downtown would be today if they had invested as much in downtown Greensboro as they have in other parts of the city. After Joe Koury died the company lost its vision for the city and today mainly builds small industrial sites and owns a lot of commercial properties. They haven't been involved with grand projects for the city since Joe Koury died. Roy Carroll is the Joe Koury of today's generation. The difference is he has invested heavily in downtown as well as in other areas of the city.

I know the story, my Father worked under Koury before he died. I also spent a few holidays with the Craft brothers, which one of them is married to one of the Koury Sisters. It's just hopeful thinking! loi

Edited October 1, 2023 by AlmaPinnix

[cityboi]

15 hours ago, AlmaPinnix said:

I know the story, my Father worked under Koury before he died. I also spent a few holidays with the Craft brothers, which one of them is married to one of the Koury Sisters. It's just hopeful thinking! loi

Koury started out as Kirkman & Koury in the 1960s and built a number of residential neighborhoods across the city including Woodmere Park and the Kings Forest neighborhoods in northeast Greensboro. You can always tell which neighborhoods the company built because the houses all have the same late 60s early 70s designs.

Edited October 2, 2023 by cityboi