Elizabeth Projects (7th St, Elizabeth Ave, etc)

[nonillogical]

^i knew there was going to be one somewhere on that block, but this WHOLE cleared area is one parking deck (no retail i assume)? it looks big enough for 2 or 3.

[dubone]

I remember hearing from someone who saw the renderings that it will of course be more of their standard brick parking decks, but that it would have some retail in the bottom if I recall. Not 100% on that.

I am kind of disappointed they weren't more imaginative in the use of this land, or at least following somewhat closer to their master plan.

[atlrvr]

No retail....there will be a couple of thousand sq. ft. of "office" space front Charlottetown.

[dubone]

I visited Elizabeth Creamery and saw the new sidewalks. They are now ultra wide, and the original strip of sidewalk is still extremely laughable. I am so happy they made the change. I can't wait to see the restaurants use the space.

[fulcrumsf]

I drove up Elizabeth the other night, and I have to say that I am very impressed with the bright street lights. I really hope another anchoring type development would come in. It's a shame the Whole Foods development fell through. This is such a promising corridor.

[ParksideDweller]

I think someone said a "Fresh Market" is going to go in this area instead. I may be wrong though. Whole Foods would have been nice but I'll take what we can get.

[Guest]

I think someone said a "Fresh Market" is going to go in this area instead. I may be wrong though. Whole Foods would have been nice but I'll take what we can get.

Honestly I feel that as soon as we get a whole foods in charlotte it will vault to being the highest grossing Whole Foods in the state, at least for a year or two. That is how everything in Charlotte Works. As soon as we get a new sought after brand, suddenly everyone and their grandmother is shopping there. If that were to happen on Eliz, it could really have been a catalyst for the whole area! What a missed opportunity!

[DigitalSky]

Honestly I feel that as soon as we get a whole foods in charlotte it will vault to being the highest grossing Whole Foods in the state, at least for a year or two. That is how everything in Charlotte Works. As soon as we get a new sought after brand, suddenly everyone and their grandmother is shopping there. If that were to happen on Eliz, it could really have been a catalyst for the whole area! What a missed opportunity!

I think it's Whole Foods' fault too. But yes that is true about Charlotte - when Charlotte got a Nordstrom it was the biggest deal in the world... the same thing just doesn't happen in other cities the way it happens in Charlotte. And now with Whole Foods, the demand I see is higher than ever, I don't know why Whole Foods is so hesitant to come into a market where the demand is so high ... yet they are building a 3rd store for Wake County. go figure

[HopHead]

I think it's Whole Foods' fault too. But yes that is true about Charlotte - when Charlotte got a Nordstrom it was the biggest deal in the world... the same thing just doesn't happen in other cities the way it happens in Charlotte. And now with Whole Foods, the demand I see is higher than ever, I don't know why Whole Foods is so hesitant to come into a market where the demand is so high ... yet they are building a 3rd store for Wake County. go figure

Well, I've seen plenty of other places go gaga over some new place like Whole Food entering their market. Richmond is one place that comes to mind. I agree though, why in the heck is Wake county getting a 3rd Whole Foods and we have none??? Ridiculous especially considering we are a larger population base too. If you compare the two places, demographics are very similar so I'm not sure what their beef is...

[Miesian Corners]

Whole Foods wants nothing but SouthPark. Period. Darrah Horgan, a WF Public Relations Specialist, told me two years ago that the site in question was NEVER in their plans for Charlotte. Here's a quote from her email to me: The South Park location is still moving forward-it is not replacing any store plans elsewhere. We are aware that there has recently been some confusion on the subject of our stores in development in Charlotte, and we appreciate the opportunity to set the record straight. We

Edited October 14, 2009 by Miesian Corners

[southslider]

^If true, that's Whole Foods' loss. Trader Joe's has been successful in Charlotte, despite not having a store in SouthPark, but gasp, one near Elizabeth in Midtown.

[atlrvr]

I reported Fresh Market is the new tenant. That is still a correct fact....waiting for financing to become more developer friendly. The grocery portion can (and will most likely) be built without the residential tower, which can be added as a later phase.

[uptownliving]

City Council Approved the ReZoning for the Winter Elizabeth apartments last night. This project will have 366 Apartments at a density of 56 units/acre. There is no retail in this project...but it is within walking distance of the retail near 7th and Pecan.

Approved Site Plan:

http://ww.charmeck.org/Planning/Rezoning/2009/045_058/2009-048%20site%20plan%204th%20rev.pdf

[sharkdawg]

City Council Approved the ReZoning for the Winter Elizabeth apartments last night. This project will have 366 Apartments at a density of 56 units/acre. There is no retail in this project...but it is within walking distance of the retail near 7th and Pecan.

Approved Site Plan:

http://ww.charmeck.o...204th%20rev.pdf

So does this mean that they already own all of that property? That would be some serious gentrification tearing down those old properties.

[Conformity]

So does this mean that they already own all of that property? That would be some serious gentrification tearing down those old properties.

They do and have for some time...approaching 2 years, if not longer.

[atlrvr]

I spoke to Bob Silverman (owner of Winter Properties) several months ago about this project in great detail. His plan I believe is to start construction this summer. The lack of retail was not his intention, rather the city

The city didn't want retail in a mixed-use building, and if the site were to have retail, they wanted it in a single-story building and parked to a suburban retail standard. That pretty much killed the plan for retail, though he said he designed the sales center/clubhouse to have a street retail-esque look.

The greatest benefit to this project besides improving the streetscape is the connection of Bascom across 7th (to Cameron, I think)

[sakami]

The old house that used to contain Nolia Restaurant at the interesection of 7th and Pecan has been repainted and there are signs up for Ed's Tavern. It looks very similar to the Ed's Tavern over on Park Rd but I haven't seen anything to confirm this either way. Anyone have any details on this, i.e. timeline for opening, will it be the same as the other location?

[ChantillyDave]

According to the Chantilly Neighborhood Association meeting minutes from last Tuesday (1/26/10), Patsy Kinsey, city council representative for the Elizabeth area revealed that the proposed development along 7th Street and Weddington Avenue (366 Apartments) would likely not start until 2011 or later. Can this possibly be correct? Does anyone have any more information about this?

[sakami]

At the meeting Patsy basically repeated what we have been hearing anecdotally for a while, Winter doesn't really have financing in place at this time and they just renewed the rental agreements on many of the homes. Winter sees the approval of the rezoning as a way to procure the financing sooner than later though.

[ChantillyDave]

At the meeting Patsy basically repeated what we have been hearing anecdotally for a while, Winter doesn't really have financing in place at this time and they just renewed the rental agreements on many of the homes. Winter sees the approval of the rezoning as a way to procure the financing sooner than later though.

Ah...thanks for the clarification. Didn't get all that from the notes.

For some reason, I thought they were partnered with Mall Properties and were somehow leveraging them. Bob Silverman made a comment about it at a city council meeting when the issue of financing came up. Made it sound like they already had a source lined up. Of course, banks don't seem to be making $40M loans like they use to.

[southslider]

I was surprised no one had commented yet on the Elizabeth lawsuit to stop CPCC parking deck construction. Here's Friday's Observer article:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/04/16/1379329/lawsuit-stalls-construction-on.html

I'm a little confused how a 20-year old surface parking lot wasn't a problem but a parking deck is, and one right next to Memorial Stadium.

But I'm seriously concerned if this lawsuit may now delay County plans to build a greenway linking Little Sugar and Independence Park. I was really looking forward to riding my bike from Hawthorne bike lanes over to the new greenway.

And I'm so glad I didn't sign up now for this weekend's Elizabeth 8K Run. I'd definitely want my money back if I had, though maybe I could have worn a counterprotest T-shirt in the race.

[Urbanity]

This one bothers me a lot as well.

I do understand the public park element however (and I am guessing here) these are the same people who would complain about parking issues in their neighborhood.

Edit: To rephrase my post. I realize after reading some of the posts that there is an issue with the lack of street retail in this project.

I still think that a parking deck is better than a lot though I'm not sure enough of myself on this one to be that bothered by opposition.

Edited April 19, 2010 by Urbanity

[tozmervo]

I hadn't heard about that lawsuit. Good for them. CPCC has been on a relentless mission to wreck the urban character of Elizabeth for a few years now.

[Miesian Corners]

It's a hideous parking garage with no street level anything. While some may argue it's better than the parking lot that was there before, I say if government wants private developers to do right by the urban form, then government should set an example.

[southslider]

^Didn't Elizabeth residents kill a proposal to replace Roy White's Flowers with a mixed-use project that actually hid its parking deck behind street-level retail? Now that's setting an example.