Charlotte's Light Rail: Lynx Blue Line

[tozmervo]

If you follow the pattern, these buildings would be renovated into new businesses, property values would gradually increase, area popularity would gradually increased, then a developer would purchase everything, bulldoze, and build an apartment block building.

[AuLukey]

The pedestrian bridge tower at JW Clay is much larger in person than I had expected.  This was taken yesterday.  Sorry for the dirty window, damn salt

Edited February 17, 2016 by AuLukey

[Niner National]

It's remarkable how different N. Tryon is looking with the light rail.

I'm holding out hope that someday, someone might build some street front retail in the parking lot where Kohls is. They could build something two levels with the 2nd level being street level and the 1st level having their storefronts facing the parking lot.

[Third Strike]

50 minutes ago, Niner National said:

It's remarkable how different N. Tryon is looking with the light rail.

I'm holding out hope that someday, someone might build some street front retail in the parking lot where Kohls is. They could build something two levels with the 2nd level being street level and the 1st level having their storefronts facing the parking lot.

I would love to see front-facing retail at the corner of N. Tryon and JW Clay, at the northwest corner. Maybe anchor a grocery store like a Publix.

[Prodev]

That corner is being redeveloped. I've heard they have PDQ, BJ's Brewhouse and another freestanding restaurant and then they are doing more shop like the TJ Flats and Noodles building that was recently built. 

[Niner National]

Sucks that it will be more chain restaurants, but if it makes it feel more urban, it's a plus for the area.

[CLTProductions]

Random question. 

How many trains operate on the blue line now at any given time? And how many will once the BLE opens?

 

[tozmervo]

At ten minute headway, I think it would have to be six sets of trains operating today. I would estimate that will double with the extension.

[southslider]

^Until all platforms on the existing Blue Line are extended for 3-car sets, it will be 7.5-minute peak headway, due to 2-car sets.

Edited February 20, 2016 by southslider

[CLTProductions]

Apologies for the ignorance, but can someone explain to me exactly how connectivity at the 25th street station is going to work? Right now 25th breaks as it goes over Little Sugar Creek and there is that scary @$$ junk yard near there. How is it planned to connect the station to N Davidson seamlessly? 

[SgtCampsalot]

1 hour ago, Jayvee said:

Apologies for the ignorance, but can someone explain to me exactly how connectivity at the 25th street station is going to work? Right now 25th breaks as it goes over Little Sugar Creek and there is that scary @$$ junk yard near there. How is it planned to connect the station to N Davidson seamlessly? 

The city has purchased the necessary ROW to build a bridge and extend it to Brevard. Also there will soon be a mixed-use(ish) development on the south side of 25th at Brevard.

[CLTProductions]

23 minutes ago, SgtCampsalot said:

The city has purchased the necessary ROW to build a bridge and extend it to Brevard. Also there will soon be a mixed-use(ish) development on the south side of 25th at Brevard.

I'm more concerned about getting to Davidson. As it stands you'd have to walk down Brevard to Jordan Pl and then backdown Davidson to get to Free Range and stuff. Seems ridiculous. They need to bridge over little sugar creek. Plans for that? Or did you mean Davidson instead of Brevard? (Kind of assume based on your bridge comment). 

 

Edited February 25, 2016 by Jayvee

[SgtCampsalot]

27 minutes ago, Jayvee said:

I'm more concerned about getting to Davidson. As it stands you'd have to walk down Brevard to Jordan Pl and then backdown Davidson to get to Free Range and stuff. Seems ridiculous. They need to bridge over little sugar creek. Plans for that? Or did you mean Davidson instead of Brevard? (Kind of assume based on your bridge comment). 

The street is going to go from N Davidson to Brevard, with a bridge over the creek and connections to the greenway from the street. 

You can see the Brevard side's part of the road on this site plan for that one development

Edited February 25, 2016 by SgtCampsalot

[CLTProductions]

2 hours ago, SgtCampsalot said:

The street is going to go from N Davidson to Brevard, with a bridge over the creek and connections to the greenway from the street. 

You can see the Brevard side's part of the road on this site plan for that one development

Phew, okay thank you!

[tozmervo]

The project page shows that it was funded in a 2014 referendum, but I could have sworn it was to be funded in a bond package this year. Either way, it's considered an NECI project: http://charmeck.org/city/charlotte/epm/Projects/Transportation/Pages/25th-Street-Streetscape.aspx

[CLTProductions]

cool. I'd assume the plan is to complete it by the opening of the BLE? This stop is pretty worthless without it. 

Edited February 25, 2016 by Jayvee

[tozmervo]

A while back I was talking to someone in the know, and the timeline was a bit beyond the BLE opening, but not too far beyond. 

[Desert Power]

25th St Station is in a bit of an odd spot.  So close to Parkwood and no access from Tryon.  Really need to focus on bringing a lot of density to that area, which there are ample opportunities for.  The two empty corners of Jordan Place/North Davidson represent a chance for a transformative project.

[SgtCampsalot]

9 minutes ago, Desert Power said:

25th St Station is in a bit of an odd spot.  So close to Parkwood and no access from Tryon.  

25th St connects all the up into Villa Heights, over to The Plaza, so it makes sense to me. A 16th St station would have been nice, but they figured having a direct connection up to the hill on Parkwood was smarter than making it exclusively easy-access for Optimist Park (also there were apparently issues with the grading from coming down from the bridge over the CSX line, not flat enough for a station); though I still feel like something closer to 16th would have been worth it, just for the N Tryon connection.

[southslider]

Parkwood and 25th are about as close as Carson and Bland. Would be nice to see similar density then as South End, but Optimist Park can only support half-circles of TOD, given the rail yard.  And the creek eats into the develop-able area as well.  At least, the Greenway could add to the Blue Line as a near-term catalyst to sooner transform what limited land area there is.

[dubone]

25th Street Station is the opposite of odd.   The transit-oriented development potential is the highest around that location.   They're not planning to serve the transit needs of trailer container and truck parking lot businesses, they are looking at that whole zone as the primary redevelopment zone as the area transitions from industrial intermodal transportation businesses to urban mixed use.   This will clearly be the most comparable to south end density growth in NoDa, as the area around 36th is very limited in area.  (Hopefully NoDa will pull better aesthetic designs, though). 

 

They originally had the station at 28th, but shifted it south a bit to be in the middle of this clear redevelopment zone.     Villa Heights will clearly also attract investment and this is their station.  25th will be bridged soon and with it turning into Everett Place, connections are far shorter into Villa Heights with the 25th street location.  

 

 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, dubone said:

25th Street Station is the opposite of odd.   The transit-oriented development potential is the highest around that location.   They're not planning to serve the transit needs of trailer container and truck parking lot businesses, they are looking at that whole zone as the primary redevelopment zone as the area transitions from industrial intermodal transportation businesses to urban mixed use.   This will clearly be the most comparable to south end density growth in NoDa, as the area around 36th is very limited in area.  (Hopefully NoDa will pull better aesthetic designs, though). 

 

They originally had the station at 28th, but shifted it south a bit to be in the middle of this clear redevelopment zone.     Villa Heights will clearly also attract investment and this is their station.  25th will be bridged soon and with it turning into Everett Place, connections are far shorter into Villa Heights with the 25th street location.  

 

 

Villa Heights will be the Bushwick of Charlotte. Its always been amazing that Noda has had so much going for it, but 20 blocks of land between it and uptown has been so downtrodden. I just hope gentrification doesn't completely destroy the neighborhood.

[dubone]

24 year olds with 100k in student loans and saggy gauge-stretched earlobes are not the gentry.   

[SgtCampsalot]

10 hours ago, dubone said:

24 year olds with 100k in student loans and saggy gauge-stretched earlobes are not the gentry.   

No, but 34 year olds jogging out the front door of their 400k homes to drink craft beer certainly are.

Edited February 29, 2016 by SgtCampsalot

[kermit]

^ regardlss your definition of 'gentrifier,' Villa Heights was 'gentrified' (from a housing price perspective) five years ago. 

In Charlotte, investors (not hipsters) generally blaze the gentrification trail.

Edited February 29, 2016 by kermit