First Ward Urban Village / North Tryon Vision Plan

[graydog]

The existing 8th Square Townhomes site is still up but doesn't mention the change to SFH.

http://www.8thsquaretownhomes.com

[dubone]

Bobby Drakeford is developing single family homes on the 8th St. site, instead of condos.

http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/Planni...ns/2005-164.htm

they are requesting a change in zoning in order to do this.

[dubone]

I really dislike so much about this siteplan.

- why does the sidewalk have to abutt the curb, without a planting strip in between?

- why can't the townhomes touch eachother?

- why do the garages need to be separate buildings, rather than being in the ground floor of the units?

- why do they need to build a new driveway in the center of the property? they should have just requested permission to repave that small section of Myers St instead and they could have gotten an extra unit in there. Or they could have worked out a deal with the people on the other side of the fence to connect to their driveway and access to Alexander St.

i'm also a little disappointed that it is going from 16 units down to only 10.

[ElricSeven]

I really dislike so much about this siteplan.

- why does the sidewalk have to abutt the curb, without a planting strip in between?

- why can't the townhomes touch eachother?

- why do the garages need to be separate buildings, rather than being in the ground floor of the units?

- why do they need to build a new driveway in the center of the property? they should have just requested permission to repave that small section of Myers St instead and they could have gotten an extra unit in there. Or they could have worked out a deal with the people on the other side of the fence to connect to their driveway and access to Alexander St.

i'm also a little disappointed that it is going from 16 units down to only 10.

So are they actual single-family?

[A2]

I am not sure I even know where this projcet is going. Are we talking about 8th stree across from the current Garden District homes ? If so is it going on a lot that is a parking lot, or are we tearing somthing down to put it in? Also when does construction start ?

A2

[dubone]

read back through this thread and this other thread:

http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=8144

There are four old houses on 8th street that are in poor condition and the owners sold out to a developer. They will tear down the old houses and replace them with this new development.

[skylinedrive]

I heard from a real estate frind of mine that the sales were not good on the townhome project Drakeford wanted to do. They said these homes will be in the Saussy Burbank style so they should match the 9th St homes pretty well, just smaller.

[graydog]

Here's a map of the property (the 4 houses on the north side of 8th between Davidson and Myers)

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=715+e+8th+st...06951&t=h&hl=en

This project has supposedly turned into SFH. The rezoning request is to change from UR-2 to UR-3. I can't tell how the zoning is important to the project. Any help?

Center City Partners posted a description of the original townhome project and included a before and after photo:

http://www.charlottecentercity.org/files/p...FTOKEN=86580852

Here are the houses in question:

[Miesian Corners]

dub, they will have a planting strip. The gray area along the street frontage (on the site plan) is the new sidewalk. Currently, the sidewalk is contiguous to the curb.

[dubone]

Okay, so if they are just leaving the existing sidewalks, that is fine.

I don't think that sidewalks right on the curb look good, and prefer the planting strip to be in between. If that was to be built new based on the siteplan, it was a negative for me.

[dubone]

The developer is scheduled to close on the purchase of the property tomorrow. Hopefully we see some digging real soon.

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/business/12879204.htm

for $1.7m

[A2]

FINALLY THE RENWICK IS GOING UP !

Construction is going to start NEXT month. 60% of the units have already been sold and Colonial Properties out of Birmingham in involved so count it as done.

I am VERY excited about this long awaited project, since it will fill in the First Ward district. It is being build on one of the last parcels left in First Ward. We are well on our way to total build up between First Ward and Uptown's CBD with the exception of Levine's property, which is going to hopefully be built one of these decades.

The Business Journal has a front page write up on the project. Check it out.

On a side note condo closings in Mecklenburg were UP 32% since last year ! Can you say Boomtown....

A2

Edited October 28, 2005 by A219724

[dubone]

that is cool, although 60% is pitiful considering the amount of time they have had. i wish they would have done what the citidan did... after initially proposing a lowrise, realize that highrises were the thing now... and changed up their design to include one.

then, not only would we continue our east west skyline... but we could have had something to hide the a$$ of courtside.

they could have at least added a 12 story building or something along 6th, which first ward would not likely have opposed... and it would have great views of the skyline.

oh well.

this project is so old, i'm glad it is happening, but i'm not excited about it.

[A2]

this project is so old, i'm glad it is happening, but i'm not excited about it.

I agree. I want a verticle structure too D, but it does do one thing. It alows people who want to live uptown on the cheap to move inside the loop. They have a ton of units well under 200K. Granted most of the cheaper units are one bedrooms, but a 160K-180K pricetag for 800square feet of Uptown living is pretty reasonable.

A2

[dubone]

as far as these projects go... renwick wasn't cheap. plus, it doesn't have the furman's midas touch, and there are subsidized units as a part of it (correct me if this part of the original project is no longer valid).

i looked at moving to the renwick, but was just pretty expensive considering the rest.

[A2]

as far as these projects go... renwick wasn't cheap. plus, it doesn't have the furman's midas touch, and there are subsidized units as a part of it (correct me if this part of the original project is no longer valid).

i looked at moving to the renwick, but was just pretty expensive considering the rest.

It could be. I was thinking it was around $200-$240 per square foot. It is not up there with the VUE, but I assume that is because you don't have the height element that you do with a tower. For my money I think Royal Courts is very inticing. I could see being on a 4th or 5th floor sipping a fine Merlot taking in all of the Uptown skyline on a crisp, cool Fall evening. Think about it, with Royal Courts you get one of the best views and not to mention to your backside is one of the wealthiest communities in CLT, Dilworth. The units can be bought for a very reasonable cost. I think all in all the bottom line on the Renwick is that it is finally getting built and we can finally put another checkmark on our condo list. With M-street right around the corner the residential count is climbing rapidly on that side of town. I am now just wainting to see some more retail in 1st ward.

A2

[atlrvr]

The subsidized units are all in the rental section I believe which is the second phase. This is just now going towards financing, so I don't believe it will be ready to break ground for 6-9 months, or as the for-sale is finishing up.

The Renwick had a 3Br, 2Ba 1,700 sq. ft. unit for sale on the top floor for about $360k, which seems pretty reasonable to me. I saw some additional elevations of the building and it looks better than the released sketches IMO.... It's not a great project, but it does continue to tie together that part of town.

[dubone]

http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte.../31/story3.html

here is the CBJ article that describes the plans for the Renwick. I agree with the latest plan (which is pretty old by now) to phase in the apartments, and the 40 subsidized units, that now the risk is very small.

who knows, perhaps they can/should increase the phase II to a larger set of apartments to get a taller structure... now that the neighborhood has Mstreet, Courtside, Court6, 8th Square, and 7th/McDowell it can withstand even more apartments and remain "in balance".

[graydog]

I like the apts approach (especially if they go tall) and the "mix" seems right. The only catch seems to be Colonial. Their stuff is blah. My view at M Street and everyone's entering Uptown will be degarded if they produce their usual stuff on that corner. Is ther any hope?

[dubone]

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/bus...th/13057562.htm

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/liv...on/13057610.htm

Who knows whether Levine will really do something with his land, but at least it is being discussed again.

The Civitas plan is due in December, so we'll see soon whether this plan is actionable in the near-term. I would actually prefer that he does something with just a couple blocks at first. I believe part of the issue has been that he is waiting until the market can absorb the whole plan. The conditions may never be ripe for the whole plan at once, as he must compete with all the other projects going on.

As I have said earlier, the key block that I am interested in seeing developed is the block between Courtside and Imaginon. It is only partially controlled by Levine, and the rest, (the lot with the rusty fence across from courtside, is owned by LaPointe Chevy. I don't want to block e7's view or anything, but i want to see something built on that block soon. Once that happens, there will be at least one route that is contiguously developed between uptown and first ward.

I noticed that Cousins Properties is no longer part of the partnership. Does anyone have a feeling on whether Faison Enterprises will be a better partner for moving this project forward? Levine Properties themselves only seem to have experience with tacky suburban office parks and sprawling shopping centers.

It is nice to see, though, that UNCC is trying to speed up the plans for their uptown location.

Now that the First Ward park and the open space behind AACC are slated for development, it puts far more pressure on the city and county to move forward on Levine's First Ward park. It is becoming an important issue to the First Ward community.

[dubone]

The park is listed at 4 acres. Is that just one city block? Is the park now only going between 7th and 8th, or is it going to be between 7th and 9th with the other buildings jutting into it?

[cinco]

how many times will levine be "the next big thing"?

this sounds great, it just sounds vaguely familiar. i really wish he'd move on this... 32 acres of something besides parking would be a big change. hell, i wouldn't care if he called it "levine village". can't wait to enjoy an ice cream from "levine ice cream" in front of "levine shops in levine village".

[atlrvr]

I think it will be on the two blocks with lots of buildings jutting into it....those are about 3 acres blocks (a little smaller than a normal block).

As far as Faison, it makes sense. They are looking for things to get involved in, and have a lot of free capital after selling off 6 malls last year and the development rights to Northlake. They are also doing lots of residential now.

They've had some experience with high-rise, with their most notable example the Interstate Tower here in Charlotte (though they did value-engineer it down from the original much grander design).

I think Cousins would probably have been a bit better fit, but they've decided that Charlotte is no longer a core market (they've shifted focus to Texas and So. Cal as well as their hometown, Atlanta).

I really think that the one thing that will get this going is the UNCC building. It's great that they are pushing up the time-table, and they will put pressure on Levine and the city to get the parking situation solved (they want some of the underground spaces for the school's use).

[dubone]

It would be GREAT if he called it Levine Village. Most real places in the world are named for the people who created them, rather than some fictional name or word made up by a committee of over-caffeinated marketing types.

Anyway, I agree that he has had so many articles on him, that it is hardly worth reading. However, it seems that the economic conditions that put the project on hiatus for so long are vastly improved.

He obviously wants to make money on the land. This seems like a good time to move on part or all of the project, as there is definitely momentum, both in urban living and urban retail, right now.

[DigitalSky]

yeah i wouldn't mind Levine Village.