Charlotte's Urban Lowe's Home Improvement

[cltheel.sdl]

Wow! Southborough is really looking nice!

[dubone]

The area really is looking good. Now we need the projects west of South Blvd to happen, the Iverson to cross the tracks and a new station built there .

I think that if this is the prototype for a new model of urban Lowe's throughout the country, then we have a very good trend on our hands. The building looks quite high quality, and you really do forget from looking at it that there is parking available on the roof.

[rockhilljames]

I'm so impressed by this whole project. Will other big box retailers please, please, please pay attention to what is happening here?

[tozmervo]

At the risk of being a negative nancy, there is still a fairly large surface parking lot going in along Iverson. It'll be behind some kind of fence (I still really, really like the brick), but it's still a parking lot. We're not quite "there" yet, but quite a bit closer.

Also, does anyone know if the corner piece at South & Iverson was done by a completely different firm? Its kind of a mess architecturally, whereas the rest of the complex is pretty well done. It just sticks out like a sore thumb to me.

[sleightofhand]

Five Guys will open in the retail bay closest to Lowe's. The McAllister Group is handling there upfit and that work has begun.

The Wine Loft will occupy in the middle bay. The Wine Loft is a locally owned and operated franchise (as opposed to a corporate owned location). The concept has about 30 locations nationwide. Check them out at www.thewineloft.net. You'll see "Charlotte" under "Locations".

The last bay will be occupied by another restaurant. We are about 2 weeks on being able to announce that one, but I'll put it up here before sharing the completed lease up with the media.

We begin delivering keys in June to homeowners in the deck towns behind the mixed use building. The flats (adjacent to Lowe's) will follow on shortly thereafter and the outlying transitional bungalow style townhomes will be delivered in final phase. We will begin pouring pads for this final phase in about 2 weeks.

Thanks for the update! I can't wait for this project to be completed!

[dubone]

At the risk of being a negative nancy, there is still a fairly large surface parking lot going in along Iverson. It'll be behind some kind of fence (I still really, really like the brick), but it's still a parking lot. We're not quite "there" yet, but quite a bit closer.

Also, does anyone know if the corner piece at South & Iverson was done by a completely different firm? Its kind of a mess architecturally, whereas the rest of the complex is pretty well done. It just sticks out like a sore thumb to me.

That is an extremely modest surface lot with all things considered. Atherton Mill has more surface parking than this, and the Lowe's is shielding it on multiple sides with out-buildings and some walls and such. Of course it makes sense that not everyone will like this project, as it is understandably controversial for a big box store to locate in an urban neighborhood. But if our economy is going to deliver goods to market through large warehouse-type buildings, as it clearly has evolved to doing, this is a very sensitive design to make those goods available to the more urban center of town.

That corner building was a last minute addition to shield the parking lot from view. It won't be an enclosed building, but it will encapsulate the seasonal merchandise that normally would be sold outside at a typical Lowes. If you think of all those grills, tractors, fences, and things that normally litter the fire lanes, those will go into this building.

I still hold that regardless of quirks and negatives, it is far superior to a) what was there before, b) the walled city of Olmstead Park, c) what could have gone there had Lowe's, the city, and Dilworth not worked hard to make a workable compromise.

While Lowe's is just a normal old big box store, at least the building materials that it supplies can help with the building and renovation of the area now that so much is happening around the rail line.

[dubone]

As an additional point, I have long thought that this Lowe's was a stretch for being in a Transit zone, even though it is close to the tracks, as it is fairly far between the actual stations. However, I measured the sidewalk walking routes between the East-West Blvd Lynx station and the Garden Center entrance of this Lowes and it is .43 mi. While I'll grant that this is still too long to be a frequent excursion, I personally made the trip to the Home Depot using the Lynx line over the weekend. To compare, I measured the walking distance for that station, as the walking route is much longer than the crow-flying route due to a couple of things. That distance was .42mi. We made that 8-10 minute walk without much issue and picked up the things we needed to that could be carried and got back on the train.

I'll note that is a lot less hassle than walking the same distance to places like Circuit City at the shopping center at the end of the line. Somehow, the character of the walk is enough different that it makes it feel shorter, even though it is the same.

[tozmervo]

That is an extremely modest surface lot with all things considered. Atherton Mill has more surface parking than this, and the Lowe's is shielding it on multiple sides with out-buildings and some walls and such. Of course it makes sense that not everyone will like this project, as it is understandably controversial for a big box store to locate in an urban neighborhood. But if our economy is going to deliver goods to market through large warehouse-type buildings, as it clearly has evolved to doing, this is a very sensitive design to make those goods available to the more urban center of town.

That corner building was a last minute addition to shield the parking lot from view. It won't be an enclosed building, but it will encapsulate the seasonal merchandise that normally would be sold outside at a typical Lowes. If you think of all those grills, tractors, fences, and things that normally litter the fire lanes, those will go into this building.

I still hold that regardless of quirks and negatives, it is far superior to a) what was there before, b) the walled city of Olmstead Park, c) what could have gone there had Lowe's, the city, and Dilworth not worked hard to make a workable compromise.

While Lowe's is just a normal old big box store, at least the building materials that it supplies can help with the building and renovation of the area now that so much is happening around the rail line.

All very true. I have no particular grudge against big box stores (that don't end in Mart). For some reason I had it in my head that the parking would be beneath the store, so the surface lot was something of a surprise. And I do absolutely appreciate that the lot is very small by big box development standards. The wastelands of unused asphalt at Atherton Mill, at Woodlawn Shopping Center, and every other modern shopping center is a failure of economic, social and environmental policy. But I digress. I look forward to the Lowe's, the garden center and the restaurants all.

(As a semi-related aside, i'm working on a higher ed project where we fought to remove every parking space possible from the program. We got it down to about 40% of its original size, and now the whole lot is a VE item. I never thought I'd appreciate value engineering quite so much.)

[Andyc545]

Went by the site yesterday. Pardon for lack of quality in the pics, they were all taken well driving. I must say, I am very impressed with the mix of materials and different bricks throughout. Southborough looks quite amazing and I love it's 'modernness' and unique qualities to it well tieing in with the area. Along South Blvd is looking great and the Lowe's looks like it doesn't have too much longer to go. There were trucks at the loading dock in fact.

Lowes:

Southborough along Magnolia:

Southborough along Lyndhurst (notice different brick):

Pedestrian Entrance at corner of Lyndhurst/Iverson:

More retail, again different brick and materials. Lovin it:

[Raintree21]

Pedestrian Entrance at corner of Lyndhurst/Iverson:

Looks very castle-ish.

[voyager12]

^ I agree perhaps it should be renamed "Fort Southborough"

[Conformity]

Looks very castle-ish.

That entrance is a Lowe's Pedestrian entrance at the intersection of Lyndhurst and Iverson. It it not part of the Southborough Development. That part of their site was the most difficult for them. The site has 15' of grade change and it all plays out at that location. If they really plant heavily in the terraced beds that they've constructed, it should soften effectively. We'll see.

Thanks for posting the pics Andyc545

[atlrvr]

From today.

Hooray...more building pads!

Look Ma...no power lines!

Doh!!!...nevermind

...plus who knew they were advertising this store to gnomes, leprechauns, and other creatures of diminutive stature.

I need a drool icon...oh well, these will do.

This is where Mr. and Mrs. atlrvr would live if they weren't the shameful parents of 3 bad dogs.

[Andyc545]

Oh man Oh man.. What material is the gray coloring on the townhomes and retail building? That turned out great, I love its style...

[Conformity]

Atlvr:

Thanks for putting up the pictures. There are a few more details to come, but we'll be down to only landscaping in about 2 weeks....on this part of the development. This phase took 11 months.

Andy:

The material is a dense plastic material that comes in sheets and is metallicized on its face. Measurements of the building shell are taken in the field and then the back side of the sheet is routed so that the material can be folded into the slick lego style blocks that are applied to the building. It's a cool process. There are a couple manufacturers, but AlucaBond is the most recognized name.

ALL: I WOULD LIKE TO ARRANGE FOR A "UP" PROGRESS TOUR. SUCH A TOUR WOULD REQUIRE SEVERAL THINGS: A MINIMUM OF 15 PRIVATE RESPONSES, A WILLINGNESS TO WEAR A HARDHAT AND TO BRING ONE IF YOU HAVE ONE (I HAVE 10), A WILLINGNESS TO REMOVE YOUR SHOES WHEN ASKED TO DO SO....PRETTY SIMPLE...AND ALSO, I GET A BEER OUT OF THE DEAL.

Let me know if you are interested. Please do not post to the board with your response.

[nowensone]

^ 15 beers, huh, that'd be worth seeing! The plastic material you mention above, how does it fare with temperature and humidity changes? And ability to resist the elements?

[Conformity]

It's very stable... it doesn't "oil can" or anything like that. It's very thick. The flyouts on the Ratcliffe overlooking the Green are of the same material. You can see what 6 years of exposures looks like on that building.

I am planning on Thursday, July 10th for the tour I mentioned in my last post...say 6 PM. 7 respondants so far. Please let me know if you'd like to come along.

^ 15 beers, huh, that'd be worth seeing! The plastic material you mention above, how does it fare with temperature and humidity changes? And ability to resist the elements?

[Conformity]

This is an intentional bump and I apologize for that.

I have 8 respondants so far from UP for the Southborough tour. It will include both Southborough and Lowe's. If anyone else would like a behind the scenes tour, please advise and I will see you on July 10th at the Southborough Sales Center and we'll leave from the there (it's just a short walk across the street). The sales center is in the Village of South End. A map is available at our website. www.liveinsouthborough.com.

We are not selling anything, nor will we attempt to sell you anything when we see you. Just a chance to look at some interesting organizations of property rights and buildings. Let me know if you'll be joining us via a private message or just show up (with a hard hat if you haven't registered with us). Please do not post here. Thanks.

[Andyc545]

I have some photos from Conformity's tour of Southborough and Lowe's.

Townhomes:

Rooftop Terraces:

Lowe's Parking Deck:

Stairwell in front of Flats:

Inside the Lowe's:

I will keep it at that and give others that were there room to share their info. If you're interested in seeing more photos you can visit my Southborough/Lowes photo page. OK... I'm done!

[johnpro318]

I have some photos from Conformity's tour of Southborough and Lowe's.

Townhomes:

Rooftop Terraces:

Lowe's Parking Deck:

Stairwell in front of Flats:

Inside the Lowe's:

I will keep it at that and give others that were there room to share their info. If you're interested in seeing more photos you can visit my Southborough/Lowes photo page. OK... I'm done!

I always get excited when this thread becomes popular again. It's one of my favorite projects.

EDIT: Thanks for the photos Andy

[revitalize]

Yeah, great pics Andy. I think I can speak for all of those in attendance at the tour - a big THANK YOU to Conformity for putting on the 'behind the scenes' tour of Southborough and Lowe's for UP members. It was great seeing this project under construction, knowing that it will become a cornerstone of SouthEnd for decades to come. I especially enjoyed going into the 4-story townhouses along Magnolia, and the top floor of the office suite on the corner of South Blvd. I'll try to get some pics up soon - but I know we'll probably be best off just waiting for Mobuchu to put up his images!

Continued luck and success to Conformity and his team, and thanks again. What an awesome project! It was great to meet a lot of UP'ers, and put names with faces. Let's do another meetup some time soon.

[Miesian Corners]

I second that, Revitalize! A big thanks to Conformity for the tour and the education on the ins and outs of codes and permitting, architecture, and land planning. This is a complicated project and it was eye opening to discover just how difficult the process can be. At the same time, it was refreshing to find that there are developers who believe that with perseverance and attention to detail, they can make it all work in the end without compromising product quality.

[Conformity]

I didn't get a head count, but we probably had 16 or 17 people on the tour. I appreciate the turnout and learned alot from the attendees, some of whom have shot me messages privately with their thoughts about the development. We'll do it again when the project is complete (2nd quarter '09). MC...you are correct "there are developers"......all of whom strive toward the ideals that you mentioned, Conformity included.

[kermit]

Framing has begun on the exterior footprint townhouses along Magnolia.

[Miesian Corners]

Did anyone see the article in last week's Eye with this headline "Arrival of Lowe's may have led crooks to neighborhood"? Huh? The author says in the first paragraph that residents of Olmsted Park and police believe that the construction of the store has made criminals aware that there are nice houses east of South Boulevard (yep, nobody apparently knew there was a neighborhood back there until this construction project--criminals are dumb that way). In the next paragraph, the author quotes police as saying they don't think the store's construction has anything to do with the recent break-ins. Well which is it?

And I would paste the link up here, but the O site is currently screwed up and the link doesn't work when pasted here. The date of the article is July 21.