Charlotte's Urban Lowe's Home Improvement

[jednc]

From the looks of this project...the award was well deserved.

[cltheel.sdl]

Congrats!

I ate at the Noodles and Company in Chapel Hill tonight for the first time...as I was looking over the menu I saw the Southborough location was opening soon.

Southborough has a pretty decent tenant lineup. 5 Guys, Noodles, Wine Loft, and of course Lowe's will all be major neighborhood draws.

[Miesian Corners]

Noodles and Co opened Tuesday; Lowe's opens Friday (31) at 7 a.m.; Wine Vault opens Wednesday (Nov 5).

[dubone]

Wow, it has felt like forever since this project was first announced. Ironically, we now have light rail, and I am car-free so the Home Depot at Woodlawn is easier to get to than this Lowe's .

In the big picture, though, it will be very helpful to the restoration and maintenance of the old housing stock in the central part of the city to have a full scale home improvement warehouse, in addition to some competition for the middle ring Home Depot stores to help prices.

When I was having my house renovated last year, it would horrify my green sensibilities that the workmen would 'run back out to get something', which often meant at least a 10 mile round trip in his truck, but often a 20 mile round trip out to the 485 area stores. This store would cut those trips in half or in a quarter which significantly adds up.

Beyond just Charlotte, this store is now the prototype for Lowe's to be able to expand to central areas of cities to continue to grow again. The suburbs are saturated all around the country, leaving the untapped centers of cities as vast opportunities for growth. If Lowe's can grow again, it helps the many headquarters jobs we have in this region, too.

We should also be happy that they did it without tax dollars, and in a manner than was as sensitive to the neighboring community as we have seen. Going past the store on South Blvd, it is very easy to forget how huge it is, because the set back is so short, and it is blended perfectly with the Southborough projects.

I do wish, however, that companies would somehow get the message that EIFS looks terribly cheap. They put all that brick into the facade, but then their brand is sitting on the EIFS looking as tacky as it possibly could. Beyond that, I am quite happy with how this turned out.

Hopefully, the people at Olmstead Park will grow used to all the scary people that now come near their neighborhood (like Joe the Plumber). If not, they can always build a moat around the community just outside the massive brick battlement they have now.

[atlrvr]

While I like to criticize EIFS as much as the next person, it simply comes down to the cheapest available alternative. If city building codes would grow a set and ban it from the allowable pallette, then developers would adapt and incorporate the next cheapest alternative, probably more brick in this particular application. Plenty of cities have banned it for all commerical use. As a city, we should demand better.

[Spartan]

If city building codes would grow a set and ban it from the allowable pallette

The planning director is a woman, so maybe you're onto something there.

[Durhamite]

While I like to criticize EIFS as much as the next person, it simply comes down to the cheapest available alternative. If city building codes would grow a set and ban it from the allowable pallette, then developers would adapt and incorporate the next cheapest alternative, probably more brick in this particular application. Plenty of cities have banned it for all commerical use. As a city, we should demand better.

Is this the reason that many of the newer developments in Charlotte have not incorporated brick? Traveling through Providence, RI recently, I noticed a new high rise (downtown) that had a brick or stone facade that provided a dated appearance.

Of the structures in uptown Charlotte, the Hampton Inn clock tower has to be the most hideous. Why hasn't the city been more aggressive with eliminating these types of materials?

[monsoon]

^My guess is the city doesn't want to expose itself to complaints and lawsuits from developers and builders by dictating building materials based solely on opinion on looks. If there is a technical reason for it then fine, but banning materials simply because it looks bad is much tougher. I believe it gets into authority of what state law allows cities to do vs property rights and frankly if the city wants to burn this kind of political capital, they will do it elsewhere. There is a contention that EIFS is safe and a cost competitive material that brings value to the consumer. bah.

EIFS was banned in some NC coastal counties years ago because of the number of homes where this stuff was used have suffered from rot. If this material is not installed correctly and then maintained correctly it has a habit of letting moisture in and then trapping it and over the years, the wood and insulation inside the walls starts to rot. Mecklenburg county has not invoked the same ban. However in that token there is a rather expensive home here in Huntersville that was clad in that stuff when it was built in the 1990s. The owner, who recently tried to sell the place, found out to his horror that the home was about to fall to the ground because all of the walls were rotten. (turned up in a home inspection) The fix is to strip off all of the EIFS and then rebuild. It's gonna cost him multiple tens of thousands of dollars to fix. I have heard of other similar stories in Mecklenburg and I would not be surprised that some of these issues won't turn up in some of the condo buildings that use this stuff.

There are a huge number of alternative building materials and techniques that could be used on Charlotte projects. It's really too bad we don't see much of it here as most developers are taking the absolutely cheapest way to put up projects that meet the absolute minimum of code. I would recommend that anyone contemplating buying a place that is under construction go keep your eye on what is going on. Have a look at floor joists, are the floors at least 3/4 inch real plywood, what is separating the unit from other units, are there any "surprises". etc. The difference will be a place that people will want to live in for decades vs one that might initially look good but becomes a daily irritant.

[palmetto75]

Its my understanding that commercial applications including both materials and installation differ dramatically (subject to more stringent inspection if not only due to the commercial code process) and are therfore much less likely to be defective.

SF is a whole different story. Was told by a well known architect years ago to never buy a house with EIFS constructed in the 80s or 90s as there was little regulation of qualified or not installers then.

Ironic how Verna Engineering made a good chunk of money on fixing this stuff. What goes around...

[monsoon]

But is a condo building considered a commercial building? Why wouldn't a developer push for the lesser residential building permit?

[palmetto75]

But is a condo building considered a commercial building? Why wouldn't a developer push for the lesser residential building permit?

A condo building is built under commercial code. There are a few cases where attached housing can be built under residential codes, but just about anything that shares a wall is commercial code.

[monsoon]

^In looking at some of these stick built structures going up, they really don't resemble anything close to a commercial style building.

[UrbanFuture]

^In looking at some of these stick built structures going up, they really don't resemble anything close to a commercial style building.

Fire supression systems, mixed use in the same building, nc state building codes, combinations of these and several other factors probably lead to commercial permits over residential.

[HopHead]

The "O" has an article today in the Business section about the new Lowe's store, which opens today. It talks about how it's just like any other Lowe's with exception to the roof top parking and tan exterior facade. More emphasis will be on house and patio plants and less on things such riding lawn mowers b/c of it's urban location. I have to say, I'm looking forward to walking here this weekend

[Conformity]

EFIS as an exterior cladding on a SF home is now a material fact in NC, including Charlotte. While it's use has not been forbidden from a building code perspective, as it has in coastal counties, where moisture is so much more prevelant, the seller of a residential property must disclose the existence of EFIS in all counties. I believe there is also a dedicated subsection of inspection rights that follow on in the rider that is attached to the Purchase Agreement.

These disclosures are not required on "commercial" units. I think that fine where the structure is concrete and/or steel, but many commercial structures are framed in wood, including most condominiums of 4 stories or fewer.

[dubone]

I'm totally for the banning of EIFS, although it is a weak argument for this project other than looks. Frankly, though, I'm surprised that a purveyor of building materials would wants its brand highlighted on the tackiest of all building cladding. The EIFS is outside of concrete block construction, so it won't cause rot as those cases outside of wood framing.

I walked around here yesterday and as planned, thAe inside is very similar to any other full sized Lowe's. It is fun to be on the roof of a Lowe's looking at the skyline and waiting for an elevator. It is also pretty cool to see such a small surface lot, and fairly decent landscaping.

I was very disappointed to see that the doors on South Blvd itself to the garden center is exit only. As a result, it is unlikely that it will be used that often, even though they did put a checkout booth there. Frankly, the regular garden center check out is so close to South Blvd, it isn't really that big of a difference for pedestrians.

[Spartan]

They must have teamed up with Trader Joes to be as obnoxious as possible to pedestrians. Why not is have an entrance directly onto the street?

[dubone]

This is better than Trader Joes in that they do have a check out station to leave onto South Blvd, and that the entrance to the Garden Center is only 20-30' from the sidewalk, which is quite reasonable. I mean, the store itself is huge, so walking 30' to get inside is no big deal.

But it is still inexplicable why they simply wouldn't let those doors be entrances too. My guess is that if you asked, they'd blame it on city codes too .

[atlrvr]

^ Perhaps there is some truth to it being city code?

[DigitalSky]

A few cameraphone photos from inside:

[dubone]

^ Perhaps there is some truth to it being city code?

You'd know more than I would here, but how can one provide exit only and the other provide enter only and somehow claim that it is because of a code?

[tozmervo]

Building code only cares about exiting capacity and distribution. Having said that, Lowe's would have determined where they want their entrances (which also count as exits), and additional exits would have to be provided as necessary to satisfy code.

In summary, whether or not those emergency exits also act as entrances is up to Lowe's.

[cltheel.sdl]

Southborough is the Next Big Thing in the paper today. Here's the link:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/597/story/302433.html

This is my favorite South End project right now. The way Conformity was able to integrate Southborough into the neighborhood demonstrates the brilliance of their urban design. I really can't say anything bad about this project.

Kudos on the model unit btw! It presents itself quite well.

[Spartan]

This is better than Trader Joes in that they do have a check out station to leave onto South Blvd, and that the entrance to the Garden Center is only 20-30' from the sidewalk, which is quite reasonable. I mean, the store itself is huge, so walking 30' to get inside is no big deal.

But it is still inexplicable why they simply wouldn't let those doors be entrances too. My guess is that if you asked, they'd blame it on city codes too .

That is slightly better, but a suburban Lowe's has a second (garden center) entrance too. To me it sounds like it is just a glorified suburban store that just happens to have an entrance "near" South Blvd. I'd be surprised if that placement was intentionally for South Blvd pedestrians. I want to Charlotte set a higher standard. Build for pedestrians with a primary-looking entrance on the actual street for pedestrians and not the big parking lot/deck. This Lowes is definitely better than Target and Trader Joe's, and I am generally pleased with Conformity's project with the exception of this one aspect. I know its probably overly anal on my part, and I'm ok with that. I just want to know how many more projects like this will have to be built before they finally get it right. Pedestrians first. Assume all people are not going to drive to the store. Its that simple.

[cltheel.sdl]

Conformity did not develop the store. Conformity just developed the parcels surrounding the store, so I can't really fault them for the lack of urban Lowe's entrance on South Blvd.