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Following a fine piece in The City Paper about the future of Charlotte Avenue, penned by my SouthComm colleague J.R. Lind (read here), I must say I am not as high on Charlotte as many others. Obviously, I want to see the street reach its full potential and be as interesting, pedestrian friendly and vibrant as possible. But the shortcomings are numerous.
They are as follows:
1. The street is excessively linear, with very few commercial spaces on the side streets (its Midtown segment notwithstanding). True, there are some impressive urban streets in other cities that are extremely linear in their commercial fabric. East Carson Street in Pittsburgh and Bardstown Road in Louisville, like Charlotte Avenue, stretch for many, many blocks and feature few commercial spaces on their respective side streets. But those two streets are much more narrow than Charlotte Avenue and offer significant housing/people density on either side. Carson and Bardstown also are defined by eye-catching vintage architecture, too, (which is lacking on Charlotte) so perhaps it is unfair to use them for this example. South Boulevard in Charlotte, N.C., might make for a better comparison but that street and its multi-block stretch of commercial spaces infilled nicely the past 15 years or so, in large part, due to its proximity to light rail line The Lynx, which runs on nearby Camden Road.
2. The 10-block stretch of Charlotte between I-440/33rd Avenue on the east and 43rd Avenue on the west is simply brutal, as crappy buildings, garish signage and weed-strewn lots line the segment. It would take a brave developer to undertake along that hellish span a building with, for example, retail on the first floor and residential on floors two through four.
3. During the last 10 years, Charlotte from 1-440 on the east to White Bridge Road on the west has seen little (if any) new construction that would both act as a catalyst and nudge hesitant would-be developers off the fence. There has been a reason for that. True, the stretch from the inner interstate loop to I-440 has gotten some new construction but that infill has been modest overall. I do like the proposed The Sheds on Charlotte project. And One City could be huge. But there are, and will remain, excessive segments of the street that remain underutilized and/or ugly.
Having said all this, I could see H.G. Hill Realty Co. beginning work sometime in 2014 on its Charlotte Avenue building at the carwash/railroad tracks/40th Avenue. If so, that would be hugely helpful as it could spur some additional new construction.
Many folks have been talking about Charlotte Avenue and its great potential for at least two years but no boom has hit. In fact, I don't recall any new construction west of I-440 and to White Bridge Road. The adaptive reuse projects and the new businesses that are redefining the street are wonderful and will be part of the positive evolution of Charlotte. But it will take no fewer than five large-scale buildings for that stretch to truly pop. Until those structures rise, I will take a very measured and realistic approach to Charlotte's short-term redevelopment prospects.
WW, your viewpoint on Charlotte Pk seems harsh and excessively negative. Everything cannot be like Back Bay in Boston. Give it time, give it time.
ReplyDeleteAMous,
DeleteLooking back, the tone of my post does suggest a certain negativity. My bad. I did not mean for that. I once worked at the Cohn Adult Learning Center (located in the stately building once home to Cohn High School) and for years hit the thrift stores on Charlotte. So I have an affinity for the street. Still, I feel Charlotte faces more challenges than do some others. I hope I'm proved wrong.
WW
I love Back Bay....I am a Bostonian! Charlotte Av has potential but still a ways off to reach that plateau.
DeleteBack Bay and Boston are wonderful. Love Dropkick Murphys.
DeleteWW
Hey, William, I see the Charlotte Pk model being more like 12South. It started and thrived as creative re-use development and then the new construction came along.
ReplyDeleteCliff,
DeleteThat could be the model. A key difference is that the stretch of commercial 12South is tiny compared to Charlotte Avenue, which is zoned commercial through its entirety.
Still, I see your point.
WW
I think Charlotte has a great deal of potential and will continue to steadily evolve. The area from downtown to 440 is ripe for development with numerous initiatives already shaping up. Granted the segment from 440 to White Bridge has some ugly spots right now, but those also seem to be changing. The catalyst effect of emerging neighborhoods from emerging Sylvan Heights, hip Sylvan and Richland Parks will most certainly rapidly improve that section of Charlotte. The section from White Bridge to Nashville West will take a lot more time. Overall, I'm feeling good about the future development of Charlotte.
ReplyDeleteAMous,
DeletePoints well made. And let's not forget a wildcard neighborhood in this discussion: The Nations. Though it is "severed" from Charlotte by I-40, it will play a factor in Charlotte's future.
WW
Charlotte is going to be slow in development primarily because of its proximity to an area that most Nashvillians associate with low incoming housing, low income Black communities, low income white communities, crime and the lack of any uniformity. All of which are reasons why the area should be redeveloped. Including the side streets to add depth and vibrancy.
ReplyDeleteWhat I see as being a big mistake is small development in key locations that could anchor larger development. Small tracts of land should be combined to ensure that Charlotte doesn't maintain the scattered stretch that it is. Charlotte can be a mix use corridor of commercial, office, retail and residential complexes. It can be a corridor with a couple of major grocery stores, a big box hardware store, Best Buy/HH Greg, restaurants (local/national chains) that will serve the communities from Germantown to I-440 and the residential areas around TSU, Fisk and MeHarry, not to mention residential communities between Charlotte Pike and Church Street and to some extent Downtown. Currently, people living in a 0-4 mile radius of Charlotte Pike have to travel well outside their area to shop minus a few grocery stores and farmers market. If done properly, all of those things can be incorporated into a stretch of Charlotte that includes most if not all of those things.
Developers interested in Charlotte Pike should come to Alexandria, VA to see how a portion of Route 1 called Jefferson Davis Hwy between Crystal City and Old Town Alexandria is being transformed into practically a new neighborhood while supporting the existing neighborhoods surrounding it. This was a vast wasteland that Northern Virginia had hoped to lure the Washington Redskins to build a new stadium, but Maryland won out. So, a shopping center called Potomac Yard was built. It includes a Target, Best Buy, Staples, PetSmart, TJ Maxx, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority, Shoppers Grocery Store, Pier One, Thomasville Furniture, Old Navy, Dress Barn, Famous Footwear. Those stores are in two buildings that stretch the length of the complex. Then there are 5 smaller buildings fronting the street that house 2 stand alone restaurants, Men's Wearhouse, ATT, Vitamin Shoppe, I-Hop, Subway, and other businesses. These five buildings also break the view of the parking lot from the main road combined with extensive landscaping and a walking trail. There is also a movie theater on the backside of the complex. This complex sat relatively alone for years and was supposed to be a temporary solution to the wasteland that it sat on. But now just south of the Potomac Yard is a major residential development that is being built like a high density community of brownstone styled townhomes and condos. They are being built as city blocks with alley ways. Another mid rise building is also being added and further down from there are mid rise apartments under construction. Plus there is a plan by Potomac Yard itself to build office and residential space on top of the structures they have already have in place. The whole area of course is taking on the name of Potomac Yard. The comparison to Charlotte Pike comes in because on the west side of the Route 1 (Jefferson Davis Hwy), is existing lower income families/neighborhoods and some scrappy businesses. But Potomac Yard has brought much needed resources to the immediate community and beyond. It's an example of how a strip mall done right can be of great benefit even in an urban environment.
PTalk4,
DeletePotomac Yard sounds like a quality development. I would be quite pleased to see something of this type for Charlotte (though I suppose many would prefer it stay funky, independent/nonchain and small-scale).
WW
We already have a Potomac Yard on Charlotte via Nashville West Shopping Center. As a resident who lives two blocks off Charlotte between 440 and White Bridge the last thing i'd want to see is another big box store. We can drive two miles to a number of them. The addition of ML Rose, The Stone Fox, Nuvo Burrito, and Thistle Stop Cafe have all been great additions, with Porter Road Butcher soon to follow. I'll take these busineses any day over a Subway. An Old Navy? C'mon man.
DeleteThe historic strectch of buildings across from Richland Park still has untapped potential, with the thrift stores and Headquarters coffee currently keeping this stretch worth visiting. It would be nice for additional restaurants and boutiques to begin surrounding them. The redevelopment of the former Hostess Bakery Outlet at 42nd ave is very much welcomed, and i'm hoping for a Turnip Truck esque tennant to pop up there or somewhere along this stretch of Charlotte.
Given the number of proposed, planned, and rumoured developments along Charlotte and the quality of developers behind them, I find it hard to be down or negative on Charlotte's future. It may never turn into a 12 South or carry the ultra cool tag East Nashville does, but i'm fine with that. Once the North Gulch and North Midtown areas pop Charlotte will follow. In the meantime, enjoy the funkiness Charlotte has to offer.
Chad, I agree that Nashville West is similar to Potomac Yard. And, I quite like Nashville West. It is a great addition to West Nashville. And, that I guess is more of my point. It serves west Nashville more so than the areas you pointed out as being developed (North Gulch, North Midtown and I think you can add Germantown and the underserved areas of north Nashville from Germantown towards the TSU campus.
ReplyDeleteI'm all for maintaining the funkiness of the area if it can enhanced as an attraction not as something people just drive through on their way in and out of work in downtown. Given the density of the areas that Charlotte Pike could serve, to me it needs something along the style of Nashville West. Personally, I don't think that a similar project of that style would hurt Nashville West. I'm even okay with it not being built as one massive property. My point is Charlotte Pike inside I-440 could use similar stores to serve a different area because of the growing density of residential developments in the northern areas surrounding downtown. If additional residential developments are combined with the commercial development, then it would be on scale with Potomac Yard.
There is a development on Moreland north of Little Five Points in Atlanta that has a fairly urban orientation, with buildings addressing the street. It has a number of chains but some indies too. I would be cool with something like that near the I-440 overpass and on either side of Charlotte. But I can understand Chad's view.
DeleteWW
Ideally, it would be great if development of the area included a mix of businesses. WW, I like the idea of the buildings addressing the street. There are similar projects like that developing around the country. I'd much prefer to see a store like Ikea located in the area with a parking garage on it the back side or underneath, like the one in Northern VA that's near an outlet mall. The parking garage spreads the full length and width of the building but is only visible from the back side. Ikea would be an ideal retail store for Charlotte Pike. CB2 (Crate & Barrel 2) would also be ideal. As a matter of fact, Nashville seems to be lacking a design center area for homes/condo's and apartments. Maybe Charlotte Pike between the North Gulch and inner loop would be an ideal area to develop such an area to be concentrated with interior design/furniture retailers.
ReplyDelete