It’s unbelievably challenging to pursue small scale, high density development from so many perspectives. The complexity of structured parking alone from both engineering and fire-protection standpoints combined with the difficulty of finding teams skilled and willing to take on such projects, makes the task overwhelming. America’s path dependency in building types has essentially created two dominant categories: residential and large commercial. Many of the mixed, small scaled buildings we once built in urban centers and that are still common in cities around the world are now nearly impossible to deliver here, which is very unfortunate.
Townhomes will continue to be the dominant urban infill project because they check a lot of boxes: private entry, secure parking, limited shared walls, residential wood-framed construction, and easily financed.
I am not mad about the townhouses, I’m just saying that they aren’t going to get us to the density we need to allow more car-lite living. We need more big/tall apartment buildings in addition to all of the new townhouses.
FWIW, I have zero expectation that we can get to a significant base of car-free households in the near future without substantial acceleration of large, high density apartment/condo projects.
The washington terrace development is going to be wrapped up with this last project per TBJ. I love surprises like this because it’s a massive tract and I thought the city was prioritizing AH along their new Bern properties before coming back to this one. It appears this will be the next AH development to start. 166 units for residents at 20-50% AMI. Yes it’s another fully-affordable development. But we need more units and we need them in ER to prevent displacement. Plus the market rate townhomes are across the street. The block/neighborhood itself is therefore mixed income. Not the sexiest project but at least the surface parking doesn’t face the street, and they’re treating us with some sea foam green.
At a 4.44 acre site, a little more than 36/units an acre - not bad, but for being a new project they should have explored a lower parking ratio to allow for say ~50 units an acre.
True, higher density would make this better. I like that they’re including a medical clinic and 2k sq ft of retail for a small coffee shop/corner store. But they only submitted site plans and don’t plan to start until late next year, so maybe there will be some rework to include more units and/or additional micro retail .
Not sure if any of y’all have heard of this, but a few of us over on Haywood Street have formed a community group. This grew out of some neighborhood meetings we had over at Roberts Park last year, but instead of just focusing on what we don’t want (crime, drugs), we’re trying to focus on what we do want (more neighborly connections, a close-knit community). Also, instead of spreading ourselves thin across the entire Olde East neighborhood, we’re concentrating on just Haywood Street (and adjacent blocks) for now.
Recently, we just wrapped our first big event. For a few hours last Sunday (8/24), we took over Haywood St between Lenoir and Cabarrus and threw a block party: The Haywood St. Hustle & Hoedown.
We really didn’t know what to expect, but it was a blast. We utilized funds from the city to get food to feed folks. People also brought plenty of their own food as part of a pot luck. We had a lemonade stand taking donations for Inter-Faith Food Shuttle. We had representatives from that org, as well as Advance Health and the RPD, giving out information. And Kid Lab even showed up with their trailer full of fun crafts. We didn’t get an official count, but we guess over 200 people showed up.
It was so much fun – but we’re only really just getting started. We’ve recently received permission to paint a mural on a bare cinder block wall on Haywood and Lenoir, are planning on building a neighborhood pantry, and have a few ideas for future events this upcoming holiday season. Meanwhile, we are organizing monthly neighborhood cleanups and are meeting regularly to keep everyone informed.
Anyway, I just wanted to spread the word on here since I figured a few of y’all would be interested. If you want to get involved, here are some ways you can do that:
Our next cleanup is this Saturday, August 30th. We meet 9am at 515 Haywood. It’s a great way to meet people around the community while doing some good.
We’re also holding our next neighborhood meeting on Wednesday, September 3rd, 7:45 to 9pm (location TBD). You can RSVP for that on our contact page.
And if any of y’all are good at the Instagram and want to help us out, we’re looking for someone to manage an account for us. Just LMK!
We’re working hard to grow intentionally and be an inclusive group that is representative of the neighborhood. We want to be a force for positive change and connection here. Head on over to our website and sign up for our newsletter to stay informed!
We were out of town and had no idea this even occurred but will try and attend each meet up in the future. We live right down the street, and this is a welcome change to this corner. I think people forget a public middleschool shares an adjacent sidewalk to this corner.
I was curious if you had any information regarding the corner store on Haywood. I noticed a small fire near the stairs and then they abruptly closed. Then today there is new construction fencing and a construction crew cleaning it out.
It was purchased recently by Steel Projects! I haven’t spoken directly with the owner, but I heard he is interested in turning it into a store that serves the community a bit better than the previous one did (i.e., fewer cigarettes and lotto tickets, more fresh food). But I don’t think any firm plans have been set yet.
It would seem like old corner stores are a recent focus of theirs. They are also developing the one at 525 Blount St.
Lots of adaptive reuse under this umbrella. Good stuff….
They scooped up a greenway adjacent property a while back that I’d long thought was a diamond in the rough….Hope to see that shined up before too long.
Retail seems to be a pivot for them. Their portfolio of completed projects is entirely SFH renovations until recently. Hopefully they can make good on some of these plans. I live right next to 525 S Blount and, at least from the outside, it doesn’t seem like they have made very much progress in the years that they’ve owned it
Oh huh, they have the tiny old church on E Hargett too. Hope they know what they’re doing, would love to see it developed into something useful for the whole neighborhood.
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