With Standard and Benchwarmers opening next month, and the greenway and bridges coming together, the Innovation District is looking pretty nice. Even had some people out and about this time.
Plus the next phase already underway:
I do like to see some real green space in NH. The park by Chuys is more just a plaza at this point.
Following up on this: it looks like youâve got your wish! The final conceptual plan has the bus bays much closer to the railroad, which is awesome. Where the mixed-use development will go, Iâm not sure.
Another shooting at Triangle Town Center. Wasnât there just one last week?
Yes, there was a shooting incident at TTC over a week ago. That was outside. This was inside at the mall side entrance in to Dillards.
Malls are largely dead. They certainly donât need shootings.
I went to Crabtree I would say three weeks ago on a Saturday around 11am and it was feeling really empty. Not a lot of folks around.
Feel like you were just a bit early. Iâve been to Crabtree a few random times the last month or so (mostly in the afternoon / evening) and it was crazy packed each time.
In every major market, there are a select few malls which are thriving. And, there are other low-hangers which are failing - being demolished and reborn or re-engineered.
Approximately 1,200 large U.S. shopping malls remain, but projections suggest up to 87% could close or be repurposed within the next decade. Between 2017 and 2022, an average of 40 malls closed annually, accelerating from 764 total closures in previous decades, with high vacancy ratesâover twice the average for other retail spacesâmarking a decline often cited as âdying,â âtroubled,â or "zombie malls.â
TTC is on the same downfall as Northgate Mall in Durham was before it closed; it will probably shut down by 2030. I predict it will be replaced by 1-2 suburban shopping centers, possibly a mixed-use development, and the rest will be low/mid-income apartments and/or townhomes.
Crabtree and Southpoint will still hang around for a long time, although I believe Southpoint will have to lean in to mixed-use development more than Crabtree.
Random thought, but why arenât we turning places like Triangle Town Center into senior living / aging-in-place communities?
The more you think about it, the more it kind of makes sense:
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Itâs already fully handicap accessible
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Youâve got wide, flat walking paths everywhere
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Itâs climate controlled (huge for NC summers + winters)
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Thereâs a built-in âwalking loopâ thatâs actually enjoyable
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Old food courts = easy conversion to cafeterias / dining halls
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Tons of parking + easy drop-off access
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Everything is under one roof and protected from weather
Feels like it solves a lot of the problems senior living facilities try to design around from scratch.
You could convert former stores into private units, keep some retail-style spaces for things like a salon, clinic, small grocery, etc. It almost becomes its own little town without people having to go outside.
Also feels like a better alternative to isolating facilities. People could actually move around, see others, have some level of normal day-to-day activity.
I know zoning / ownership / cost probably complicate it⌠but from a pure âbones of the buildingâ standpoint, it seems like 70% of the work is already done.
Curious if anyoneâs seen something like this actually work somewhere?
âGreyfieldâ development is certainly a thing.
https://urbanland.uli.org/economy-markets-trends/turning-malls-into-neighborhoods
Not aware of a senior-living focused project near us. But from a quick search they are also very much a thing.
Classic model for a retirement community relies on a compact center with rings of housing for the more mobile within walking distance.