I don’t remember when South End started, but I certainly know what it is now. New life and momentum for areas like this tend to start quietly and slowly with the help of a few visionary souls who take a risk that others follow once the area is established. I suppose people “in the know” were paying attention when South End was born and might have seen it coming, but most of us were blissfully unaware. If you would like to be “in the know” about another area of town that has the potential develop like South End, here’s your chance--introducing “North End!” I don’t want to imply that what is starting in this area is some big secret, just that not many are paying attention right now. I bet they will in years to come.
Other than the obvious name mirroring, there are other parallels for both of these areas. Both have main roads and corridors coming in and out of uptown and both are within a mile or so of the core. Both have long histories of ascent and decline, and preceding their new lives, both have been home to decaying properties and crime. Both have industrial sites and buildings that give a glimpse of Charlotte past and are indicative of where and how much of our growth came about. In South End, the primary business types in the past were textile related. For North End some of the businesses were much more intriguing – Model T manufacturing, distribution for the war effort in WWII, and cold war missiles helped shape the industry of the area.
In recent years the growth of Charlotte has changed many of the traditional development patterns of our past. The migration of many newcomers to the area who have no predisposed notions of which part of town is “more desirable” or where the “best” place to live is have opened up many areas that once were neglected or overlooked. The “wrong side of the tracks” for plenty of people these days doesn’t really exist. Proximity to work, to center city, and to other amenities the city has to offer has taken over predisposed notions of what part of town is best to live in. For years there have been complaints that the areas west and north of town have lagged behind other areas of town and have been overlooked by the city itself and those of us who live here.
With the exception of denser growth in University City to the north, most parts of Charlotte just north of center city are relatively unknown to most of us. Large swaths of industrial tracts, railroad centers, commercial buildings, and aging strip-malls line the main roads through north Charlotte. Tryon Street, Statesville Avenue, and Graham Street all might sound familiar, but relatively few of us have ventured there, and many of the small neighborhoods along those roads are known only to their residents. Crime and neglect have plagued many of these neighborhoods and Urban Renewal in the 1960’s destroyed much of the neighborhood fabric and displaced many of their residents as well.
NORTH END SQUARE
Bobby Drakeford of The Drakeford Company is taking the jump into North End full force. As a private developer building a non-public development, he may be the first of many to do so on this scale, but plenty of others are watching to see how his foray into the area goes. This isn’t the typical part of Charlotte where a developer would put market-rate condos and townhomes. It isn’t a proven area, but someone has to make the first move. Like Tony Pressley and MECA Properties in South End 15 or so years ago, many think the move may be bold and could be a difficult sell. Yet Pressley and MECA proved the naysayers wrong, and I expect Drakeford will as well.
Drakeford’s project, known as North End Square, is an $18 million project on a 7-acre site at Statesville and Oaklawn Avenues. It is located just a few blocks north of the I-277 underpass and the entrance to uptown from the north. It is that proximity that makes Drakeford and others think that this area will carry new development and bring in new homeowners. The project is slated to have 78 townhomes and condos as well as 12,000 square feet of retail and shopping. The shopping component of the project will include 10 retail slots that will front Statesville Avenue. Plans call for a sit-down restaurant, a mail service company, a dry cleaner, an insurance company, a pharmacy, and a cell phone store.
Drakeford has ties to the area as well. His father owned a store on Statesville Avenue decades ago and Bobby went to school in the area. He remembers how the destructive forces of Urban Renewal took many of the buildings, homes, and people from the area; coming back to work on this project brings back many memories. When I met with Drakeford we were joined by David Howard of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing Partnership. He, too, went to school in the area, and personal ties complement his professional interest. He has been working on the public investment projects in the area as well as private-public projects. According to Howard, the North End Square project and the other smaller projects around it are part of a broader initiative. The city has been investing in this corridor to encourage just the type of development Drakeford’s company is bringing.
Right across Oaklawn Avenue from North End Square is The Park at Oaklawn. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing Partnership and the Charlotte Housing Authority completed this project, a mix of affordable and workforce priced apartments and single-family homes. Located on the former site of the Fairview Homes public housing project and boosted by a $34.7 million federal grant, the project has been seen as a great success. They have a second affordable housing project planned for the area with as well. The Double Oaks Apartments will be an estimated $120 million project with 940 apartments, condos, and townhomes, with 300 of those slated for low-income tenants. The first phase of the project (48 apartments) should start this summer.
SIMILAR PROJECTS IN SIMILAR AREAS
This isn’t the first development in areas of Charlotte traditionally felt by many to be undesirable to the open market. Plenty of other areas with boarded up buildings and homes, deteriorating properties, and other issues that plague many center city neighborhoods, have seen small steps towards new development. Tuscan Development took a dive into Optimist Park (between Belmont and Uptown) just a few years ago. Tuscan’s Opt 12 and Duncan Gardens condos sold well to excited buyers who wanted to be within a couple of blocks of the downtown core, but couldn’t afford Dilworth, South End, Wilmore, or other close-in neighborhoods. Sales went so well for the Tuscan projects that they’ve already begun another project adjacent to them, Bloc 90, with 90 residential units at the corner of North Davidson and 15th Street. Another nearby project, Siegle Point, is well underway just to the east of Uptown on the former site of the Piedmont Courts sprawling public housing project.
WHY NORTH END?
What makes the North End corridor different than those areas, however, is the great potential for other projects. Like South End, this corridor has a lot of acreage and many large tracts that are currently either vacant or in use for warehouse, storage, or industrial. Most of these parcels won’t require moving residents out for redevelopment, a problem that often arises when trying to change an area. It is this potential that has other developers watching North End Square. With an estimated 150 acres in the area suitable for redevelopment, this could be a substantial development zone and could create a new residential and mixed-use neighborhood core in a previously overlooked and industrial part of town.
Just across the street from the North End Square site sit the Rite Aid Distribution Center (37 acres) and the Hercules Industrial Center (22.5 acres). The Rite Aid site was formerly the distribution center for Eckerd and was being considered for a move to another location, opening the potential for a redevelopment site. When Rite Aid bought Eckerd in 2007, the sale plans were postponed. No solid plans for changes are available, but Drakeford and Howard feel that this site is “not in the immediate stage, but likely in the next handful of years” slated for redevelopment. Perhaps successful sales across the street will help bring that about.
The Hercules site was acquired in 2007 by a group that is pursuing other nearby acreage. No plans have been made available for what type of development would be done with the site, but the changing of hands and the active pursuit of more land indicate potential for something happening soon. The history of this site (see sidebar) is very interesting.
In addition to the industrial tracts ripe for redevelopment in the area, there are small pockets of homes flanking Statesville Avenue, Graham Street, and Tryon Street. The Lockewood, Greenville, and Double Oaks communities are all in the area and have small, modest, older homes – many with longtime residents who have seen this area’s various “lives” and ups-and-downs. When North End Square held their public groundbreaking just a couple of months ago, many of these residents showed up. According to Drakeford the RSVP’s from them kept rolling in, far above what they had expected. It seems that many are excited about the new developments and changes that are on the way. While they are a bit apprehensive about what these changes may do to their property values--and more specifically their tax values--the people I spoke with were mainly happy that someone is spending money in the area. They look forward to getting new neighbors, stores, and restaurants. How it progresses and if these longtime residents will be happy with what comes will be known soon enough.
With the huge potential North End has with its large tracts of land and its proximity to uptown, it will be interesting to keep track of how fast or slowly this area takes off. North End Square will be first test, and the speed at which others jump in will likely correspond to the market reaction to these units. My expectation is that these units will sell quickly. The price seems right, the location is great, the skyline views are fantastic, and there are plenty of Charlotteans, old and new, who have jumped on other projects being built in similar areas. I hope North End takes off. I love South End: the shopping, dining, nightlife and cool surrounding neighborhoods. I don’t see why our neighbors to the north don’t deserve the same. I hope that at least some of the old buildings in the area can be retrofitted for new use like the industrial buildings in South End have been. The interesting history and architecture of many of the structures on the Ford/Hercules site would certainly be great to retain. I look forward to the day we hit Statesville Avenue for a little shopping and dining like we do on South Boulevard now. It’ll be nice to enjoy a great skyline view from yet another angle!
~ Scott Lindsley
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