A proposed Walgreens with a drive-thru and a small office building at the corner of Morehead Street and Kenilworth Avenue is stirring debate in Dilworth, and residents will be able to voice their concerns to developer Lincoln-Harris on Tuesday.
The development (see the proposal here) would require rezoning, as well as demolishing a half-dozen old houses at the corner. Interested residents can meet at 7 p.m. on August 7, in the Fellowship Hall at Covenant Presbyterian Church. City council will hear the proposal at a rezoning hearing scheduled for Sept. 24.
From a Dilworth Community Development Association bulletin to residents last week: "They plan to tear down the white house and the Tudor apartment building on Morehead as well as the three adjacent homes on Kenilworth...The main concern is the use of the site as a large drug store with a drive-thru as it is not the highest and best use for the site. The encroachment of this level of retail into the neighborhood will put tremendous strain on our small neighborhood streets and infrastructure."
A CDOT memo on the proposed rezoning estimates that Lincoln-Harris' plan could generate about 1,540 trips per day, which it says would be a "minor impact" on the surrounding roads. CDOT staff are concerned about proposed access to the site in the plan: "Specifically, we are concerned about sight distance for left turns into the site from Kenilworth and the need to properly restrict left turn movements from the proposed right-on / right-out driveways."
Here's an earlier post I did about this project with some more details.
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Monday, August 6, 2012
Dilworth residents to meet with developer about Walgreens
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24 comments:
Just like Walmart, Walgreen's is evil. The two of them together are destroying America. It makes me sick to think of those beautiful old homes being torn down just for another generic drugstore. It's disgusting, but money talks, doesn't it? Especially in Charlotte, where it talks louder than common sense and decency.
How can a neighborhood that borders the largest hospital complex in the region have a straight face when they cry traffic issues as their major concern?
I hate that they want to tear down those cute Tudor apartments. It seems like there could be somewhere else to put a Walgreen's.
My biggest issue isn't with introducing retail to the neighborhood, traffic, or even the tearing down of beautiful homes, even though those are all factors worth considering.
My problem is that this is not an urban land use considering the area. If you're going to redevelop this block, so close to the center of the city, you'd better do it in a pedestrian-friendly and engaging manner. A drive-thru, tons of surface parking, and total lack of pedestrian-oriented entrance is an insulting smack across the face to anybody who knows a thing about urban planning.
Not to mention that the design of these buildings is as bland as can be and show a lack of consideration of the neighborhood they are going in. Hopefully a stop is put to this.
Ok I see the pedestrian entrance now. If they could remove the drivethru, and stack the office building over the walgreens, saving several lots in the process, I could be ok with this (still losing that awesome Tudor apartment building, which is a shame). This developer seems bent on a mostly suburban design though.
Frankie's has been sitting vacant for a year, just a block away from this location. Why not tear down that down and put the Walgreen's there?
That would be a win/win for the neighborhood.
Walgreens is fine but a nice huge spacious Super Walmart is sorely needed closer in on South Blvd before East Blvd or nomore than a few blocks down.
Actually several Super Walmarts are needed in the downtown area since there is no place to shop other than Target or former Charlottetown mall site.
Most of the Panther and Bobcat sports are "redneck" plus the Nascar site would make uptown ideal as Walmart City and provide many jobs fo the needy.
Face reality. This is still a traditional mid southern redneck city ... Some things never change and thats OK.
Sports fans need these big box stores to buy the tailgate pre or after game munitions since thats where the city want to cram everything inside the small inner loop.
Nuttin too fancy ... This aint 5th or Park Ave we talkin about you know plus no mountains, oceans or rivers beaches or big bridges as backdrop ...
former Long Island resident
Having grown up in and considering moving back to Dilworth, I have zero problem with the non-urban design. Too much urban congestion has been added as it is. The city will absolutely ensure sufficient pedestrian access, and having developed drug stores, there is zero chance the drive-thru goes away.
What I really hate more than anything is the addition of yet another drug store (however appropriate the location) and the loss of the older structure.
9:05 - because they are a major concern. The hospital and surrounding areas have grown dramatically in hte past two decades, imposing greatly on residents already there. It's both responsible and appropriate for residents to voice their concerns, traffic congestion being a legitimate one.
I also wish they would make the design urban
1. Get rid of the drive-thru
2. Minimal parking not the sea of parking in current design
3.orient the entrance for the pedestrian
4. Get rid of the cookie cutter suburban design.
They fix those I'm fine with the project
To ANON 9:05, we have done everything possible over the last decade to stop CHS growth. They are incredibly powerful as they get support from local and state officials. You need to read up on your history of the residents v. CHS before making comments that are bordering stupidity.
Us Dilworth residents better put up a serious fight on this one!!! We should all be there to show support of the neighborhood over this horrible use of "highest and best use". Not the right corner, not the right neighborhood and not the right project.
VOTE NO! and push the city council hard - especially Dulin who loves developers!
Robert, the Frankie's site and adjacent building will be torn down soon to build the Duke Endowment's new headquarters. A pretty nice building and more urban that what's there now, but no retail unfortunately.
It's Lincoln Harris, not Lincoln-Harris.
The US used to have and respect something called "property rights". If the Dilworth Community Development Association is able to control the Walgreen's site without owning it, what's to stop Walgreen's from lobbying to have control of other homes in the neighborhood?
The silver-spoon brigade at the Dilworth Community Development Association needs to dip into their collective trust funds and buy the relevant properties themselves if it's so important to them that they be preserved.
With all its bowing to the banks and the developers and right-wing Christianity, Charlotte gets the zoning - and newspaper - it deserves!
Just what Charlotte needs. Another Walgreen's. They're a blight on the landscape, just like Eckerd's and Rite-Aid were. Want to build another Walgreen's? Fine. Keep them in strip malls and shopping centers where they belong. Charlotte has no shame when it comes to selling out to developers. Just show Charlotte the money and you've got a deal. Why not a Walgreen's at the intersection of Queens and Selwyn?
Garth - you should read up on how rezonings work, as it appears you have fully misinterpreted property rights. The "property rights" you refer to are outlined in Charlotte City Ordinances, and they provide specific rights to residents local to a rezoning. The "rights" you refer to are meant to both limit and regulate property uses that may impose on neighbors, and this is why rezonings are subject to neighborhood, planning, and council hearings.
The "silver spoon" residents you refer to appear to have more accurate understanding of property rights than do you. I find the folks constantly objecting to "NIMBYs" both amusing and unfortunate.
This is exactly what Charlotte needs. Lets destroy the history and the older houses that give the East Blvd corridor some character and lets build a Walgreens, I don't know how the people in the area have lived without a Walgreens for all this time. (thi is sarcasm). Seriously why cant wlagreens build in another area that will not destroy the look and feel of the area. I like the suggesion of the another poster, put it at the old Frankie's site on Morehead. That would be a twofer. :)
Don't know exactly what could be built under current zoning, but this development needs a zoning change. Folks live in Dilworth because they like the older, more urban style neighborhood. They count on things staying pretty much the same, under current zoning. If developers can get rezoning willy nilly, as they seem to in the Dilworth area, why bother with the zoning in the first place?
oh my aching heart. in the early 60's my first job, building cattycorner to the Tudor house/apts. I loved that house, wanted to live there, couldn't afford it. Time marches on, I was thinking about that house several weeks ago, saw on google earth it was still there --that will teach me to "think about things" ..good things...they go away! None of my old thoughts matter - Time marches on.
There has been an abandoned building caddy-corner from the apartments for YEARS (right?). Why not use that wasted land...??
Remember, Lincoln Harris was the shadow entity buying houses off East Blvd. for CHS. Houses on Fountainview, Garden Terrace and Lombardy Circle, which will eventually get torn down once CHS owns all of the property in that several block radius. Lincoln Harris collaborated with CHS to hide their identity and motive from the sellers and from DCDA.
The lesson here is to be wary any time Lincoln Harris's name comes up.
Based on the scale of what the developeris proposing it seems in keeping with the scale of what is there so whats the issue. It's ridculous to consider the architecture "suburban" as this is the aesthetic vernacular and the size buildings that made your Dilworth a neighborhood in the first place back in the 1890's+\-. I'd encourage you to do some research on the history of the neighborhood where you reside.
Thank you for always going above and beyond to ensure the success of a project.
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