Blend Boutique now open at Ballantyne Village

A new women's boutique is open at Ballantyne Village, selling brands such as Bec & Bridge, Mother Denim, Citizens of Humanity and KAIN Label.

Blend Boutique, which sells clothing, jewelry and accessories, opened for business on Monday. The store is open Monday - Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.

“The style of Blend mimics the personality of the south Charlotte community: classy with edge and young yet sophisticated,” said Blend owner Christy Ward said in an emailed statement. Pictures are courtesy Blend.

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Sprint store headed to former Big Ben location

A new Sprint store is being built on Providence Road, at the former site of Charlotte stalwart Big Ben British Pub & Restaraunt.

Big Ben moved to a new building on South Boulevard, after it burned down in 2010 (Sidenote: I was out there that day, working for the Observer on a story about the fire. The bar staff, though sad, was giving away rescued beer to the crowd that gathered. It was a memorable scene.).

The building at 801 Providence Road, which had originally been constructed in 1905, according to county property records, was a total loss. It was demolished a few months after the fire.

A reader asked me this weekend what is being built on the site, so I looked up the building permit to check.  The project "Sprint Eastover" shows a 3,200 square-foot building being constructed on the site, at a contract cost of more than $600,000.

A representative with Lincoln Harris, the site's developer, confirmed that it is in fact a Sprint retail store headed to the neighborhood. The store is set to open sometime in the third quarter.


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New accessory store open at Blakeney

CC's Accessories opened its third Charlotte-area shop this weekend, with a store at Blakeney Shopping Center at Ardrey Kell and Rea roads.

CC's has two existing locations, at Northlake Mall and Carolina Place Mall. The store sells a wide range of jewelry and accessories, with more than 5,000 different items available.

Most of the items available sell for under $10, and CC's said it plans further expansion in and around Charlotte.

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Dilworth residents to meet with developer about Walgreens

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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Rock Hill Galleria gets new stores, remodel

Rock Hill Galleria is getting several upgrades, including a new bowling alley and a multimillion dollar renovation of the mall's Belk anchor store.

The mall is adding Revolutions, a 66,640 square-foot bowling alley and entertainment center. Located on the mall's north side, Revolutions is expected to open this winter. In addition to 30 bowling lanes, the business will include an arcade, lazer tag, bumper cars, a restaurant and bar, and a 100-seat sports theater. There will also be live music and dancing.

Charlotte-based Belk is also spending $6 million to remodel and expand its Rock Hill Galleria store. The department store will be expanded by 20,000 square feet, offering more merchandise and updated selling space. Belk has already carried out similar renovations at its Carolina Place and SouthPark stores. The Galleria store will remain open during the remodel, Belk said, and a grand reopening of the completed store is set for fall 2013.

"“The renovated store will reflect the latest in retail layout, decor and merchandise presentation, and will allow us to offer customers expanded assortments of apparel, shoes, accessories and other merchandise," said Belk executive Bill Roberts, in a statement. The store is adding 25 positions as a result, he said.

And JCPenney is opening its new Sephora store-within-a-store at its Galleria location on Friday, August 10. JCPenney has also increased the size of its Galleria store by more than 40 percent, from 51,600 square feet to 83,000 square feet. The retailer has struggled since changing its price strategy, however.

“The addition of Revolutions, along with the expansions of the Belk and jcpenney department stores, are positive steps in re-energizing the retail and entertainment offerings at the tri-county’s only enclosed shopping center,” said Chris Maguire, CEO of Galleria developer Cypress Equities.



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New pet supply store opening in south Charlotte

A local businessman is opening Pet Supplies Plus in the Carmel Commons shopping center next weekend.

The 10,000 square foot store is set open Saturday, August 11. The store is owned and operated by Matt Grimm. In addition to pet food and supplies, the store will also offer grooming services.

“We understand the special bond between owners and their pets, and at the end of the day, we believe that pets own people – not the other way around,” said Grimm, in an email. “We look forward to becoming an integral part of the Charlotte community and getting to know all the neighborhood pets and their people by name.”

To mark the opening, the store will have a celebration from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on August 11, with over $750 worth of prizes, as well as free pet nail clipping and free food.

The store will also host events such as pet adoptions from local shelters and low-cost vaccine clinics. You can check out the local store's Facebook page here.


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Permits reveal some damage at SouthPark

SouthPark mall has been pretty tight-lipped about the aftermath of last month's partial roof collapse, but Mecklenburg County building permits offer a glimpse into the damage the mall sustained.

Around a dozen stores are still closed as the state's biggest mall conducts repairs stemming from the roof collapse and flooding, which sent several inches of water spilling down escalators and rushing through parts of the mall. SouthPark had to bring in structural engineers and shore up parts of the structure near Banana Republic and Gap, where the two partial collapses actually occurred.

One permit, issued July 25, is for an $800,000 contract for "reconstruction of collapsed roof." The project passed an inspection on Monday, after new concrete "double tees" were installed to repair the structure. "Roof/dry-in installation has begun and is also being verified by engineer," an inspector noted.

Another permit, for $15,000, is for repairs around the mall's escalators. "Scope of work includes removal and reinstall of drywall at escalators vertical walls and walls and ceilings and the lower level entry area," the permit says. A permit for an $80,000 project is for removing and reinstalling an air handling unit on the collapsed roof.

There are also permits for repair work to individual stores that point to some of the damage individual stores suffered. A permit for $172,000 worth of work on the Tinder Box Cigars store shows that a contractor will demolish and replace the ceiling, light fixtures, wiring, crown molding, the HVAC unit, and the entry door. A permit for $20,000 at Bebe shows that a contractor "will hang, tape and finish drywall at the 2' cut section removed around the perimeter of the space," as well as repainting and reinstalling mirrors and baseboard.

Photos from inside SouthPark mall during the flood