The future Cabarrus St. looking west from Salisbury St. Cabarrus is the southern anchor of the warehouse district so this street re-opening will be crucial.
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- None right now. Must be a new project.
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mmm, look at all that retail…wait…hmm. Do you see any?
Agree. They should have incorporated some retail on ground level of this convention center. That parking deck needs to be removed and replaced with a truly large entertainment, office (a leasy two 50-60 story buildings), hotel, sidewalk experience complex.
The retail experience along that road (Cabarrus Str)will not look very promising until something major comes to that Enterprise Rentals place. To be fair, it would be hard to incorporate much of retail into the convention center without upsetting many potential tenants, plus there may be some regulations that prevent the city/county-sponsored convention facilities from providing retail space at the street level.
As for the parking deck, it was built at a time where retail destinations at the ground level of a deck was a risky investment and possibly not even envisioned. While I do not foresee anything replacing that deck, I do hope that future developments around there will fill the gap. I would settle for some improvements in the streetscape.
There is hope for this street. Right next to the parking deck is a great space for a tower and retail can wrap around on to McDowell St. This is also close to some retail space within The L building also.
Even though West Cabarrus’s lack of retail can be disappointing to some, its reopening will be good for linking the Convention Center to both a car rental entity AND the Amtrak station. So that, at least, gives it some importance and function. And of course, as Leo says, linking it to both the Warehouse District and Boylan Heights.
But what I’m really looking forward to is the reopening of South Salisbury Street. I’m hoping it’ll alleviate traffic a tad on South Dawson. Especially since South Wilmington past MLK was repaved (and widened?) all the way to Tryon Road last year.
All good points, but one thing to add. The Warehouse District (Is Pathectic – I am embarrassed to drive through there)! Did everyone see the new design for CAM, we knew they would cut back this project (they have been sitting on it for 3-5 years, could have been the start of something great in that area, now they are building a non-functional facility, no retail – city council should step in and reject this design!). This whole area is awful, The Depot should have been torn down for REAL development and they are taking forever with plans for the Warehouse District (start the transit hub, level the old buildings and develop a REAL entertainment complex (similar to Baltimore’s Powerhouse area or San Diego’s Gas Lamp District). Sorry, but too much reactive development. Need to be proactive. Everyone associated with downtown needs to start listening to Mitch Silver (he is excellent, a man with vision).
Could they at least plant some trees in there somewhere so it’s not a giant heat island?