5 Charlotte hot spots facing the chopping block
Look around and try to find a corner in NoDa, Elizabeth or Plaza Midwood where an apartment isn’t popping up.
Strain your neck? Of course you did.
The development’s everywhere.
More than 10,463 apartments are under construction in the Queen City — with another 10,000 planned. And all that planning is putting a chokehold on some small, locally owned businesses. Here are a few of your favorite spots that might be at risk thanks to the latest high-rise.
Tommy’s Pub
What it is now: This is an iconic Plaza Midwood bar, where you can order a Yuengling for $2.50 (in a plastic cup, no less).
What it’s to become: A 97-unit apartment complex in the near future.
Reaction: Bar manager Jamie Starks isn’t actively fighting the rezoning but he is worried that “everything unique and special in this town is getting ripped out.” Patrons and residents have launched a protest petition.
I love Tommy’s pub so much. Why do they have to tear down everything that means something in Charlotte?
— Adelia Grace Oldham (@AdeliaGCecilO) April 25, 2015
Backstage Vintage
What it is: Find 1930s smoking jackets, authentic World War II uniforms and 1980s glam outfits that would make Little Richard squeal.
What it’s to become: Alas, the same apartment project that is threatening Tommy’s Pub could also be pushing this Plaza Midwood gem to the wayside.
Reaction: Owner Judith Craycraft plans to move her shop to downtown Monroe inside a historic building with cheaper rent.
Chop Shop in NoDa
What it is now: Perhaps you’ve leaped into a crowd of sweaty band fans at the Chop Shop, a live concert and music venue that has a large viewing room making for larger crowds and larger shows.
What it’s to become: Crescent Communities is considering that area for the next 350-unit mixed-use apartment complex (equipped with a grocery store or boutique hotel). Sounds very cosmopolitan…or bougie (that’s urban for “bourgeois,” just in case I need to explain).
Reaction: Chop Shop owner Jay Tilyard has said he isn’t sweating it too much. His lease won’t expire until 2018 and he calls all the murmuring about development the “ebb and flow of property.” Fans aren’t so relaxed.
The NoDa Neighborhood Association: Save The Chop Shop https://t.co/e3CJFJUkhD via @Change
— Charles Walker (@CharlesWalker97) April 19, 2015
Jackalope Jacks
What it is now: A great hangout bar in Elizabeth.
What it’s to become: Bar owner Rob Nixon says big-money folks are talking about redeveloping the Elizabeth neighborhood property where his restaurant stands into a mixed-use development. Could take a couple of years for anything to happen.
Reaction: Nixon and his business partner bought some property in Plaza Midwood, and now they’re bracing themselves for what Nixon sees as the inevitable move. In the meantime, he wants you to keep drinking at Jackalopes but also check out his other bar, the Peculiar Rabbit, in Plaza Midwood.
Research paper @Jackalope_Jacks. This is how I roll #gettinitin pic.twitter.com/jTgz7gkjxA
— Charlotte Whine Club (@cltwhineclub) April 23, 2015
American Beauty Garden Center
What it is: Your neighborhood garden center, right on Central Ave in Plaza Midwood.
What it’s to become: A 246-unit apartment complex. Tribridge Residential has already taken over its parking lot and loading docks.
Reaction: The American Beauty Garden Center is moving to Independence Boulevard in the summer.
If you ask co-owner Pete Freeman how he feels about it all, he’ll give it to you straight: “They’re not showing any respect for the businesses that built the neighborhood up.”
‘Nuff said.
This story was originally published April 27, 2015 at 4:15 PM with the headline "5 Charlotte hot spots facing the chopping block."