‘Trying to stay as long as I can’: Rising rents are changing the character of Plaza Midwood
Ethan Desmond grew up in Charlotte, and the Giddy Goat coffee shop assistant manager always considered Plaza Midwood the artsy and punk rock area of the city. A vintage sticker that said “You Smell Like Plaza Midwood” explains it best, he said.
The Commonwealth/Midwood area has always had its own character and essence. But he sees that changing.
For several years, now, new businesses have been moving in and old mainstays are being forced out by rising rents. What was once known as an affordable and quirky enclave in Charlotte is losing its very identity.
“We obviously want to welcome everyone that’s new to the neighborhood and moving in here,” Desmond told CharlotteFive recently. “But we also want to keep supporting those people that may feel like they’re getting priced out of an area they’ve been for such a long time.”
Rising rent is what led to the upcoming departure of Soul Gastrolounge. Others have stayed despite steady increases in monthly payments. Midwood Guitar Studio owner Douglas Armstrong said rent has increased 15-20% since it opened on Central Avenue in 2016. “I’m not that concerned about it, but I see what’s happening to other neighbors,” Armstrong said.
Here’s what a few other local business representatives had to say about their current rent situations:
Charlotte Tattoo Company owner Bill Harris said his rent has increased 75% since 2014. “I’m trying to stay as long as I can,” he said.
Mama’s Caribbean Grill owner and operator Vinroy Reid said rent has been rising each year since he moved into the space in 2000. “It’s just very unfortunate what I’ve been seeing happening,” Reid said. “With developers basically coming in and just buying out the buildings and pushing out the very uniqueness of what this community represents.”
SADU Body Modifications manager Kaya Stowers said the studio is getting more business, but it is not able to accommodate walk-in services due to the influx of customers. And the rent has been increasing at a rate that outpaces revenue. “They’re raising rent to the point basically that it’s easier to push us out,” she said. “A lot of people have moved away, and we don’t really see the same business owners.”
Zada Jane’s Corner Cafe owner Marcia Hurst said she wants to find a way for Plaza Midwood to remain quirky, quaint and unique. “Just a little disappointed in people coming in and making it impossible for people to survive that have been here for so long and that customers really like to walk to,” she said.
‘I was never able to buy any of the buildings’
It’s difficult for local, small businesses to buy into the growing neighborhood now. And it’s tough for those who established small boutiques to try to buy the buildings where they have rented for years — even if that’s what’s necessary for survival.
If given the chance, for instance, Hope Nicholls would have bought the building that housed her Boris + Natasha boutique on Thomas Avenue for 22 years. She knew ownership was the key to stability.
“I’m not an idiot, but I was never able to buy any of the buildings,” she said.
And that’s the quandary Clifton Castelloe is trying to solve as the president of the Plaza Midwood Merchants Association.
Castelloe owns the boutique store Moxie Mercantile, and he admits that he got lucky when it came to building ownership. He struck a two-year, rent-to-own deal with the building’s previous owner, who wanted to make sure the property remained in good, local hands, Castelloe said. In 2017, Michelle and Clifton Castelloe purchased the building at 2008 Commonwealth Ave. for $500,000.
“It’s nice to have the mom-and-pops and the people who are right here just pouring their heart and soul into something — versus just sort of being there on a transactional basis,” Castelloe said.
But if businesses aren’t so fortunate to negotiate with a concerned owner, he’s not sure if there are other options.
“I don’t want to talk terribly against any landlord. Business is business, I get it. But man, this is exactly why we just won’t even start a conversation with, ‘We’ll lease from you,’ Burial Beer owner Doug Reiser said. “Because we know the value we’re gonna build for that landlord.”
What can be done?
The day after Soul announced it was closing, the city of Charlotte announced it would disperse $2.5 million to area small businesses recovering from COVID-19 as part of the Small Business Ecosystem Partner Grant Fund. The Plaza Midwood Merchants Association received $250,000 of that money.
“That’s a good amount of money, but it’s not enough for us to buy the Soul building,” Castelloe said.
But it’s a start toward helping local businesses. The PMMA has until the end of the year to devise a plan for distributing money, but Castelloe said the neighborhood needs more help from the city in the form of grants, and more creative solutions from “a real financial mind” who can find ways for small businesses to access funds that will allow them to purchase properties.
He understands that growth means there will be change, but he would also love to help local businesses remain in the neighborhoods they created. Access to low-interest, small business loans “would be huge.”
“The ultimate solution, really, in my opinion, is for small business owners to have access to capital to purchase buildings or expand,” he said, “because there are big companies and international investment companies who buy up whole neighborhoods and buy houses and then rent them. There are people who are looking at the Central Avenue corridor right now from other countries saying, ‘What can we buy and what can we build?’”
What’s coming: Commonwealth development
At the corner of Central and Pecan avenues, a massive 12-acre project is in the early stages of construction. When it’s done, Commonwealth will include 383 residences for rent and 150,000 square feet of office space, with towers that stretch as tall as seven stories.
Bobby Speir, Crosland Southeast’s senior vice president of mixed-use investment, is leading the project and said the developer is searching for tenants who “are a fit to come into the neighborhood.”
“What we’re looking for here is something a little bit different, a little bit special,” Speir said. That doesn’t necessarily mean no big-name chains. But the focus is on finding retailers who can adapt their concept to the neighborhood’s character.
“We’re trying to balance all those things with the deep sensitivity to just the cultural hub that is Plaza Midwood, and wanting to make sure that we’re complementary to what’s already existing,” Speir said.
The “heartbeat” of the project will be two former mill buildings from the 1900s, rehabbed and restored to create “a destination gathering place.” One is about 20,000 square feet, and Crosland is hoping to find a single tenant who would create an “entertainment destination,” complete with a rooftop bar.
The other building will include four to five “micro retail units,” that could be considered pop-up shops or businesses that are starting out and need less space.
And one important note: The massive, gray concrete parking garage currently being constructed will eventually be wrapped in apartments.
Speir added that understanding what will work best in the project is helped by the fact that Crosland Southeast is based in Charlotte and that he, himself, lives about five minutes away from the development.
“If I were doing this project in Nashville or Atlanta or D.C. or something, it would have a lot less of a connection for me,” he said. “But I drive by it or go to it almost every single day.”
This story was originally published August 11, 2022 at 6:00 AM with the headline "‘Trying to stay as long as I can’: Rising rents are changing the character of Plaza Midwood."
