Two parking lots are holding Uptown back. Here’s how I’d fix it

Parking lots have long been a staple of the Uptown landscape. In the 1950s and ’60s investors demolished building after building in an attempt to quench each Charlottean’s thirst for the automobile. Massive patches of asphalt dotted the landscape all in the name of “progress.”

Its hard to imagine what Third Ward looked like before Romare Bearden Park. As recently as 2011, it was a wasteland of pavement, a scar on the Earth, rivaled only by First Ward.

Uptown parking lots are becoming less common, and if all goes to plan we could be virtually surface lot free on Church, Tryon and College by 2022.

Outside of the lots associated with the future Gateway Station, the Hal Marshall land and the lots associated with Daniel Levine’s three-decades-old promise of an Urban Village, there are two lots in particular that always make me dream of what could be.

Romare Bearden fronting parking lot

Last year Ink & Ivy set a precedent for repurposing parking lots in Charlotte, livening up the lot beside Packard Place.

One thing was left on the block, however: a 40-space parking lot, set on two-tenths of an acre, owned by Preferred Parking. Between their monthly parking rate of $195 and their convenience to BB&T and Bank of America Stadiums, I’d imagine they comfortably make six figures worth of revenue off this tiny lot. It could be so much more, however.

The lot is too small, and likely too expensive, to develop very effectively unless you get creative. But there are other cities we can look to for inspiration.

My idea for this lot came to me when I visited Las Vegas’ Downtown Container Park last year. The Downtown Container Park, which opened in 2013, features 43 stacked shipping containers surrounding an interior common area with seating, a park and a massive play area for adults and kids alike. (There is also a 40-foot fire breathing praying mantis, but that’s beside the point.)

More than 30 retail and restaurant establishments fill the park, each local, and each unique, providing a fantastic small business incubator.

My idea would be similar, but on a much smaller scale.

Phase 1 would include:

– A leveled out concrete slab with stairs cascading down as the grade changes.

– 22 8-foot by 20-foot shipping containers (maybe outfitted by Charlotte’s own Boxman Studios?).

– Tons of outdoor seating.

– A 60:40 retail to restaurant ratio.

– Plumbing and gas for all boxes.

Phase 2 would include:

– Second floor patio that connects to Ink & Ivy expanding over the interior shipping containers.

– An additional six shipping containers geared toward international food vendors.

– Expanded seating with a birds-eye view of Bearden Park.

The goal would be to attract and incubate small businesses, whether it be a taco stand or an aspiring soft goods retailer.

First Presbyterian “Pork Chop Lot”

On the corner of Poplar and Trade sits one of the largest undeveloped and most underutilized parking lots in the city. The block, spanning about 2.25 acres, is lucky enough to feature two historic buildings: The Builders Building (1926) and Bagley-Mullen House (1890).

The bulk of the land is owned by First Presbyterian Church. Peg Robarchek, the Director of Communications for the church, said the church is seeking input from neighborhood partners on what to do with the property.

“We hope this property will be significant in transforming center city Charlotte,” she said. “We’re an urban church and we recognize that how we serve our neighborhood will evolve as Charlotte continues to change.”

My vision for the land would be a development oriented in such a way that The Builders Building and the Bagley-Mullen House would go untouched.

– 200+ units worth of residential, 30-50 units set aside for mixed income.

– 350,000 square feet of office space in an 15-17 floor building.

– A three-floor base at the corner of Poplar and Trade that would include updated community space for the church, and retail that focuses on the Uptown community-at-large.

– Community roof space for church events and public events.

– An integrated parking deck that would include free parking to the church on weekends and after business hours.

Uptown is on the verge of greatness, and will continue to get even better as we lose each surface parking lot.

This story was originally published June 14, 2017 at 1:06 AM with the headline "Two parking lots are holding Uptown back. Here’s how I’d fix it."