Realtor Reflections
February 2006 issue
Page: 15

SoDa: AREA NORTH OF CENTER CITY SHOWS REVITALIZATION SPARK

By Joyce Deaton

Rip Farris is an optimist. While working on his Tivoli condominium project on the edge of the Garden District a couple of years ago, the president of Tuscan Development started thinking about Optimist Park just two blocks away on the other side of I-277. Driving north on Davidson Street through the neighborhood, he saw acres of wrecked cars behind the fence at Hunter Auto and Wrecker Service. But he also saw something else — the McGill Rose Garden — an oasis of natural beauty and tranquility nestled among the neighborhood’s gritty mix of industrial sites, small businesses and modest houses.

Struck by the area’s proximity to the Garden District, he started thinking of possibilities. The neighborhood looked no worse than the Earle Village housing project that had occupied the Garden District before its completion in the late 1900s, and was within walking distance of uptown offices.

Already, Farris had been asked to “champion” the Belmont-Optimist Park Plan for the urban development group of the Charlotte Chamber’s Advantage Carolina task force. A graduate of the Harvard University Design School, he’s also a member of its alumni board. The wheels started turning for Farris, and a few months later the Optimist Park Urban Study (OPUS) was born.

Since then, Optimist Park — now also called SoDa for its proximity to NoDa, the North Davidson neighborhood — has begun what could be one of Charlotte’s most dramatic revitalizations. Four new residential projects are already underway in the area, and Farris and others are interested in enlisting more. The area they’re focusing on is bounded by I-277 to the south, Seigle Avenue to the east, 36th Street to the north and the Norfolk Southern railyard to the west. Some of the area overlaps with NoDa.

Harvard, UNCC Students Study Area

The OPUS study, funded by Advantage Carolina, local government and corporate sponsors, brought together architecture graduate students from Harvard and UNCC under the joint direction of David Lee, adjunct professor at Harvard, and Deb Ryan, associate professor and director of the UNCC School of Architecture’s Charlotte Community Design Studio. The students were challenged to come up with a plan for Optimist Park that would preserve its existing fabric and keep options for living, working and playing in the neighborhood. Students from an applied real estate development class Farris was teaching at UNCC contributed market, demographic and financial analyses. The UNCC students used their familiarity with the local turf to do research and gather data, while the Harvard students studied similar areas worldwide and concentrated on the neighborhood’s possibilities. “It’s always an interesting thing to have students work on this kind of project because they’re not restricted by fiscal or political constraints, and we can see where their dreams lead them,” Ryan says.

Harvard’s Lee, an urban planner with a worldwide reputation, suggested the study group look at an area one scale larger than the neighborhood’s boundaries by considering Optimist Park in the context of a corridor from South End through uptown to NoDa. “That was tremendously important,” Farris says. “We began to see the entire area as continuous, with Optimist Park linking NoDa and uptown, and as an extension of the trolley/rail corridor from South End.”

In an even broader context, Farris adds, the study needed to consider that Charlotte is the second fastest-growing Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area in the nation. At its current growth rate, the area will be home to as many as five million people within the next 25 years. “We need to start designing for that growth,” Farris says. “As of now, because the land is so expensive, people who need affordable housing have to move farther and farther out from the central city. This creates a lot of systemic problems — traffic, infrastructure costs and longer commutes that take away from family time,” he explains. “We need more options for affordable housing close-in.”

Rich History, Phifer Plantation

The students discovered a neighborhood of diversity and texture, rich in history and full of both opportunities and difficulties. Before the Civil War, the area was part of the William Phifer plantation. In 1850, the Phifer family allowed two railroads to traverse their property — the east/west Seaboard Railway and the north/south Southern Railway. By 1892, roads were built through their plantation, including 11th through 15th streets.

By the late 1800s, three textile mills were built on the outskirts of uptown Charlotte — the Alpha Mill, Highland Park Mill #1 and the Louise Mill — and villages formed around the mills. The neighborhood came to be known as Optimist Park after the Optimist Club built a baseball field for mill workers and their children.

In the 1930s, the neighborhood was primarily residential, occupied by white mill workers, but by the 1950s, the mills closed and the population decreased significantly. Retail use of homes increased as former mill workers attempted to operate auto repair shops, barbershops, furniture repair shops and grocery stores in or near their homes. The neighborhood began to decline.

When urban renewal demolished nearby black neighborhoods such as Brooklyn and Greenville in the 1960s, Optimist Park became home to many displaced African-American families. Also around this time, the city Department of Transportation realigned Parkwood Avenue to create easier access in and out of uptown. The resulting boulevard leading into the neighborhood, as well as two, one-way multilane streets leading out, divided the neighborhood and brought fast-moving traffic. When I-277, the inner loop, was built in the 1970s, it severed Optimist Park’s connection with uptown and worsened its economic decline.

Diversity, Other Positives

Today the neighborhood is one of the most racially diverse in the city, says UNCC’s Ryan. “There are Hispanics, Asians, African Americans and whites in fairly equal numbers,” she explains. “There are older factory workers who’ve lived there for a long time, African Americans who came when Brooklyn was razed. A lot of people have come there as a place of last resort, and now they have a very tolerant community.” That diversity will be a boon for development, Ryan believes, as young people who have grown up with diversity seek the variety and interest of ethnically mixed neighborhoods.

“This is one of the last bastions of ethnic diversity near the center city,” Farris adds. “With the kind of development being proposed, sometimes there’s the fear that we want to get rid of the diversity, but that’s not what’s going on at all. We want to embrace that diversity. It adds flavor. It feels wonderful. I don’t want to live in a city that’s not diverse. It’s not real. It lacks vibrancy. It’s not healthy for your children.”

The OPUS study identified other positive features of Optimist Park. The McGill Rose Garden, which Farris calls “the least known of Charlotte’s beautiful places,” offers a peaceful retreat amid the neighborhood’s bustle. Much of the area is within easy walking distance of uptown. The Little Sugar Creek Greenway follows Optimist Park’s eastern edge, and the creek and other city-owned floodplain land offer unique development opportunities. A transit stop on the north-south commuter rail system is planned, probably at 16th Street and Parkwood Avenue, bringing demand and opportunities for housing and other transit-oriented development.

There’s also the perception of crime, although Optimist Park’s crime rate is better than that of Charlotte as a whole. Compared to last year, the neighborhood’s overall crime rate is down 4.4 percent, says Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Capt. Michelle Hummel, in charge of the North Tryon Division that includes Optimist Park.

That’s just one view of the area that Farris and others are trying to change as they work to convince developers and city authorities of the location’s promise. “We’re seeking to engage people and change perceptions about Optimist Park,” Farris explains. He emphasizes the area’s similarity to the First Ward Garden District before its makeover. With a $42 million federal Hope VI grant, the Charlotte Housing Authority demolished Earle Village in 1991, and with a sizable investment from Bank of America, condos, apartments and single- family residences — which now total $600 million in development — filled the 33-acre area.

Seeking ‘Small, Creative Entrepreneurs’

“That development was scripted by the Hope VI design process,” Farris says. “In Optimist Park, we’re trying to make it possible for small, creative risk-taking entrepreneurs to come in and develop more affordable housing and a variety of uses that attract creative, artistic people to the center city.” Land prices work dramatically in favor of such development. Inside the I-277 loop, Farris says, land sells for $40 per square foot — or $1.7 million per acre. Cross the expressway into Optimist Park, and land goes for $4 to $6 per square foot — or $175,000 per acre.

Prices like that make possible many of the wideranging ideas the architecture students and their teachers suggested. Old warehouses could be re-skinned for business incubators and re-training centers for former textile workers, who could find employment in center-city hotels and services. Artists and sculptors could be attracted for studios in the same kinds of spaces. An arts and crafts college — maybe even the North Carolina School of the Arts — could be lured to a campus that encourages the area’s artistic flavor. Floodplain land near Little Sugar Creek could be flooded to create a lake, making possible a three-mile waterfront walkway. An iconic bridge could be built as a focus for the revitalized community. In addition to commuter rail transit, innovative electric trolleys that run on rails or streets could be added. A variety of housing — from studio lofts to singlefamily detached homes — could be built on a restored street grid that reclaims the shape of the old mill villages. Open-air markets featuring ethnic foods and an outdoor amphitheater for performances could add interest to the community.

Walkable Community, No Teardowns Planned

Farris is determined to preserve the neighborhood’s existing fabric and honor its history. “In the 1880s, there were working mills in the neighborhood and people could walk to work,” he says. “We want to recreate that kind of walkable community. The plans that have been proposed don’t relocate anybody. There are no teardowns. In fact, the city has already down-zoned one residential area from R-22 to R-8 to preserve the existing housing and slow down speculation.”

In one of the four residential developments already underway in the area, Crosland Inc. is creating an apartment village of 161 units in two buildings of the old Alpha Mill at Brevard and 12th streets. Options will range from studio apartments for $500 to two-bedroom units for $1,200. “We’re renovating the historically significant portions of the mill, tearing down some of the later additions and adding new construction,” says Judd Little, president of Crosland’s multifamily division. “We’re keeping the old brick, high ceilings and post-and-beam structure with the big, arched windows. Some of the second-floor units in the old buildings will have lofts.” New construction will be complementary to the old buildings, and there will be a large pool, exercise facility and lounge in a park-like setting.

Little says Crosland relied on tax credits for historic properties, available through the National Park Service, to make the project feasible. Tax credits are sold to investors with an understanding that Crosland will buy them out in five years. After that, Crosland will probably sell the units as condos.

Little is excited about saving part of Charlotte’s history. “This is the earliest extant mill built by D.A. Tompkins, who was as important to the city as Hugh McColl,” he says. “We think it’s great. It’s a fun project, a way to be different in terms of product. We believe the neighborhood is on the upswing and we’re getting in at a good time.”

Condos from $118,000 to $136,000

Farris's company, Tuscan Development, is building Opt12, a 12-unit condo community at 15th and Caldwell streets. Tuscan enlisted architect David Furman to design the one-bedroom flats and townhouses, which average 820 square feet and sell for $128,000 to $136,000. By mid-December the complex was half sold.

Just across Caldwell Street, the Duncan Gardens condo complex is taking shape. A partnership among Farris, developer Frank Martin of LandCraft and former city council member Ron Leeper — the community offers one- and two-bedroom townhomes and flats of 800 to 1,000 square feet. Prices range from $118,000 to $132,000. Of 43 total units, 26 were sold by mid-December.

A block away on Davidson Street, Farris plans to remake the bright-purple Urban Stash building, now used for consumer storage, into 114 two-bed-room condos selling for under $120,000. Optimist Park is classified by the city as a “threatened” neighborhood, so home buyers whose income is 60 percent or less of the local median income are eligible for assistance of up to $15,000 from the city’s House Charlotte program. Because Duncan Gardens won special approval from the city council for additional funds, buyers there who qualify can receive an additional $10,689. Farris believes this support will open possibilities for homeownership to a wider spectrum of people. “I get excited about people who otherwise would not be able to own a home getting that opportunity,” he says. “This can be transformational for people from several different socioeconomic groups who can experience homeownership.”

Accommodating Current Residents

Debra Campbell, planning director of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission, shares Farris’s enthusiasm, but she’s more cautious. “The plan for the neighborhood is interesting, ambitious and exciting,” she says. “But I would worry how it might affect affordability. It all depends on your definition. When I say affordability, I mean the incomes of folk who live there now — $30,000 for a family of two, or maybe four. If we can accommodate those people with the plan, then I’m extremely supportive of it.”

As leader of the project for Advantage Carolina, and with a significant investment in Optimist Park, Farris is leading the drive for the next concrete steps toward the area’s takeoff. With funds earmarked by Advantage Carolina, he’s working to secure more funding for greenway improvements and creation of a lake and a signature bridge. He’s also working with the city and county to line up incentives to encourage small, risk-taking developers to invest in the area.

A reborn Optimist Park/SoDa could bring a lot to Charlotte. “Besides the opportunity for workforce housing for lower- and middle-income people who can’t afford the center city, these prices will attract artists who want economical studio space,” Farris predicts. “With a lively mixture of ethnic groups, the area could add texture and richness and provide a counterpoint to the city as only a financial center.

“The economic development impact of this neighborhood could be tremendous,” he adds. “Even at R-17 (17 housing units per acre), we estimate it could include 4,900 new units of housing, more than 450,000 square feet of office and retail space, and a total investment of $900 million. That would generate up to $300 million in taxes over10 years.” And with the city’s redevelopment of Piedmont Courts and the Belmont Community under the federal Hope VI grant, adjoining Optimist Park could help supply the requirement for a four-to-one ratio in private-to-federal investment. “We see this as one area, not two, and the greenway is the zipper that will pull them together,” Farris says.

Wrecked Cars, CATS Garage

Still, hurdles remain. The wrecked cars at Hunter Auto and Wrecker Service, the giant truck-container yard, the CATS garage. “If the wrecked cars are gone, that’s seven acres of contiguous land,” Farris says. “And if the rail yard is gone, that’s 200 contiguous acres. That would open up all kinds of possibilities.” So far, the Hunter owners don’t want to leave, but neighborhood watchers theorize that market pressures will eventually encourage them to sell. A feasibility study to relocate the rail yard to an intermodal terminal near the airport is already underway by the city’s airport authority and economic development department.

To UNCC’s Ryan, the CATS garage is an even bigger problem. “It's inconsistent with the city’s own guidelines for transit-oriented development, which call for dense urban development within a mile and a half of the transit stops,” she points out. “And from a pedestrian point of view it’s tough to walk through a gazillion buses cheek-to-jowl to go uptown.” Calling the CATS garage on South Tryon “a significant project and well placed,” Ryan says local government could be a catalyst to development at relatively minimal cost by moving the bus operation out of SoDa. Not likely, however, says Melony McCullough, who’s responsible for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission’s neighborhood plan for Optimist Park. “When we were developing our plan, we discussed this and found that the people there didn’t think of CATS as a bad neighbor. They’ve added screening and made some improvements to the site. It’s on the edge of the neighborhood. We don’t really see that moving.”

Planning director Campbell praises Farris for his work in Optimist Park. “I think it’s commendable that we have a private developer who’s putting the amount of time and attention he has — and has the level of sensitivity needed — to transform a low-to-moderate-income neighborhood into a revitalized area,” she says. “It’s exciting to see someone who has this kind of vision for that neighborhood. Significant changes are occurring now, and there’s a lot of synergy going on.”

For his part, Farris is characteristically optimistic. “It's hard to say how quickly things will happen, but I feel sure that if you drive out Davidson Street in five years, compared to today, you won’t recognize it. “You can already hear the nail guns,” he says with a smile.