College Hill 1, Developer 0
Residents of the College Hill Historic District won a small victory on Monday: A developer withdrew a rezoning request that could have brought to the neighborhood a three-story building for living, shopping and working.
Developer Larry Wallace has dropped his plan for a sprawling building at the corner of Spring Garden and Mendenhall streets. He cited concerns from residents of the community, one of three historic districts in Greensboro.
Oh, they were concerned all right. Last week, dozens gathered for a community meeting about the project, signing petitions and voicing concerns. Many said the proposed building was be too long, too tall and too dense for the neighborhood. They were concerned about traffic, noise and the loss of historic houses.
Wallace said Monday he hopes to build something on the spot that doesn't require rezoning.
His old plans for the building included:
• A first level with 6,000 square feet of retail space facing Spring Garden and Mendenhall. There also would have been 58 parking spaces underneath the building, and seven more outside.
• A second level with 12,000 square feet of office space and 24 parking spaces.
• A third level with 18,500 square feet for up to 20 apartments or condos.
The proposal had detractors beyond College Hill residents — namely the city’s zoning staff. It recommended that the Zoning Commission deny the request, since the development "is not in keeping with existing adjacent and nearby buildings."
In October, the Historic Preservation Commission was unanimous in its opposition to the development.
Comments (3)
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Has anyone looked at that corner lately? Almost anything would be an improvement. And this proposal would have had parking.
Posted on January 11, 2007 12:48 PM
Diane, I attended a College Hill neighborhood meeting, and several people who spoke that night agree with you. The mattress store and the computer shop aren't fine examples of architecture in the neighborhood!
Most people at the meeting seem to accept the fact that something is going to be built there.
Posted on January 11, 2007 2:52 PM
So a few drunken losers stop someone from spending a crap load of money on that broken down neighborhood? Wow, funny! The idiots rule the roost don't they? Perhaps we should take down that eyesore of a hospital to which they will one day stagger for an injection of progress, eh?
My community would like to say..."Hey big spender...bring that money over here - we'd like to have our neighborhood revitalized".
And we actually own our property so we're not picketing transients fresh from the methadone clinic.
Posted on March 21, 2007 3:12 AM