Over the past 5 years, the areas surrounding downtown Concord have changed drastically. Several of the neighborhoods seem to be deteriorating and becoming populated by the ever growing Hispanic community we have in the area. Anyone that has driven down Cabarrus avenue towards Old Charlotte Road and the 601 bypass in this time will notice the work that has been put in to making that strip look more pleasing to the eye. However, I fail to see the necessity of this public project. The planning website for the city states that it will “enhance the overall appearance and marketability of Cabarrus Avenue and will provide stimulation for an economically challenged area”. However, the only new businesses in the area seem to be small convenience stores, or are painted a weird lime green color.
I think there needs to be a little more substance to this predominately aesthetic plan. The area these streets lead to just aren’t exactly the best place to start a business. So what should we do? Do you think this was money well spent, or, should we take another approach? Personally, I would hope that a group of elected officials and public administrators could come up with a better plan for revitalization than a roundabout and some medians. What do you think? Is this plan worth our tax dollars, or is it back to the drawing board?
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7 responses so far ↓
1 Justin Thibault // Apr 23, 2008 at 8:14 am
Caleb - It’s hard not to see it as good money being thrown after bad. I do hope it works out - I think that the old part of Concord has a lot of promise…as long as they can do it with more private funds.
In the past, I’ve been critical of Concord’s insistence on taking money from around the city and concentrating it Downtown. However, I think our friend Bruton Smith put that on ice. The proposed projects in, around, and about the Speedway will require a significant investment from the City. The next fight will be to make sure that they sacrifice pet projects for the roads around the Speedway instead of taxing us more.
2 Aaron // Apr 23, 2008 at 10:54 am
Caleb, you are wise beyond your years…
This is a Sim City project if there ever was one. It is Concord’s version of the uptown arena. It was done just because they wanted to do it and at the cost of more important things. The area has and always will be speculative at best. I grew up near that area and was a frequent customer of the BP station at Cabarrus and McGill. It has been run down for 20 years and is showing no signs of improvement. The crime in that area is not as bad as the logan area nearby but it is still too high to lure any substantive businesses to it. These area’s close to our old “main streets” are destined to become “artsy-fartsy” corners for high end wine shops and “gallery’s” full of pretentious folks. The area is so far off the beaten path, so far from interstate access and so far from the bulk of the upper income crowd that it’s actually a trek for anyone to go there. Parking is better due to the parking deck but the main reason your average citizen goes there is to conduct government business. Therefore, the only folks who will be visiting this area to enjoy said “artsy-fartsy” ammenities will be the folks with nothing better to do or those that live nearby… Like, I dont know, 9/10ths of Concord City Council…
3 James // May 10, 2008 at 11:09 pm
I wondered about that plan when the project started. I am no city planner, or anything like that, but it seems to be disconnected. If I were to drive on cabarrus from downtown to 601, I would say that it is great, bad, bad, cross the bridge, great, good, and then 601. That may not make sense, but I am trying to characterize my thoughts of the areas as you drive through them. It seems like the area along the Barbara Scotia college is so run down. I think if they would have put the funds along that area, at least it would feel more like extending the city.
Also, I can’t imagine that tiny change could draw any business. I think what draws business is like a complete zoning/facelift for a section of town. What I am thinking about is like the area around highway 49 and west boulevard near downtown charlotte. It also was an area that looked run down. They converted a large section of buildings to have a similar exterior and really freshened it up. Now, it looks like a more inviting place and it is clear the change has been made. I think this is called the Southend section. Anyway, I think that people these days are drawn to the new suburbanite look like Birkdale village. Do something alon those lines next to Barbara Scotia and watch the change.
4 Caleb Seamone // May 11, 2008 at 2:01 pm
As for remaking the Barbara Scotia area, I’ve never been a big fan of dressing up an area of town and spending a lot of money on it when the crime rate and poverty rate are going to remain the same. I have no idea how I would handle it, but at this point in my life, its not my job to have those answers, or those ideas. Hopefully they can do something to get a change going in the area, because it shows no signs of improvement.
5 Danny Hall // Jun 1, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Hmmm, so, these neighborhoods seem to be deterioating , due to the hispanic influx?
OK, lets take a stroll down Cabarrus Avenue in 1983. The building that now houses a very popular and vibrant grocery store, meat market and restaurant was abandonded, as it had been for nearly 20 years. ( anybody remember Red Fox Lounge?)
Most local commercial real estate people long considered this a ‘lost” property.Look at the amount of business that goes through there now.
The former Texaco station next door housed Feens sometimes open florist. Now, it has a full time Jewelery store. Feen is still there, in a smaller space next door,sometimes….
Across the street, Garry”s store was doing well, and the laundry mat and the carwash were doing well, even though they were next to a long time abandonded tire store. Now, the carwash is a section of small service shops, and the tire store is, again, a busy tire store. Across the street, the small former Scotty 19 cent hamburger place was a sleepy barbeque restaurant, open only until 2 PM weekdays, and was barely able to pay its meager rent. Now, it houses a popular Latin Restaurant that is open 7 days a week,from 11am until 9 PM, with plans to demolish the existing bulding and build a new building. ( just stop in and see the plans)
The former Garry’s store , “D’s ” attracts a largely “native concord” trade, and it seems to be quite a hang out for the non working, who purchase various beverages for consumption on nearby streets. These people are also NOT interested in working, just try to get a couple of them to help you clean up your yard, paint, or other house hold projects. I have watched out of town contractors try to get day labor from there, only to be asked for a hand out. These people hanging around “D’s” all hours love to complain about “all these Peutro Ricans” that are ruining the neigborhood.
I am not mentioning the new commercial building next door to the latin restaurant, the re-use of Southeastern Felt, the continued miracle of the mill operating,( Star America) the investment made by Avenues, or the strip shopping center that is, finally, full for the first time in 10 years, or Gate gas station.
Interestingly, the owners of most of these new businesses are mostly ex pats from Texas, New Mexico, and other states that were once a part of Mexico. They came here for new opportunities. That means , in case you do not realize it, these are your fellow Americans, who happen to share a hispanic heritage.
So, the number of occupied spaces is up quite a bit, and the amount of retail trade conducted here is up significantly. The number of businesses that are open after 6 PM is up considerably, and yet this is cited as conditions worse than in the past. When in the past? 1942? I doubt if you would consider conditions along “Depot Street” nice then, either.
just because YOU do not patronize a business does not mean that it is not a viable business. Just because a section of town has a minority presence does not mean it has ‘deterioated”. These new members of our community have invested heavily in their businesses, and continue to do so. They have enriched our community culturally and by reclaiming previously abandonded areas, and they have created prosperious businesses in the process.
This is probably just the begining. Next, if what happens in most of the rest of the world follows here, there will be more expansion in this area. The city is protecting its citizens big investment in infrastructure in this area by making improvements. Will it work? It already is working. Change takes time, instant change is not lasting change.
Just because an area is home to the less affluent does not mean that these citizens are not entitled to a better place to live. Bad living conditions anywhere are bad for all of us.You should travel some, and take the time to vist areas that have been revitalized. The crime rate does go down when these steps are taken.
Crime? you should check the actual crime numbers for Logan. You will be very shocked. There are very few crimes committed in the community. Once, it was a fairly lawless place, with businesses and activities that were not permitted to take place in the rest of the community. To a small degree, it still is, but the community is systematically eradicating the places where these kinds of activities can flourish. Take a drive through, you will see for yourself. Half the community has been torn down. Now, it is quite a bit quieter, even though most everyone seems to be enthralled with perpetuating the old image.
6 Caleb Seamone // Jun 2, 2008 at 1:34 am
What are the numbers on crime rate? Aaron used to be a police officer, as his profile says, so I’m sure he can give some real insight to how the crime rate in that area compares to other areas.
I have seen other areas that have been revitalized, and you’re right, the crime rate does go down some. But if you look more closely, it just shifts. Uptown Charlotte transformed the south side from run down to huge town homes and nice new areas. The people who lived there before now can’t afford to live there any more, so they just move to a new area. Also, I lived in Greenville for 3 years, and the city council was on a big “West Greenville Revitalization” kick. Same concept. Dress up the old part of town, property prices go up, so the lower income citizens are pushed further away.
I very highly doubt that the numbers for the Logan area are lower than other areas of the city. I’ll look into it though, and I hope Aaron will give some input.
7 Aaron // Jun 2, 2008 at 1:53 pm
HA!!! Logan is lower than other areas????
Wow, what a statement… Logan’s crime rate is lower than it was 15 years ago, but if you’ll check the FBI statistic’s you’ll see that: SO IS EVERY OTHER AREA OF THE COUNTRY! The violent crime rates have stayed static over the past few years in spite of all the “beautification.”
Logan still has the highest Drug and Prostitution rates in the county, always has, always will. Now, I’ll be the first to say that I don’t think either of these things should be illegal but as they are, it’s no surprise that one follows the other.
There’s nothing new here. The places where the highest level of government dependence exists the highest rate of crimes.
A full gentrification of the area will never occur because of all the public housing in that area. Real change, like what took place in the “NoDa” area of charlotte works only because gub-ment keeps it’s fat nose out of it all together.
Caleb’s wisdom out weighs his age yet again. All this “improvement” will just shift the crime from one area to another.
As far as “half of the area has been torn down.” That was a government job where we paid above market rates to Buck Smith to buy his hovels and burn them down so we can pay a contractor above market rates to build a new government run retirement center for low income/no income folks. WOW, what a change.
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